NMAT Language Skills Syllabus

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

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is usually a noun meaning the result or outcome.

Distinguish 'principal' from 'principle'.

'Principal' means main/chief or the head of a school (or a sum of money); 'principle' is a fundamental rule, truth, or belief.

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

'Stationary' means not moving; 'stationery' refers to writing materials such as paper and pens.

Differentiate 'complement' and 'compliment'.

'Complement' means to complete or go well with something; 'compliment' means an expression of praise.

What is the difference between 'its' and 'it's'?

'Its' is the possessive form of 'it'; "it's" is the contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'.

What is a verbal analogy question testing?

The ability to identify the relationship between a pair of words and find another pair sharing the same relationship.

In the analogy 'Doctor : Hospital :: Teacher : ?', what is the relationship and the answer?

Worker-to-workplace relationship; the answer is 'School'.

Name four common relationship types used in word analogies.

Synonym/antonym, part-to-whole, cause-and-effect, worker-and-tool, category-and-example, and degree/intensity.

In the analogy 'Hungry : Eat :: Tired : ?', what relationship applies and what is the answer?

Cause-and-effect (need-and-action); the answer is 'Sleep' (or 'Rest').

What are the main categories of errors tested in Error Identification questions?

Subject-verb agreement, tense, pronoun, preposition, article, modifier, parallelism, and word-order/idiom errors.

State the subject-verb agreement rule for 'Each', 'Every', and 'Either/Neither' as subjects.

They take a singular verb (e.g., 'Each of the students is present'; 'Neither of them was late').

In 'One of the boys are playing,' identify and correct the error.

Subject-verb agreement error: the subject is 'One' (singular), so it should be 'One of the boys is playing'.

What is the parallelism rule in sentence correction?

Items in a list or coordinated structure must be in the same grammatical form (e.g., 'reading, writing, and speaking', not 'reading, writing, and to speak').

What is a misplaced modifier, and how is it corrected?

A modifier placed so it appears to describe the wrong word; correct it by placing the modifier next to the word it actually describes.

What is the general goal of a Sentence Correction question?

To choose the version of the underlined part that is grammatically correct, concise, unambiguous, and idiomatic, preferring the original if it is already correct.

State the correct usage rule for 'fewer' versus 'less'.

Use 'fewer' for countable nouns (fewer books) and 'less' for uncountable nouns or quantities (less water).

What is the correct conditional structure for an unreal/hypothetical present situation (second conditional)?

If + past simple, ... would + base verb (e.g., 'If I were rich, I would travel the world').

What is the key strategy for solving Fill in the Blanks questions?

Read the full sentence to understand context, tone, and grammatical fit, then test each option for meaning, collocation, and part of speech.

In a single-blank vocabulary fill, what clue types help identify the answer?

Contrast words (but, however, although), cause-effect words (because, therefore), and supporting/continuation words (and, moreover) signal whether the blank is positive or negative.

What is a Cloze Test?

A passage with multiple blanks where each blank must be filled with the most appropriate word from the options, maintaining grammatical correctness and contextual coherence across the whole passage.

What is the best approach to a Cloze Test passage?

Read the entire passage first for overall sense, then fill blanks using context, grammar, collocation, and logical flow, ensuring each choice fits both the sentence and the passage as a whole.

What are Para Jumbles questions?

Questions where a set of jumbled sentences must be rearranged into a coherent, logically ordered paragraph.

Name three techniques to solve Para Jumbles.

Identify the opening sentence (introduces the topic, no pronoun reference), find mandatory pairs (linked by pronouns, connectors, or examples), and use transition words and chronology to order the rest.

In Para Jumbles, what usually signals that a sentence cannot be the opening sentence?

It begins with a pronoun, demonstrative ('this/that/these'), or connector ('however/therefore/also') that refers back to earlier information.

What does a Sentence Completion question require?

Completing a sentence by selecting the word(s) or clause that best fits the grammar, logic, and meaning of the sentence.

In Sentence Completion, what role do logical connectors play?

They indicate the relationship between sentence parts—contrast, addition, cause, or result—and guide which option keeps the sentence logically consistent.

What is a Paragraph Summary (Para Summary) question?

A question where you read a paragraph and select the option that best captures its essential meaning concisely and completely, without distortion.

What are common wrong-answer traps in Paragraph Summary questions?

Options that are too narrow (cover only one detail), too broad/generalized, introduce new information, or distort the author's intended meaning.

What is the key skill being tested across the NMAT Language Skills section overall?

Reading comprehension and grammar/vocabulary proficiency—understanding written English, identifying meaning and relationships between words, and applying correct grammar and usage under time pressure.

What is the difference between a denotative and a connotative meaning of a word, important for vocabulary questions?

Denotation is a word's literal dictionary meaning; connotation is the emotional or cultural association it carries (e.g., 'cheap' and 'inexpensive' denote low cost but differ in connotation).