SBI PO English Language Syllabus

In error spotting, why is 'I am having a car' incorrect?

'Have' showing possession is a stative verb and is not used in the continuous form. Correct: 'I have a car.'

Name the three main tenses and their three aspects each.

Tenses: past, present, future. Aspects each: simple, continuous (progressive), perfect, and perfect continuous.

When is the present perfect tense used?

For an action completed in the recent past with present relevance, or an action begun in the past and continuing (e.g., 'I have finished my work').

What is the rule for using the past perfect tense?

It shows the earlier of two past actions: 'had + past participle' (e.g., 'The train had left before I reached the station').

State the rule for using the articles 'a' vs 'an'.

Use 'a' before a consonant sound and 'an' before a vowel sound, based on pronunciation not spelling (e.g., 'an hour', 'a university').

When is the definite article 'the' used?

Before specific/unique nouns, superlatives, rivers, seas, mountain ranges, newspapers, and previously mentioned nouns (e.g., 'the sun', 'the Ganges', 'the best').

Give the correct preposition: 'He is good ___ mathematics.'

'at' — 'He is good at mathematics.'

Which prepositions follow 'differ' depending on meaning?

'differ from' (be unlike), 'differ with' (disagree with a person), 'differ on/about' (a matter).

What is the purpose of a sentence-improvement / phrase-replacement question?

To identify and replace a grammatically incorrect or awkward part of a sentence with the most correct and effective option (or 'No improvement' if already correct).

In sentence improvement, what is the correct form: 'Hardly had I reached the station ___ the train left'?

'when' — 'Hardly had I reached the station when the train left.' (Hardly...when; Scarcely...when; No sooner...than.)

Sentence improvement: correct 'I prefer tea than coffee.'

'I prefer tea to coffee.' ('Prefer' takes 'to', not 'than'.)

What are para jumbles (sentence rearrangement) questions?

Questions where jumbled sentences must be reordered into a logical, coherent paragraph based on the flow of ideas.

What are common clues for solving para jumbles?

Identify the opening sentence (independent idea/no pronoun reference), use connectors, pronoun-antecedent links, chronological/cause-effect order, and the concluding sentence.

In para jumbles, why can a sentence beginning with a pronoun usually not be the opening sentence?

A pronoun (he, it, this, they) needs an antecedent noun mentioned earlier, so its referent must appear in a preceding sentence.

What is the function of a sentence connector (linker) like 'however', 'therefore', 'moreover'?

Connectors join ideas and signal relationships: contrast (however), result (therefore), addition (moreover), giving the text coherence.

Classify these connectors by function: 'although', 'because', 'in addition', 'consequently'.

'although'=contrast/concession; 'because'=cause/reason; 'in addition'=addition; 'consequently'=result/effect.

In sentence-starter questions, what should the opening word/phrase do?

It must logically begin the idea, match the grammar of the rest of the sentence, and set the correct relationship (contrast, cause, time, etc.) without redundancy.

What is tested in paragraph completion / coherence questions?

Choosing the sentence that best completes a paragraph so it maintains the logical flow, tone, and theme—usually summarizing or concluding the idea.

What is 'coherence' in a paragraph?

Coherence is the logical, smooth connection of ideas so that sentences flow naturally and the paragraph reads as a unified whole.

What is a 'word swap' question in SBI PO English?

A sentence where two words are interchanged (swapped) incorrectly; the task is to identify the pair of words that must be swapped back to make the sentence meaningful.

What is a 'word usage' question?

A question testing whether a given word is used correctly/appropriately in context, often asking in how many sentences the word fits grammatically and contextually.

What is a single-filler (cloze/fill-in-the-blank) question?

A sentence with one blank to be filled with the most contextually and grammatically appropriate word from the options.

What is a double-filler question?

A sentence with two blanks; the correct option must fill both blanks so the sentence is grammatically and contextually correct.

In cloze tests, what factors determine the correct word for a blank?

Grammar (part of speech, tense, agreement), collocation, tone, and the logical meaning required by the surrounding context.

What is a collocation, and why does it matter in fillers?

A collocation is a natural word pairing (e.g., 'make a decision', 'heavy rain'). Filler answers must respect collocations to sound correct.

Distinguish 'effect' and 'affect' (common error/usage trap).

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is usually a noun meaning a result (e.g., 'The change affected sales; the effect was huge').

Distinguish 'principal' and 'principle'.

'Principal' means chief/head or main sum of money; 'principle' means a rule or fundamental truth.

What does the idiom 'a blessing in disguise' mean (useful in cloze/usage)?

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

In error spotting with comparatives, what is wrong with 'more better'?

It is a double comparative. Use either 'better' or 'more good-natured' etc.; never combine 'more' with a comparative form already ending in '-er'.

What is the correct verb agreement: 'The number of students ___ increasing' vs 'A number of students ___ present'?

'The number of students is increasing' (singular) and 'A number of students are present' (plural).

In banking RC passages, what does 'NPA (Non-Performing Asset)' mean?

An NPA is a loan or advance for which the borrower has stopped paying interest/principal for 90 days or more, becoming non-productive for the bank.