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NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam English (GAT Paper II, Part A) Syllabus

The English (GAT Paper II, Part A) syllabus for NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam in full: 3 chapters, 12 topics and 23 sub-topics, every one listed below, plus 50 English (GAT Paper II, Part A) flashcards with answers.

3Chapters
12Topics
23Sub-topics
50Flashcards

English (GAT Paper II, Part A) syllabus: all 3 chapters

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

  1. Grammar and Usage

     5 topics
    • Parts of Speech
      • Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs
      • Verbs, prepositions, conjunctions
    • Tenses and Verb Forms
      • Present, past and future tenses
      • Subject-verb agreement
    • Articles, Determiners and Modals
      • Use of a, an, the
      • Modal auxiliaries and their functions
    • Voice and Narration
      • Active and passive voice transformation
      • Direct and indirect speech
    • Sentence Structure and Error Detection
      • Spotting grammatical errors
      • Sentence improvement

  2. Vocabulary

     4 topics
    • Synonyms and Antonyms
      • Word meanings in context
      • Choosing the closest opposite
    • Idioms and Phrases
      • Common English idioms
      • Phrasal verbs
    • One Word Substitution
      • Replacing phrases with a single word
    • Spellings and Word Formation
      • Commonly misspelt words
      • Prefixes, suffixes and root words

  3. Comprehension and Cohesion

     3 topics
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Identifying main idea and inference
      • Vocabulary in context
    • Ordering of Words and Sentences
      • Jumbled sentences rearrangement
      • Sequencing of words in a sentence
    • Sentence Completion and Cloze
      • Filling in the blanks contextually
      • Cloze test passages

NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam English (GAT Paper II, 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, or thing (boy, city); a proper noun names a specific one and is capitalized (Rahul, Delhi).

  3. What is an abstract noun? Give an example.

    A noun that names an idea, quality, or state that cannot be perceived by the senses, e.g., honesty, freedom, happiness.

  4. What is a collective noun? Give two examples.

    A noun naming a group of individuals as a single unit, e.g., team, herd, jury, flock.

  5. What are the four main types of pronouns with an example each?

    Personal (he, they), Possessive (mine, theirs), Reflexive (myself, themselves), and Relative (who, which, that).

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

    A transitive verb takes a direct object (She wrote a letter); an intransitive verb does not need an object (He slept).

  7. What is the function of an adverb, and what does it typically modify?

    An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, telling how, when, where, or to what degree (e.g., quickly, very, here).

  8. What is a conjunction? Name the three types.

    A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses. Types: Coordinating (and, but, or), Subordinating (because, although, if), and Correlative (either…or, neither…nor).

  9. List the three degrees of comparison of adjectives with the example 'good'.

    Positive (good), Comparative (better), and Superlative (best).

  10. What is the formula for the Simple Present tense, and when is it used?

    Subject + V1 (+s/es for third person singular). Used for habitual actions, general truths, and fixed facts (e.g., The sun rises in the east).

  11. What is the structure of the Present Continuous tense?

    Subject + is/am/are + verb-ing. Used for actions happening now or around the present time (e.g., She is reading).

  12. What is the structure of the Present Perfect tense and its typical use?

    Subject + has/have + V3 (past participle). Used for actions completed recently or with present relevance (e.g., I have finished my work).

  13. What is the structure of the Past Perfect tense and when is it used?

    Subject + had + V3. Used for an action completed before another past action (e.g., The train had left before we arrived).

  14. What is the structure of the Future Perfect tense?

    Subject + will have + V3. Used for an action that will be completed before a specified future time (e.g., By 2030 I will have graduated).

  15. Give the three forms (V1, V2, V3) of the verb 'go'.

    go – went – gone.

  16. Give the three forms (V1, V2, V3) of the verb 'begin'.

    begin – began – begun.

  17. When are the articles 'a' and 'an' used?

    'A' before words beginning with a consonant sound (a book, a university); 'an' before words beginning with a vowel sound (an apple, an hour).

  18. When is the definite article 'the' used?

    Before specific or previously mentioned nouns, unique objects (the sun), superlatives (the best), rivers, oceans, and groups (the rich).

  19. What is a determiner? Give three categories with examples.

    A word placed before a noun to specify it: Articles (a, the), Demonstratives (this, those), and Quantifiers (some, many, few).

  20. What are modal verbs? List five common ones.

    Auxiliary verbs that express ability, permission, possibility, or obligation: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.

Show the other 30 English (GAT Paper II, Part A) flashcards

  1. What is the difference in usage between 'can' and 'may'?

    'Can' chiefly expresses ability; 'may' expresses permission or possibility (e.g., I can swim; May I come in?).

  2. What modal expresses strong obligation or necessity, and what expresses advice?

    'Must' expresses strong obligation/necessity; 'should' (or 'ought to') expresses advice or recommendation.

  3. How do you change an active sentence to passive voice?

    The object becomes the subject, the verb changes to be + past participle (V3), and the original subject becomes the agent with 'by' (often omitted).

  4. Convert to passive: 'They built the house.'

    The house was built (by them).

  5. Convert to passive: 'She is writing a letter.'

    A letter is being written by her.

  6. In reported (indirect) speech, how does the present simple in direct speech usually change?

    It shifts back to the past simple (e.g., He said, 'I work' → He said that he worked).

  7. In indirect speech, how do 'now', 'today', and 'here' typically change?

    'now' → then; 'today' → that day; 'here' → there.

  8. How is an imperative sentence reported in indirect speech?

    Using a reporting verb like told/ordered/requested + object + to-infinitive (e.g., He said, 'Sit down' → He told me to sit down).

  9. How is a yes/no question reported in indirect speech?

    Use 'asked/enquired if/whether', change the word order to statement form, and remove the question mark (e.g., He asked if I was ready).

  10. What is subject-verb agreement?

    The rule that 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.

  11. With 'either…or' or 'neither…nor', the verb agrees with which subject?

    With the subject nearer to the verb (e.g., Neither the boys nor the teacher was present).

  12. What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

    A phrase is a group of words without a subject-verb pair; a clause contains both a subject and a verb.

  13. What are the four types of sentences by function?

    Declarative (statement), Interrogative (question), Imperative (command/request), and Exclamatory (strong feeling).

  14. What is the difference between a simple, compound, and complex sentence?

    Simple = one independent clause; Compound = two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinator; Complex = one independent clause + at least one dependent clause.

  15. What is a common error with the word 'each'? Illustrate correct usage.

    'Each' is singular and takes a singular verb/pronoun (e.g., Each of the students has a book — not 'have').

  16. Give a synonym and an antonym for 'benevolent'.

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

  17. Give a synonym and an antonym for 'abundant'.

    Synonym: plentiful; Antonym: scarce.

  18. Give a synonym and an antonym for 'candid'.

    Synonym: frank/honest; Antonym: deceitful/evasive.

  19. What does the idiom 'to bite the bullet' mean?

    To face a difficult or unpleasant situation bravely and decisively.

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

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

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

    To reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake.

  22. What is the one-word substitution for 'a person who knows many languages'?

    Polyglot.

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

    Democracy.

  24. What is the one-word substitution for 'one who eats everything (both plant and animal food)'?

    Omnivore.

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

    Aviary.

  26. What is the correct spelling: 'occassion', 'ocassion', or 'occasion'?

    Occasion (one 'c'-pair as 'cc', single 's').

  27. What suffix is commonly added to verbs to form abstract nouns, as in 'govern → government'?

    The suffix '-ment'.

  28. In reading comprehension, what does it mean to infer the meaning of a passage?

    To draw a logical conclusion based on evidence and reasoning rather than from information stated explicitly.

  29. In sentence ordering (para-jumbles), what is usually the best strategy to find the opening sentence?

    Identify the sentence that introduces the topic independently, contains no pronoun referring to earlier text, and sets the context for the rest.

  30. In a cloze test or sentence completion, what should guide the choice of the missing word?

    The grammatical fit, the context/tone of the sentence, and logical coherence with surrounding words (collocation and meaning).

NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam English (GAT Paper II, Part A) FAQ

What is in the NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam English (GAT Paper II, Part A) syllabus?

NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam English (GAT Paper II, Part A) is split into 3 chapters: Grammar and Usage, Vocabulary and Comprehension and Cohesion. Together they contain 12 topics and 23 sub-topics.

How many chapters are in NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam English (GAT Paper II, Part A)?

3 chapters, containing 12 topics and 23 sub-topics. The largest chapter is Grammar and Usage, with 5 topics.

Are there flashcards for NDA (National Defence Academy) Exam English (GAT Paper II, Part A)?

Yes — a 50-card English (GAT Paper II, 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.