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

The English (General Ability Test - Part A) syllabus for NDA Examination in full: 3 chapters, 12 topics and 20 sub-topics, every one listed below, plus 50 English (General Ability Test - Part A) flashcards with answers.

3Chapters
12Topics
20Sub-topics
50Flashcards

English (General Ability Test - Part A) syllabus: all 3 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

  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. 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. 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

NDA Examination English (General Ability Test - Part A) flashcards — 50 questions with 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).

Show the other 30 English (General Ability Test - Part A) flashcards

  1. 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).

  2. 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).

  3. Correct the error: 'One of my friends are coming.'

    'One of my friends is coming' — the subject 'one' is singular, so the verb must be singular.

  4. What is the rule for using 'few', 'a few', 'little', and 'a little'?

    'Few/little' carry a negative sense (hardly any); 'a few/a little' carry a positive sense (some). 'Few/a few' are used with countable nouns; 'little/a little' with uncountable nouns.

  5. What is a dangling modifier and why is it an error?

    A dangling modifier is a descriptive phrase that does not clearly attach to the word it is meant to modify, creating confusion (Walking to school, the rain started) — the rain was not walking.

  6. Define synonym and antonym.

    A synonym is a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another (big/large); an antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (hot/cold).

  7. Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'benevolent'.

    Synonym: kind/generous; Antonym: cruel/malevolent.

  8. Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'transparent'.

    Synonym: clear; Antonym: opaque.

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

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

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

    To reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake.

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

    To work or study late into the night.

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

    Very rarely; almost never.

  13. What is the difference between an idiom and a phrase?

    A phrase is a group of words acting as a unit with a literal meaning; an idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal meanings of its words.

  14. What is the one-word substitution for 'a person who studies the stars and planets'?

    Astronomer.

  15. What is the one-word substitution for 'a government run by a king or queen'?

    Monarchy.

  16. What is the one-word substitution for 'one who eats everything (both plants and meat)'?

    Omnivore.

  17. What is the one-word substitution for 'a speech made to oneself'?

    Soliloquy.

  18. What is the one-word substitution for 'a person who can use both hands equally well'?

    Ambidextrous.

  19. What is the one-word substitution for 'words inscribed on a tomb'?

    Epitaph.

  20. Identify the correctly spelled word: 'occassion', 'occasion', 'ocasion', 'occasionn'.

    Occasion.

  21. Identify the correctly spelled word: 'definately', 'definitely', 'definitly', 'defenitely'.

    Definitely.

  22. What is the spelling rule commonly stated as 'i before e'?

    'I before E except after C' (believe, receive), though there are exceptions such as 'seize', 'weird', and 'foreign'.

  23. What is word formation by adding a prefix? Give an example.

    Adding a letter group before a root word to change its meaning, e.g., 'un-' + happy = unhappy; 'mis-' + lead = mislead.

  24. What is a suffix, and how does adding '-ness' change a word?

    A suffix is added to the end of a word; '-ness' turns an adjective into an abstract noun, e.g., kind becomes kindness.

  25. In sentence-ordering (parajumble) questions, what should you identify first to find the opening sentence?

    The independent sentence that introduces the topic and does not depend on a previous sentence — it usually has no pronouns referring back and no linking words like 'however' or 'therefore'.

  26. In parajumbles, what role do transition words like 'however', 'therefore', and 'moreover' play?

    They act as clues linking sentences logically, signaling contrast, conclusion, or addition, helping determine the correct sequence.

  27. In a fill-in-the-blank (sentence completion) question, what is the key strategy for choosing the correct word?

    Read for context and grammar; identify whether the blank needs a noun, verb, adjective, etc., and pick the word that fits both the meaning and the grammatical structure.

  28. What is the main purpose of a Reading Comprehension passage in an exam?

    To test the ability to understand, interpret, and draw inferences from a written text and to answer questions on its main idea, details, vocabulary, and tone.

  29. In Reading Comprehension, what is the difference between a 'fact-based' and an 'inference-based' question?

    A fact-based question's answer is stated directly in the passage; an inference-based question requires reasoning beyond what is explicitly written to reach a logical conclusion.

  30. What is a Cloze Test and what skill does it assess?

    A Cloze Test is a passage with several blanks to be filled from given options; it assesses vocabulary, grammar, and the ability to understand context and coherence across a connected text.

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

What is in the NDA Examination English (General Ability Test - Part A) syllabus?

NDA Examination English (General Ability Test - Part A) is split into 3 chapters: Grammar and Usage, Vocabulary and Sentence Structure and Comprehension. Together they contain 12 topics and 20 sub-topics.

How many chapters are in NDA Examination English (General Ability Test - Part A)?

3 chapters, containing 12 topics and 20 sub-topics. The largest chapter is Grammar and Usage, with 4 topics.

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

Yes — a 50-card English (General Ability Test - Part A) deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.