FPSC Lecturer Test English (Part I) Flashcards

24 sample cards from the English (Part I) deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. State the basic rule of Subject-Verb Agreement.

   A verb must agree with its subject in number and person: a singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb (He writes / They write).

2. In subject-verb agreement, what verb form do subjects joined by "either...or" / "neither...nor" take?

   The verb agrees with the nearer subject (proximity rule). E.g., "Neither the teacher nor the students were present."

3. In subject-verb agreement, how are subjects joined by "with," "as well as," or "along with" treated?

   The verb agrees with the first (main) subject; the phrase after is parenthetical. E.g., "The captain, along with his players, was present."

4. What are the indefinite and definite articles, and when is each used?

   Indefinite: a/an (used for non-specific singular countable nouns; "a" before consonant sounds, "an" before vowel sounds). Definite: the (used for specific/known nouns).

5. What are determiners? Give four categories with examples.

   Determiners introduce nouns and specify reference. Categories: Articles (a, the), Demonstratives (this, those), Possessives (my, his), and Quantifiers (some, many, few).

6. Why is "an" used before "hour" but "a" before "university"?

   Article choice depends on sound, not spelling. "Hour" begins with a vowel sound (silent h) so "an"; "university" begins with a "yoo" consonant sound so "a."

7. What is the difference between Active and Passive Voice?

   In active voice the subject performs the action (Ali wrote a letter). In passive voice the subject receives the action (A letter was written by Ali).

8. State the general rule for converting Active to Passive Voice.

   The object becomes the subject, the verb changes to be + past participle (in the same tense), and the original subject becomes the agent (by + agent). Object and subject swap places.

9. Change to passive voice: "They are building a bridge."

   "A bridge is being built (by them)." Present continuous passive = is/are being + past participle.

10. In Direct and Indirect (reported) speech, what happens to the present tense when the reporting verb is in the past?

    The tense shifts back (backshift): present simple becomes past simple, present continuous becomes past continuous, present perfect becomes past perfect.

11. In indirect narration, how do "now," "here," "today," and "this" change?

    now - then; here - there; today - that day; this - that. (Time and place words shift away from the speaker's present.)

12. How is a direct question (e.g., "He said, 'Where are you going?'") changed into indirect speech?

    Use "asked," drop quotation marks and the question mark, change order to statement form, and apply tense/pronoun shifts: He asked where I was going.

13. Convert to indirect speech: She said, "I am happy."

    She said that she was happy. ("Said to" + listener would become "told"; pronoun and tense backshift applied.)

14. Identify and correct the error: "He is senior than me."

    Error: "senior than" is wrong. Latin comparatives (senior, junior, superior, prior) take "to," not "than." Correct: "He is senior to me."

15. Identify the error: "One should do his duty."

    Pronoun disagreement with "one." Correct: "One should do one's duty." ("One" is referred back to by "one's," not "his.")

16. Correct the sentence: "The scenery of Kashmir are beautiful."

    "Scenery" is an uncountable noun taking a singular verb. Correct: "The scenery of Kashmir is beautiful."

17. In sentence completion, what conjunction pair correctly fills: "____ he is poor, ____ he is honest"?

    "Though/Although he is poor, yet he is honest." (Concession structure; "yet" is optional but classic in such constructions.)

18. Name four common uses of the comma in punctuation.

    To separate items in a list, to set off introductory phrases, to separate independent clauses joined by a conjunction, and to set off non-essential (parenthetical) information.

19. What is the function of the apostrophe, and how do you show plural possession (e.g., the dogs' tails)?

    The apostrophe shows possession or marks contractions. For plural nouns already ending in -s, add only an apostrophe after the s: "the dogs' tails."

20. When are a semicolon and a colon used in punctuation?

    A semicolon (;) joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction. A colon (:) introduces a list, explanation, or quotation.

21. Name the four sentence types by function/structure (purpose).

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

22. Define and distinguish simple, compound, and complex sentences.

    Simple: one independent clause. Compound: two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. Complex: one independent clause plus at least one dependent (subordinate) clause.

23. What is the difference between an independent clause and a dependent (subordinate) clause?

    An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent clause has a subject and verb but cannot stand alone (e.g., "because he was late").

24. What is the purpose of a precis, and roughly what length should it be relative to the original?

    A precis is a clear, concise summary capturing the main ideas of a passage in your own words, in third person and past tense, normally about one-third the length of the original, with no personal comments.

What this deck covers

English (Part I) flashcards FAQ