PPSC Assistant Director Test English Syllabus

English syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for English in PPSC Assistant Director Test, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Grammar

   4 topics

   • Parts of Speech
   • Sentence Structure
   • Correction of Sentences
   • Articles and Determiners
2. 2

   Vocabulary

   4 topics

   • Synonyms and Antonyms
   • One Word Substitutions
   • Idioms and Phrases
   • Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Phrases
3. 3

   Comprehension and Usage

   4 topics

   • Reading Comprehension Passages
   • Spotting Errors
   • Sentence Completion
   • Analogies
4. 4

   Spelling and Punctuation

   3 topics

   • Correct Spellings
   • Commonly Confused Words
   • Punctuation Rules

English flashcards for PPSC Assistant Director Test

23 of 50 cards from the English 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 function of a 'noun' and what are its main types?

   A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. Main types: common, proper, abstract, concrete, collective, countable, and uncountable.

3. Define a 'pronoun' and list its principal kinds.

   A pronoun replaces a noun. Kinds: personal, possessive, reflexive, demonstrative, interrogative, relative, indefinite, and reciprocal.

4. 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 take an object (He slept).

5. What is the difference 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).

6. What are the three degrees of comparison of adjectives, with an example?

   Positive, comparative, and superlative — e.g., good, better, best (or tall, taller, tallest).

7. What is a conjunction, and name the three main classes?

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

8. What are the seven coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS)?

   For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

9. What are the four essential grammatical components needed to form a complete sentence?

   A subject, a predicate (verb), expression of a complete thought, and (in writing) correct capitalization and end punctuation. The core is a subject and a finite verb.

10. Define a clause and distinguish independent from dependent (subordinate) clauses.

    A clause has a subject and a verb. An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone; a dependent (subordinate) clause cannot stand alone (e.g., 'when he arrived').

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

    A phrase is a group of related words lacking a subject-verb pair; a clause contains both a subject and a verb.

12. What are the four sentence structures classified by clause composition?

    Simple (one independent clause), Compound (two or more independent clauses), Complex (one independent + one or more dependent clauses), and Compound-Complex (two or more independent + at least one dependent clause).

13. What are the four sentence types classified by function/purpose?

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

14. State the basic subject-verb agreement rule.

    A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb (He runs / They run).

15. When two singular subjects are joined by 'either...or' or 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with which subject?

    The verb agrees with the subject nearer to it (the proximity rule). E.g., 'Neither the boys nor the teacher was present.'

16. Identify and correct the error: 'Each of the students have submitted their work.'

    Error in subject-verb agreement: 'Each' is singular. Correct: 'Each of the students has submitted his/her work.'

17. Correct the sentence: 'He is one of the boys who has passed.'

    'who' refers to 'boys' (plural), so the verb should be plural: 'He is one of the boys who have passed.'

18. What is a dangling modifier? Give a corrected example.

    A modifier with no clear word to modify. Wrong: 'Walking to school, the rain started.' Correct: 'While I was walking to school, the rain started.'

19. Correct: 'The scenery of the hills are beautiful.'

    Subject 'scenery' is singular: 'The scenery of the hills is beautiful.'

20. What are the three articles in English and their classification?

    'A' and 'an' are indefinite articles; 'the' is the definite article.

21. When is 'a' used versus 'an'?

    Use 'a' before a consonant sound (a book, a university, a one-rupee coin) and 'an' before a vowel sound (an apple, an hour, an MBA).

22. What are determiners, and give the main categories?

    Determiners introduce nouns and clarify reference. Categories: articles (a, an, the), demonstratives (this, that), possessives (my, your), quantifiers (some, many, few), and numbers.

23. Distinguish 'few', 'a few', and 'the few'.

    'Few' = hardly any (negative); 'a few' = some (positive); 'the few' = the small number that exists.

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