CMAT Language Comprehension Syllabus

What is a 'para completion' question?

A paragraph is given with the last (or a missing) sentence removed, and you must choose the sentence that best continues or concludes it consistent with tone and logic.

What makes a good concluding sentence in para completion?

It logically follows from the preceding ideas, maintains the same tone and topic, does not introduce a brand-new idea, and gives a sense of closure rather than opening a new thread.

What is the goal of a 'summary' question in comprehension?

To select the option that best captures the essence/main point of the paragraph concisely, without omitting the core idea or adding extraneous detail.

What is critical reasoning in the context of English/verbal sections?

Evaluating short arguments by identifying premises, conclusions, and assumptions, and judging what strengthens, weakens, or must be assumed for the argument to hold.

In an argument, what is the difference between a premise and a conclusion?

A premise is the supporting reason or evidence offered; the conclusion is the main claim the argument is trying to establish based on those premises.

What is an 'assumption' in critical reasoning?

An unstated premise that must be true for the argument's conclusion to logically follow from its stated premises; if negated, the argument collapses.

What does the 'negation test' check for in critical reasoning?

Whether a statement is a necessary assumption: if negating it destroys the argument's conclusion, it is a required assumption; if the argument survives, it is not.

What is a logical 'flaw' or fallacy question asking you to find?

The error in the reasoning, such as confusing correlation with causation, hasty generalisation, circular reasoning, or attacking the person instead of the argument (ad hominem).

What is error identification (spotting errors) in grammar questions?

A sentence split into parts where you must locate the part containing a grammatical error (or mark 'no error' if all parts are correct).

State the basic subject-verb agreement rule.

A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb; the verb agrees with the subject, not with intervening nouns or phrases.

In subject-verb agreement, how are 'either...or' and 'neither...nor' subjects handled?

The verb agrees with the subject nearer to it (the proximity rule). E.g., 'Neither the manager nor the workers were present.'

What is a misplaced modifier, an example of an error to correct?

A descriptive word/phrase placed so it seems to modify the wrong word, creating ambiguity; it should be positioned next to the word it actually describes.

What is a sentence improvement question?

A sentence has an underlined part, and you must choose the option (including 'no improvement') that makes the underlined portion grammatically correct and stylistically best.

In sentence improvement, what is parallelism and why does it matter?

Parallelism requires items in a list or comparison to share the same grammatical form (e.g., 'reading, writing, and speaking', not 'reading, writing, and to speak'); breaking it is a common error to fix.

What is the basic function of a preposition? Give common examples.

A preposition shows the relationship of a noun/pronoun to another word, indicating place, time, direction, or manner. Examples: in, on, at, by, with, for, to, of, from.

What is the difference between the prepositions 'in', 'on', and 'at' for time?

'In' is for longer periods (in 2026, in March); 'on' for days/dates (on Monday); 'at' for precise times (at 5 p.m.).

What is the difference between the definite and indefinite article?

The definite article 'the' refers to a specific/known noun; the indefinite articles 'a/an' refer to a non-specific singular noun, with 'a' before consonant sounds and 'an' before vowel sounds.

Should you say 'a university' or 'an university', and why?

'A university', because 'university' begins with a consonant /j/ ('yoo') sound; article choice depends on sound, not spelling.

What is the rule for converting direct speech to indirect (reported) speech regarding tense?

When the reporting verb is past, the tense of the reported clause usually shifts back one step (present to past, past to past perfect), and pronouns/time words change accordingly.

In direct-to-indirect speech, how do time words like 'now', 'today', and 'tomorrow' change?

'Now' becomes 'then', 'today' becomes 'that day', 'tomorrow' becomes 'the next day', 'yesterday' becomes 'the previous day', and 'here' becomes 'there'.

How is an active-voice sentence converted to passive voice?

The object becomes the subject, the verb changes to a form of 'be' + past participle, and the original subject (if kept) follows 'by'. E.g., 'She wrote a report' to 'A report was written by her.'

What is the difference between a synonym and an antonym?

A synonym is a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another (happy/joyful); an antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (happy/sad).

Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'augment'.

Synonym: increase/enhance. Antonym: decrease/diminish/reduce.

What is an idiom?

A fixed expression whose figurative meaning differs from the literal meanings of its individual words, e.g., 'spill the beans' means to reveal a secret.

What does the idiom 'a blessing in disguise' mean?

Something that seems bad or unfortunate at first but turns out to be beneficial in the end.

What is one-word substitution? Give an example.

Replacing a phrase or definition with a single precise word. Example: 'a person who eats everything' = omnivore; 'a government by the people' = democracy.

What single word means 'a speech made to oneself / thinking aloud alone'?

Soliloquy (when alone on stage). A monologue is a long speech by one person, often to others.

What are confusable words (homophones/near-homophones)? Give an example.

Words that look or sound similar but differ in meaning, often confused. Example: 'principal' (chief/head) vs 'principle' (a rule or fundamental truth).

What is the difference between 'stationary' and 'stationery'?

'Stationary' (with an 'a') means not moving/fixed; 'stationery' (with an 'e') means writing materials such as paper and pens.

What does the foreign phrase 'bona fide' mean, and where is it from?

It is Latin for 'in good faith', meaning genuine, real, or sincere. The noun form 'bona fides' means credentials or proof of good faith.