GATE Mechanical Engineering General Aptitude Syllabus

What is subject-verb agreement?

The rule that a verb must agree with its subject in number and person: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb (e.g., 'He runs' vs 'They run').

In subject-verb agreement, what verb form follows two singular subjects joined by 'and' versus by 'or/nor'?

Subjects joined by 'and' take a plural verb; subjects joined by 'or/nor' take a verb agreeing with the nearer subject.

What is an adverb, and what does it modify?

An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, telling how, when, where, or to what degree (e.g., 'quickly', 'very', 'yesterday').

What is the difference between a pronoun and a noun?

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea; a pronoun replaces a noun to avoid repetition (e.g., 'he', 'it', 'they', 'which').

What is an interjection? Give an example.

An interjection is a word or phrase expressing sudden emotion, grammatically independent of the sentence (e.g., 'Oh!', 'Wow!', 'Alas!').

Define a synonym and an antonym.

A synonym is a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another (big/large); an antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (big/small).

What are homophones? Give an example.

Homophones are words that sound the same but differ in spelling and meaning, e.g., 'their/there/they're' or 'principal/principle'.

What is the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'?

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence ('It affects me'); 'effect' is usually a noun meaning a result ('the effect of it').

What is an idiom?

An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of its individual words (e.g., 'break the ice' means to start a conversation).

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

Something that seems bad or unlucky at first but results in a good outcome later.

What does the idiom 'once in a blue moon' mean?

Something that happens very rarely.

In vocabulary, what is a prefix versus a suffix?

A prefix is added to the beginning of a root word to change its meaning (un-, re-, dis-); a suffix is added to the end (-ness, -able, -tion).

What is the function of context clues in reading comprehension?

Context clues are surrounding words or sentences that help a reader infer the meaning of an unknown word or phrase.

In reading comprehension, what is the difference between the main idea and a supporting detail?

The main idea is the central point the passage conveys; supporting details are facts, examples, or reasons that explain or back up the main idea.

What is an inference in reading comprehension?

A logical conclusion drawn from evidence in the text combined with reasoning, rather than something stated explicitly.

What is narrative sequencing?

Arranging events, sentences, or jumbled paragraphs in their correct logical or chronological order to form a coherent narrative.

Which textual signals help determine the correct sequence in para-jumble (sentence ordering) questions?

Time/transition words (first, then, finally), pronoun references, repeated/linking ideas, cause-effect connectors, and articles (a/an introduce, the refers back).

What is data interpretation?

The process of analysing data presented in tables, charts, or graphs to draw conclusions, make comparisons, and answer questions using calculation and reasoning.

What is a bar graph best used for?

Comparing discrete categories or values across groups, using rectangular bars whose lengths/heights are proportional to the values they represent.

What does a pie chart represent, and how is each sector's angle calculated?

A pie chart shows parts of a whole as proportional sectors. Each sector's angle $= \frac{\text{component value}}{\text{total}} \times 360^{\circ}$.

In a pie chart, what percentage of the total does a sector with a central angle of $90^{\circ}$ represent?

$\frac{90}{360} \times 100 = 25\%$.

What is a line graph best suited to display?

Trends or changes in data over a continuous variable such as time, by connecting data points with line segments.

How do you compute the percentage change between an old value and a new value?

$\text{Percentage change} = \frac{\text{New} - \text{Old}}{\text{Old}} \times 100\%$ (positive = increase, negative = decrease).

What is a histogram, and how does it differ from a bar graph?

A histogram displays the frequency distribution of continuous data using adjacent bars over intervals (no gaps); a bar graph compares discrete categories with separated bars.

What is a scatter plot used for?

Displaying the relationship (correlation) between two quantitative variables, with each point representing a paired observation $(x, y)$.

In a 2-dimensional Cartesian plot, what do the x-axis and y-axis typically represent?

The x-axis (horizontal) represents the independent variable, and the y-axis (vertical) represents the dependent variable; a point is located by its coordinates $(x, y)$.

What additional element does a 3-dimensional plot have compared with a 2D plot?

A third axis (the z-axis), so points are specified by three coordinates $(x, y, z)$, allowing representation of a third variable or spatial depth.

In a data table, what do rows and columns generally organise?

Rows and columns organise data into categories and attributes so values can be read at their intersection; one dimension typically lists items and the other lists their measured properties.

What is a map scale, and what does a scale of 1:50000 mean?

A map scale is the ratio of map distance to actual ground distance. A scale of 1:50000 means 1 unit on the map equals 50000 of the same units on the ground.

When reading a graph or map, why is the legend (key) important?

The legend explains what each colour, symbol, line style, or pattern represents, which is essential for correctly interpreting the data shown.