GATE Mathematics General Aptitude Syllabus

General Aptitude syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for General Aptitude in GATE Mathematics, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Verbal Aptitude

   3 topics

   • Basic English grammar
     • Tenses
     • Articles
     • Adjectives
     • Prepositions
     • Conjunctions
     • Verb-noun agreement
     • Other parts of speech
   • Basic vocabulary
     • Words
     • Idioms
     • Phrases in context
   • Reading and comprehension
     • Narrative sequencing
2. 2

   Quantitative Aptitude

   3 topics

   • Data interpretation
     • Data graphs (bar graphs, pie charts, and other graphs representing the data)
     • 2- and 3-dimensional plots
     • Maps and tables
   • Numerical computation and estimation
     • Ratios
     • Percentages
     • Powers
     • Exponents and logarithms
     • Permutations and combinations
     • Series
   • Mensuration and geometry
     • Elementary statistics and probability
3. 3

   Analytical Aptitude

   1 topic

   • Logic
     • Deduction and induction
     • Analogy
     • Numerical relations and reasoning
4. 4

   Spatial Aptitude

   2 topics

   • Transformation of shapes
     • Translation
     • Rotation
     • Scaling
     • Mirroring
     • Assembling and grouping
   • Paper folding, cutting, and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions

General Aptitude flashcards for GATE Mathematics

22 of 50 cards from the General Aptitude deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is a tense in English grammar, and what are its three primary divisions?

   Tense is the grammatical form of a verb that expresses the time of an action or state. Its three primary divisions are past, present, and future.

2. What are the four aspects each English tense can take, and what does each express?

   Simple (a plain fact/habit), Continuous/Progressive (an ongoing action, using be + -ing), Perfect (a completed action linked to another time, using have + past participle), and Perfect Continuous (an ongoing action up to a point, using have been + -ing).

3. In the present simple tense, how does the verb change for third-person singular subjects (he/she/it)?

   It takes an -s or -es ending, e.g. 'she walks', 'he watches'; all other persons use the base form ('I/you/we/they walk').

4. How is the present perfect tense formed, and when is it used?

   It is formed with 'have/has' + past participle (e.g. 'I have eaten'). It is used for actions completed at an unspecified past time that have present relevance, or actions continuing into the present.

5. What is the difference between the past simple and the present perfect tense?

   Past simple refers to a finished action at a definite past time ('I saw him yesterday'); present perfect refers to a past action with present relevance or no specified time ('I have seen him').

6. What are the three articles in English, and how are they classified?

   'A' and 'an' are indefinite articles; 'the' is the definite article. Indefinite articles refer to a non-specific noun, while the definite article refers to a specific, known noun.

7. What rule determines whether to use 'a' or 'an' before a word?

   Use 'an' before a word beginning with a vowel sound (an hour, an apple) and 'a' before a word beginning with a consonant sound (a university, a car). The choice depends on sound, not spelling.

8. When is the definite article 'the' typically used?

   Before specific or previously mentioned nouns, unique objects (the sun, the moon), superlatives (the best), ordinals (the first), and certain proper nouns like rivers, oceans, and groups of islands.

9. What is an adjective, and what is its basic grammatical function?

   An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun, indicating a quality, quantity, or characteristic (e.g. 'red', 'tall', 'three', 'happy').

10. What are the three degrees of comparison for adjectives, with an example?

    Positive (tall), comparative (taller), and superlative (tallest). The comparative compares two things; the superlative compares three or more.

11. What is the standard order of adjectives in English when several precede a noun?

    Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose, then the noun (e.g. 'a lovely small old round brown wooden table').

12. What is a preposition, and what does it typically show?

    A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship (of place, time, direction, or manner) to another word, e.g. 'in', 'on', 'at', 'under', 'between'.

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

    'At' is used for precise times (at 5 PM), 'on' for days and dates (on Monday), and 'in' for longer periods like months, years, and parts of the day (in July, in 2020, in the morning).

14. What is a conjunction, and what are its three main types?

    A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses. The three main types are coordinating (and, but, or), subordinating (because, although, if), and correlative (either...or, neither...nor).

15. What are the seven coordinating conjunctions, often remembered by the acronym FANBOYS?

    For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. They join elements of equal grammatical rank.

16. What is subject-verb (verb-noun) agreement?

    It is the grammatical rule that a verb must agree in number and person with its subject: a singular subject takes a singular verb ('the dog runs') and a plural subject takes a plural verb ('the dogs run').

17. In subject-verb agreement, what verb form do two singular subjects joined by 'and' take?

    They take a plural verb, e.g. 'Tom and Jerry are friends', because the compound subject is treated as plural.

18. In subject-verb agreement, when subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor', which subject does the verb agree with?

    The verb agrees with the subject nearest to it, e.g. 'Neither the teacher nor the students were present'.

19. What are the eight traditional parts of speech in English?

    Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

20. What is an adverb, and what does it modify?

    An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, typically expressing manner, place, time, frequency, or degree (e.g. 'quickly', 'here', 'often', 'very').

21. What is the difference between a noun and a pronoun?

    A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g. 'John', 'city'); a pronoun is a word used in place of a noun to avoid repetition (e.g. 'he', 'it', 'they').

22. What is an interjection? Give an example.

    An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses sudden emotion or feeling and is grammatically independent of the rest of the sentence, e.g. 'Wow!', 'Oh!', 'Alas!'.

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