SRMJEEE English Syllabus

What is an idiom?

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of its individual words. Example: 'kick the bucket' means to die.

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

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

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

To force oneself to endure a painful or unpleasant situation that is unavoidable.

What does the idiom 'once in a blue moon' mean?

Very rarely; almost never.

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

To reveal a secret, usually by accident.

What does the idiom 'to beat around the bush' mean?

To avoid talking about the main point and instead speak indirectly.

What does the idiom 'to cost an arm and a leg' mean?

To be very expensive.

What is the basic rule of subject-verb agreement?

A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Example: 'He runs' vs 'They run'.

In subject-verb agreement, which verb follows two singular subjects joined by 'and'?

A plural verb. Example: 'Tom and Jerry are friends.' (Exception: when the two nouns refer to a single entity, e.g. 'Bread and butter is my breakfast.')

With subjects joined by 'either...or' / 'neither...nor', which subject decides the verb?

The verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. Example: 'Neither the teacher nor the students were present.'

What verb form do indefinite pronouns like 'each', 'everyone', 'nobody', 'someone' take?

They are singular and take a singular verb. Example: 'Everyone is here.'

Identify and correct the error: 'One of the students are absent.'

Error: 'are' should be 'is'. The subject is 'one' (singular), so: 'One of the students is absent.'

Identify and correct the error: 'The news are very disturbing.'

'News' is an uncountable singular noun, so: 'The news is very disturbing.'

What is the rule for using the article 'a' versus 'an'?

Use 'a' before a consonant sound and 'an' before a vowel sound — based on sound, not spelling. Example: 'a university' (yoo sound), 'an hour' (silent h).

When is the definite article 'the' used?

Before a specific or previously mentioned noun, unique things (the sun), superlatives (the best), rivers/seas/oceans, and ordinals (the first).

Name the three simple tenses and what each expresses.

Simple present (habitual/general truth: 'She writes'), simple past (completed action: 'She wrote'), simple future (action to come: 'She will write').

What is the present perfect tense used for, and how is it formed?

It links a past action to the present (recently completed or continuing relevance). Formed with 'has/have' + past participle. Example: 'I have finished my work.'

Identify the tense and correct it: 'She is knowing the answer.'

'Know' is a stative verb and is not used in the continuous form. Correct: 'She knows the answer.'

Identify and correct the error: 'He did not went to school yesterday.'

After the auxiliary 'did', use the base form. Correct: 'He did not go to school yesterday.'

Identify and correct the error: 'I have seen him yesterday.'

Present perfect is not used with a finished time marker like 'yesterday'. Use simple past: 'I saw him yesterday.'

Identify and correct the error: 'Each of the boys have a book.'

'Each' is singular: 'Each of the boys has a book.'

Identify and correct the error: 'The scenery of Kashmir are beautiful.'

'Scenery' is an uncountable singular noun: 'The scenery of Kashmir is beautiful.'

Identify and correct the error: 'He is junior than me.'

'Junior' takes the preposition 'to', not 'than': 'He is junior to me.'

Identify and correct the article error: 'He is honest man.'

Insert 'an' before the vowel-sounding 'honest': 'He is an honest man.'

What is sentence correction in grammar testing?

Identifying the grammatically incorrect part of a sentence and replacing it with the correct word/phrase so the sentence follows standard rules of grammar and usage.

What is error identification, and what areas are commonly tested?

Spotting the part of a sentence containing a grammatical mistake. Common areas: subject-verb agreement, tenses, articles, prepositions, pronouns, and word order.

With collective nouns like 'team' or 'committee', what determines the verb number?

Singular when acting as one unit ('The team is winning'); plural when members act individually ('The team are arguing among themselves').

Identify and correct the preposition error: 'She is good in mathematics.'

The correct preposition with 'good' (a subject of skill) is 'at': 'She is good at mathematics.'

What does the phrase 'in a nutshell' mean, and replace it with one word.

It means stated briefly/concisely. One word: 'briefly' (or 'concisely').

When a sentence has a phrase like 'as well as', 'along with', or 'together with' after the subject, which subject governs the verb?

Only the main subject before the phrase governs the verb; the added phrase is ignored. Example: 'The teacher, along with the students, is going.'