NDA Examination English (General Ability Test - Part A) Syllabus

English (General Ability Test - Part A) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for English (General Ability Test - Part A) in NDA Examination, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Grammar and Usage

   4 topics

   • Parts of Speech
     • Nouns, pronouns and articles
     • Verbs, adverbs and adjectives
     • Prepositions and conjunctions
   • Tenses and Verb Forms
     • Present, past and future tenses
     • Subject-verb agreement
   • Voice and Narration
     • Active and passive voice
     • Direct and indirect speech
   • Error Detection and Sentence Correction
     • Spotting grammatical errors
     • Sentence improvement
2. 2

   Vocabulary

   4 topics

   • Synonyms and Antonyms
     • Word meanings in context
   • Idioms and Phrases
     • Common idiomatic expressions
     • Phrasal verbs
   • One-Word Substitution
   • Spelling and Word Formation
     • Commonly misspelt words
     • Prefixes, suffixes and roots
3. 3

   Sentence Structure and Comprehension

   4 topics

   • Sentence Arrangement (Ordering of Words and Sentences)
     • Jumbled sentences
     • Parajumbles
   • Completion of Sentences (Fill in the Blanks)
     • Single and double blanks
   • Reading Comprehension
     • Main idea and inference
     • Vocabulary in passage context
   • Cloze Test
     • Contextual blank filling

English (General Ability Test - Part A) flashcards for NDA Examination

22 of 50 cards from the English (General Ability Test - Part A) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the eight traditional parts of speech in English?

   Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, and Interjection.

2. What is the difference between a common noun and a proper noun?

   A common noun names a general class of person/place/thing (e.g., city, boy) and is not capitalized; a proper noun names a specific one (e.g., Delhi, Rahul) and is always capitalized.

3. Define an abstract noun and give two examples.

   An abstract noun names a quality, state, idea, or feeling that cannot be perceived by the senses, e.g., honesty, freedom, happiness.

4. What is the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb?

   A transitive verb needs a direct object to complete its meaning (She wrote a letter); an intransitive verb does not take an object (He slept).

5. What is a gerund and how does it function in a sentence?

   A gerund is the '-ing' form of a verb used as a noun, e.g., 'Swimming is good exercise.'

6. Distinguish between an adjective and an adverb.

   An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun (a quick runner); an adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb (he runs quickly).

7. What is a conjunction, and name the three main coordinating types with examples?

   A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses. Coordinating (and, but, or), subordinating (because, although, if), and correlative (either...or, neither...nor).

8. Name the four main verb forms (principal parts) of an English verb using 'go'.

   Base form (go), past simple (went), past participle (gone), and present participle/-ing form (going).

9. What is the structure of the Present Perfect tense and when is it used?

   Subject + has/have + past participle (She has finished). Used for actions completed at an unspecified time or that continue up to the present.

10. What is the structure and use of the Past Continuous tense?

    Subject + was/were + verb-ing (They were playing). Used for an ongoing action in the past, often interrupted by another action.

11. Give the structure of the Future Perfect tense with an example.

    Subject + will have + past participle, e.g., 'By 2027 he will have completed his degree.' It shows an action that will be finished before a point in the future.

12. What is the difference between the Simple Present and the Present Continuous in terms of use?

    Simple Present states habits, general truths, and permanent facts (Water boils at 100C); Present Continuous shows actions happening now or temporary situations (She is studying).

13. Which tense is used in the structure 'had + past participle', and what does it express?

    The Past Perfect tense; it expresses an action completed before another past action (He had left before I arrived).

14. What is the basic rule for changing an active sentence to passive voice?

    The object of the active sentence becomes the subject, the verb changes to 'be + past participle' (matching the tense), and the original subject becomes the agent introduced by 'by'.

15. Convert to passive: 'The cat chased the mouse.'

    'The mouse was chased by the cat.'

16. How is the passive voice formed in the Present Perfect tense?

    Subject + has/have been + past participle, e.g., 'The work has been completed.'

17. In reported (indirect) speech, how do present-tense verbs in direct speech generally change?

    They shift one step back into the past: present simple becomes past simple, present continuous becomes past continuous, and present perfect becomes past perfect.

18. Change to indirect speech: He said, 'I am tired.'

    He said that he was tired.

19. How are time and place words like 'now', 'today', and 'here' changed in indirect speech?

    'now' becomes 'then', 'today' becomes 'that day', and 'here' becomes 'there'.

20. How is a direct question reported in indirect speech?

    Use a reporting verb like 'asked', remove the question mark, change word order to statement form, and use 'if/whether' for yes-no questions (He asked whether I was ready).

21. What is subject-verb agreement, and what is the rule for two subjects joined by 'and'?

    The verb must agree with its subject in number and person; two singular subjects joined by 'and' usually take a plural verb (Ram and Shyam are here).

22. With subjects joined by 'either...or' or 'neither...nor', which subject does the verb agree with?

    The verb agrees with the subject nearer to it (Neither the teacher nor the students were present).

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