INC CET / BSc Nursing Entrance General English and Comprehension Syllabus

What is the difference between 'fewer' and 'less'?

'Fewer' is used with countable nouns (fewer books), while 'less' is used with uncountable nouns (less water).

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 word 'benevolent' mean?

Benevolent means kind, generous, and wishing to do good to others.

What does the word 'meticulous' mean?

Meticulous means showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.

Give the meaning of the word 'ephemeral'.

Ephemeral means lasting for a very short time; short-lived or transient.

What is the meaning of 'candid'?

Candid means truthful, frank, and straightforward; expressing opinions openly and honestly.

What is an idiom?

An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal meanings of its individual words (e.g., 'kick the bucket' means 'to die').

What does the idiom 'a piece of cake' mean?

It means something that is very easy to do.

What does the idiom 'to let the cat out of the bag' mean?

It means to reveal a secret, usually by accident.

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

It means very rarely; something that happens only on rare occasions.

What does the idiom 'to bury the hatchet' mean?

It means to make peace; to end a quarrel or conflict and become friendly again.

What does the idiom 'to burn the midnight oil' mean?

It means to work or study late into the night.

What is word formation, and what are its three main processes?

Word formation is the process of creating new words. Three main processes: affixation (adding prefixes/suffixes), compounding (joining words), and conversion (changing a word's part of speech).

What is the difference between a prefix and a suffix?

A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning (e.g., 'un-' in unhappy), while a suffix is added to the end to change meaning or word class (e.g., '-ness' in happiness).

Form the noun from the verb 'decide' and the adjective 'happy'.

Noun of 'decide' = 'decision'; noun of 'happy' = 'happiness'.

What does the prefix 'mis-' mean? Give an example.

The prefix 'mis-' means wrongly or badly. Example: 'misunderstand' (to understand wrongly), 'misuse' (to use wrongly).

What suffix is commonly added to verbs to form nouns denoting the doer of an action? Give an example.

The suffix '-er' (or '-or'). Examples: teach → teacher, act → actor.

What is the antonym of the word 'expand', and what prefix is used?

The antonym is 'contract'. Using a prefix, 'compress' or 'condense' work; but with affixation, 'expand' contrasts with 'shrink'. For prefix-based opposite: 'inflate/deflate' (de- = remove/reverse).

What is reading comprehension?

Reading comprehension is the ability to read a passage, understand its meaning, and answer questions based on its content, main idea, inferences, and vocabulary.

What is the difference between the 'main idea' and a 'supporting detail' in a passage?

The main idea is the central point the author wants to convey, while supporting details are facts, examples, or reasons that explain or back up the main idea.

What is an 'inference' question in reading comprehension?

An inference question asks you to draw a logical conclusion that is implied but not directly stated in the passage, using clues and reasoning.

What is the recommended first step when answering reading comprehension questions?

Skim the passage to grasp the overall idea, then read each question carefully and scan the passage for the relevant information before choosing an answer.

What is sentence rearrangement (para jumbles)?

Sentence rearrangement is a task where jumbled sentences must be reordered to form a coherent, logically connected paragraph.

What clues help in solving sentence rearrangement questions?

Identify the opening sentence (introduces the topic), find pronoun and reference links, look for connecting words (however, therefore, then), follow chronological/logical order, and locate the concluding sentence.

In sentence rearrangement, why is the first/opening sentence important?

The opening sentence introduces the subject independently, without referring back to earlier ideas, so it usually contains a noun (not a pronoun) and sets the context for the rest.

What is a cloze test?

A cloze test is a passage with several blanks where you must choose the most appropriate word for each blank based on grammar, vocabulary, and the context/meaning of the passage.

What strategy is best for solving a cloze test?

Read the entire passage first to understand the theme, then fill each blank considering grammar (tense, part of speech), collocations, and logical context, ensuring the whole passage reads coherently.

In a cloze test, what should guide the choice between two grammatically correct options?

The context and meaning of the passage, along with collocation (which word naturally pairs with surrounding words), should decide the best fit.

What is a 'collocation', which is often tested in cloze tests?

A collocation is a pair or group of words that habitually go together and sound natural to native speakers, such as 'make a decision', 'heavy rain', or 'strong tea'.

What is the difference between active voice and passive voice?

In active voice, the subject performs the action ('The nurse gave the medicine'); in passive voice, the subject receives the action ('The medicine was given by the nurse').