IIFT Entrance Exam Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Syllabus

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension in IIFT Entrance Exam, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Reading Comprehension

   5 topics

   • Comprehension of Long Passages
     • Main idea and central theme
     • Tone, attitude and author's purpose
   • Inference and Implied Meaning
   • Vocabulary in Context
   • Passage Types
     • Abstract and philosophical passages
     • Business, economics and science passages
   • Fact, Inference and Judgement
2. 2

   Vocabulary

   6 topics

   • Synonyms and Antonyms
   • Idioms and Phrases
     • Common idiomatic expressions
     • Phrasal verbs
   • One Word Substitution
   • Foreign Words and Phrases
   • Analogies and Word Relationships
   • Spelling and Commonly Confused Words
3. 3

   Grammar and Usage

   6 topics

   • Parts of Speech and Sentence Structure
   • Subject-Verb Agreement
   • Tenses and Sequence of Tenses
   • Articles, Prepositions and Conjunctions
   • Error Spotting and Sentence Correction
     • Grammatical error identification
     • Sentence improvement
   • Modifiers, Parallelism and Redundancy
4. 4

   Verbal Reasoning

   5 topics

   • Para Jumbles and Sentence Rearrangement
   • Paragraph Completion and Summary
   • Sentence Insertion and Out-of-context Sentence
   • Fill in the Blanks
     • Single and double blanks
     • Cloze test
   • Critical Reasoning in Verbal Context

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension flashcards for IIFT Entrance Exam

24 of 50 cards from the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In an RC passage, what is the difference between the 'main idea' and the 'central theme'?

   The main idea is the single most important point the author makes (often statable in one sentence); the central theme is the broader underlying subject or message that runs through the whole passage and ties the ideas together.

2. When answering an 'inference' question in reading comprehension, what must the correct answer always be?

   It must be logically derivable from the passage (implied, not stated), supported by the text, and not contradict it. It should not require outside knowledge or extreme/over-broad assumptions.

3. What is the key technique for determining the meaning of a 'vocabulary in context' word in an RC passage?

   Read the surrounding sentences for contextual clues (definition, contrast, examples, tone) and choose the meaning that fits the sentence, even if it is not the word's most common dictionary meaning.

4. Name four common RC passage types tested in IIFT and a defining feature of each.

   Narrative (tells a story/sequence of events), Descriptive (paints a detailed picture), Expository/Factual (explains or informs), and Argumentative/Persuasive (presents a thesis and supports it to convince the reader).

5. In the Fact-Inference-Judgement (FIJ) classification, define a 'Fact'.

   A Fact is a statement that can be objectively verified or is presented as an established, observable truth (something known to have happened or to be the case).

6. In FIJ classification, define an 'Inference'.

   An Inference is a conclusion drawn from one or more facts/premises; it is not directly observed but logically deduced from given information.

7. In FIJ classification, define a 'Judgement'.

   A Judgement is an opinion, evaluation, or approval/disapproval that expresses a subjective stance, intention, or value-laden view rather than a verifiable fact.

8. 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 word (e.g., happy/joyful); an antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (e.g., happy/sad).

9. Define an idiom and give an example with its meaning.

   An idiom is a fixed phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of its words. Example: 'bite the bullet' means to endure a painful or unpleasant situation bravely.

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

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

11. What is 'one word substitution'? Give the single word for 'a person who knows many languages'.

    One word substitution replaces a phrase or definition with a single precise word. A person who knows many languages is a 'polyglot' (a person who speaks many languages); 'one who speaks two languages' is 'bilingual'.

12. Give the one-word substitution for 'a government run by the wealthy' and 'a government run by a single person with absolute power'.

    Government run by the wealthy = Plutocracy; government run by a single person with absolute power = Autocracy (or Dictatorship).

13. What does the foreign phrase 'bona fide' mean and from which language does it come?

    'Bona fide' is Latin for 'in good faith'; it means genuine, real, or sincere (without intention to deceive).

14. What does the foreign phrase 'status quo' mean?

    Latin for 'the existing state of affairs' — the current situation as it is, especially regarding social or political conditions.

15. What does the French phrase 'fait accompli' mean?

    A thing that has already been done or decided and is therefore no longer open to change or argument; an accomplished, irreversible fact.

16. In analogy questions, what is the first step to solving 'A : B :: C : ?'?

    Identify the precise relationship between A and B (e.g., cause-effect, part-whole, synonym, degree), then apply the exact same relationship to C to find the matching fourth term.

17. Name three common relationship types used in word analogies.

    Part-to-whole (petal:flower), cause-and-effect (germ:disease), and synonym/antonym (huge:enormous / brave:cowardly). Others include worker-tool, object-function, and degree of intensity.

18. Distinguish the commonly confused words 'affect' and 'effect'.

    'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence (The weather affects my mood); 'effect' is usually a noun meaning result (The effect was dramatic). 'Effect' can rarely be a verb meaning to bring about.

19. Distinguish 'principal' from 'principle'.

    'Principal' means main/most important, or the head of a school, or a sum of money. 'Principle' is a noun meaning a fundamental rule, law, or belief.

20. What are the eight parts of speech in English?

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

21. What is the basic structure (essential elements) of a simple English sentence?

    A subject (who/what the sentence is about) and a predicate containing a finite verb; a complete sentence must express a complete thought. Optionally it has objects and complements.

22. State the basic rule of subject-verb agreement.

    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 (He writes / They write).

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

    Subjects joined by 'and' usually take a plural verb. With 'or/nor', the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it (e.g., 'Neither the boys nor the girl is here').

24. Do indefinite pronouns like 'each', 'everyone', 'neither', 'someone' take singular or plural verbs?

    They take singular verbs (Everyone is present; Each of the students has a book).

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