Indian Army GD / Technical Recruitment General English (Technical and Clerk Posts) Syllabus

What is the general rule for changing Active to Passive Voice?

Object becomes the subject; use the appropriate form of 'be' + past participle of the main verb; the original subject becomes the agent with 'by'. The verb tense is retained.

How is the passive formed in the Present Simple and Past Simple?

Present Simple passive: is/am/are + past participle (The work is done). Past Simple passive: was/were + past participle (The work was done).

What is Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech?

Direct Speech quotes the exact words within quotation marks (He said, 'I am tired'). Indirect Speech reports the meaning without quotes (He said that he was tired).

What are the main changes when converting Direct to Indirect Speech?

Tense usually shifts back (back-shift), pronouns change to match the reporter, and words of time/place change (now to then, here to there, today to that day).

How are questions reported in Indirect Speech?

Use 'asked' with no question mark; change to statement word order. Wh-questions keep the wh-word; Yes/No questions use 'if' or 'whether'. Example: He asked if I was ready.

How are commands and requests reported in Indirect Speech?

Use a reporting verb like told, ordered, requested, advised + object + to-infinitive. Example: He said, 'Sit down' becomes He told me to sit down.

In error detection, what error is in: 'He do not know the answer'?

Subject-verb agreement error. The third person singular subject 'He' requires 'does not', so it should be 'He does not know the answer'.

In error detection, what is wrong with 'One of my friend is a doctor'?

After 'one of', the noun must be plural: 'One of my friends is a doctor.' (The verb 'is' stays singular because the subject is 'One'.)

What is the error in 'I am living here since 2010'?

Wrong tense with 'since'. Use Present Perfect Continuous: 'I have been living here since 2010.'

What is the error in 'The news are very good'?

'News' is an uncountable singular noun, so it takes a singular verb: 'The news is very good.'

Give the antonyms of: benevolent, transparent, and frugal.

Benevolent - malevolent; Transparent - opaque; Frugal - extravagant.

Give synonyms for: abundant, candid, and diligent.

Abundant - plentiful; Candid - frank/honest; Diligent - hardworking/industrious.

What are the antonyms of: optimist, accept, and ascend?

Optimist - pessimist; Accept - reject; Ascend - descend.

Give synonyms for: brave, enormous, and rapid.

Brave - courageous; Enormous - huge/immense; Rapid - swift/fast.

What is the one-word substitution for 'a person who eats too much'?

Glutton. (Related: Gourmand - a lover of good food; Gourmet - a connoisseur of fine food.)

What is the one-word substitution for 'a government by the people'?

Democracy. (Compare: Autocracy - rule by one; Aristocracy - rule by nobility; Plutocracy - rule by the wealthy.)

What is the one-word substitution for 'one who cannot read or write' and 'one who knows many languages'?

Illiterate (cannot read or write); Polyglot/Linguist (knows many languages).

What is the one-word substitution for 'a place where birds are kept' and 'where animals are kept'?

Aviary (birds); Zoo/Menagerie (animals); Apiary (bees); Aquarium (fish).

What does the idiom 'to call it a day' mean?

To stop working or end an activity for the day; to consider work finished for now.

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

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

What does the idiom 'to bite the dust' mean?

To fail, die, or be defeated; to come to an end.

What is the correct spelling: 'accomodate' or 'accommodate'? State the rule.

'Accommodate' is correct - it has double 'c' and double 'm'. Many common misspellings drop a letter.

Choose the correctly spelled word: occured / occurred / ocurred.

'Occurred' is correct. When adding -ed to 'occur', the final 'r' is doubled (stress on the last syllable).

What is the difference in usage between 'stationary' and 'stationery'?

'Stationary' (with 'a') means not moving/fixed. 'Stationery' (with 'e') means writing materials like paper and pens.

What is the difference between 'principal' and 'principle'?

'Principal' means head of a school or main/chief. 'Principle' means a rule, law, or fundamental truth.

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

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence (Rain affects crops). 'Effect' is usually a noun meaning result (The effect was clear).

What is the key strategy for answering Reading Comprehension questions?

Read the passage to grasp the main idea, then read the questions and locate specific answers in the text; rely on what the passage states, not outside knowledge.

In Reading Comprehension, what is meant by 'inference' questions?

Inference questions ask for conclusions that are not directly stated but logically implied by the passage; the answer must be supported by clues in the text.

What is a Cloze Test and how is it best approached?

A Cloze Test is a passage with blanks to be filled with suitable words. Approach: read the whole passage for context, then choose words that fit grammar, meaning, and collocation.

What is sentence formation/parts-jumble, and what should be identified first?

Rearranging jumbled parts (P, Q, R, S) into a coherent sentence. First identify the opening part (often the subject) and the logical sequence using connectors, pronoun references, and articles.