GATE Physics 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 Physics, 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 Physics

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

1. What are the four basic sentence functions in English grammar, classified by purpose?

   Declarative (statement), Interrogative (question), Imperative (command/request), and Exclamatory (strong emotion).

2. What are the four main verb tense aspects in English, and what does each express?

   Simple (habitual/general fact), Progressive/Continuous (ongoing action), Perfect (completed action with relevance), and Perfect Continuous (ongoing action up to a point).

3. In the present perfect tense, which auxiliary verb is used and with what verb form?

   Has/have + the past participle (e.g., "She has finished the report").

4. How is the future perfect tense formed, and what does it express?

   Will have + past participle; it expresses an action that will be completed before a specified future time (e.g., "By 2030 they will have built the bridge").

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

   Simple past refers to a finished action at a specific past time ("I saw him yesterday"); present perfect links a past action to the present without a specific 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.

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

   Use "a" before a consonant sound and "an" before a vowel sound (based on pronunciation, not spelling, e.g., "an hour," "a university").

8. When is the definite article "the" required rather than an indefinite article?

   When referring to a specific or previously mentioned noun, unique things (the sun), superlatives (the best), and ordinals (the first).

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

   A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun, giving information about quality, quantity, or identity (e.g., "a red car").

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

    Positive (tall), Comparative (taller / more beautiful), and Superlative (tallest / most beautiful).

11. What is the standard order of cumulative adjectives before a noun?

    Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose (e.g., "a lovely small old round brown French wooden dining table").

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

    A word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship (of time, place, direction, or manner) to another word (e.g., "on," "under," "by").

13. Distinguish the prepositions "in," "on," and "at" as used for time.

    "In" for long periods (in May, in 2020), "on" for days/dates (on Monday), and "at" for precise times (at 5 o'clock).

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

    A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses. Types: Coordinating (FANBOYS), Subordinating (because, although), and Correlative (either...or).

15. What are the seven coordinating conjunctions, summarized by the mnemonic FANBOYS?

    For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

16. What is subject-verb agreement, and what is its core rule?

    The verb must match 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").

17. When two singular subjects are joined by "or" or "nor," does the verb agree as singular or plural?

    Singular (e.g., "Neither the teacher nor the student was present"); with "or/nor" the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

18. In subject-verb agreement, what verb form do collective nouns like "team" or "committee" usually take?

    Usually a singular verb when acting as one unit ("The team wins"), but a plural verb when members act individually.

19. What is an adverb, and what kinds of words can it modify?

    A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, often expressing manner, time, place, or degree (e.g., "quickly," "very").

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

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

21. What is an interjection? Give an example.

    A word or phrase expressing sudden emotion, grammatically independent of the sentence (e.g., "Wow!", "Ouch!", "Alas!").

22. Distinguish a common noun from a proper noun.

    A common noun names a general class (city, river); a proper noun names a specific entity and is capitalized (Delhi, Ganges).

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