RBI Grade B Officer English Language and Writing Skills Syllabus

What is a common preposition error: 'married to' or 'married with'?

The correct form is 'married to' (e.g., 'She is married to a doctor'). 'Married with' is incorrect for the relationship sense.

In error detection, what is the rule for 'one of the' + noun + verb?

'One of the' takes a plural noun but a singular verb (e.g., 'One of the boys is absent'), because the subject is 'one'.

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

'Its' is the possessive form (the dog wagged its tail); 'it's' is the contraction of 'it is' or 'it has' (it's raining).

In Sentence Improvement, what is a 'dangling modifier' and how is it corrected?

A dangling modifier is a descriptive phrase that has no clear subject to modify (e.g., 'Walking home, the rain started'). Correct it by giving the modifier a clear logical subject: 'Walking home, I was caught in the rain.'

What is parallelism (parallel structure) in sentence improvement?

Parallelism means using the same grammatical form for items in a series (e.g., 'She likes reading, writing, and painting' — all gerunds), not mixing forms like 'reading, to write, and paints'.

In Sentence Rearrangement (Para-jumbles), what is typically the first step?

Identify the opening sentence — the one that introduces the topic independently without referring back to earlier ideas (no pronouns or connectors pointing to prior context).

In para-jumbles, what role do connectors/transition words like 'however', 'therefore', 'moreover' play?

They are linking clues: such words usually cannot start the paragraph and indicate a logical relationship (contrast, cause, addition) to the preceding sentence, helping fix the order.

In para-jumbles, how do pronouns help determine sentence order?

A pronoun (he, she, it, they, this) must come AFTER the sentence that introduces the noun it refers to, so the noun-introducing sentence precedes the pronoun sentence.

What are the eight parts of speech in English?

Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

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

An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, usually indicating how, when, where, or to what degree (e.g., 'He ran quickly').

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

A transitive verb requires a direct object (e.g., 'She wrote a letter'); an intransitive verb does not take a direct object (e.g., 'He slept').

What is a gerund, and how does it differ from a present participle?

A gerund is an '-ing' verb form used as a noun (e.g., 'Swimming is fun'); a present participle is the '-ing' form used as an adjective or in continuous tenses (e.g., 'the swimming pool', 'She is swimming').

What is the difference between a coordinating and a subordinating conjunction?

A coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so / FANBOYS) joins equal/independent clauses; a subordinating conjunction (because, although, since, if) joins a dependent clause to an independent one.

In syntax, what is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

A clause contains a subject and a finite verb (e.g., 'when he arrived'); a phrase is a group of words lacking a subject-verb combination (e.g., 'in the morning').

What is the standard word order of a simple English declarative sentence?

Subject + Verb + Object (SVO), e.g., 'She (S) reads (V) books (O).'

What is an essay's basic three-part structure?

Introduction (presents the topic and thesis), Body (develops arguments with evidence in paragraphs), and Conclusion (summarizes and gives a closing thought).

What is a 'thesis statement' in essay writing?

A thesis statement is a one- or two-sentence declaration in the introduction that states the essay's central argument or main point, guiding the entire essay.

What is a topic sentence in an essay's body paragraph?

A topic sentence is the first sentence of a body paragraph that states the main idea of that paragraph, which the rest of the paragraph supports.

Name four common types of essays tested in descriptive exams.

Argumentative/persuasive, descriptive, expository (explanatory), and narrative essays. (Analytical and discursive are also common.)

What is a Precis?

A precis is a concise, clear summary of a longer passage that captures all the essential ideas in the writer's own words, without examples, repetition, or personal opinion.

What is the standard length rule for writing a precis?

A precis should be about one-third (1/3) of the original passage's length.

Name three key rules for writing a good precis.

1) Write in your own words (no copying sentences); 2) Use the third person and reported/indirect speech; 3) Retain only essential ideas, omitting examples, illustrations, and repetition.

In which tense and voice is a precis generally written?

A precis is generally written in the past tense and often the passive voice, and always in the third person, regardless of the original passage's perspective.

Must a precis include a title?

Yes, a precis should be given a short, suitable title that reflects the central theme of the passage.

What is the key difference between a precis and a summary/paraphrase?

A precis strictly condenses to about one-third the length keeping only essentials in your own words; a paraphrase restates in your own words at roughly the same length, while a summary is a broader brief account without a fixed ratio.

What is a comprehension-based descriptive answer?

It is a written response (not multiple choice) to questions on a given passage, where you must explain or answer in your own words based on understanding of the text, often in full sentences.

In comprehension-based descriptive answers, why should you avoid copying sentences verbatim from the passage?

Because the aim is to test comprehension and expression; answers should be in your own words to demonstrate understanding, with marks deducted for direct lifting unless quotation is required.

What is the recommended approach to structure a descriptive comprehension answer?

Read the question carefully to identify exactly what is asked, locate the relevant part of the passage, then write a clear, complete, and relevant answer in your own words, keeping it concise and to the point.

In writing skills, what is the difference between active and passive voice?

In active voice the subject performs the action ('The manager approved the loan'); in passive voice the subject receives the action ('The loan was approved by the manager').

What is coherence versus cohesion in essay and descriptive writing?

Coherence is the logical flow and overall sense of ideas so the text is easy to follow; cohesion is the grammatical/lexical linking of sentences using connectors, pronouns, and reference words to tie them together.