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SBOTS English Language & Verbal Ability Flashcards
50 question-and-answer cards covering English Language & Verbal Ability as it is examined in SBOTS. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the English Language & Verbal Ability deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Which preposition is correct: "good at," "good in," or "good on" (skill)?
"Good at" (e.g., "She is good at mathematics").
Choose the correct preposition: "He is married ___ a doctor."
"to" — "He is married to a doctor."
State the rule for using the article "a" versus "an."
Use "a" before a consonant sound and "an" before a vowel sound. It depends on sound, not spelling (e.g., "an hour," "a university").
When is the definite article "the" used?
Before a specific or previously mentioned noun, unique things (the sun), superlatives (the best), rivers/oceans, and names of certain countries (the USA).
Fix the preposition error: "She is suffering from fever since Monday." Is anything else wrong?
The sentence needs present perfect continuous: "She has been suffering from fever since Monday." "Suffering from" is correct; "is" must become "has been."
Correct the sentence: "One of my friend is a doctor."
"One of my friends is a doctor." After "one of," the noun must be plural (friends), but the verb stays singular (is).
Correct the sentence: "He did not went to school."
"He did not go to school." After the auxiliary "did," use the base form (go), not the past form (went).
Correct the sentence: "The news are very disturbing."
"The news is very disturbing." "News" is an uncountable singular noun and takes a singular verb.
Identify and correct the error: "Each of the students have submitted their work."
"Each of the students has submitted his/her work." "Each" is singular, requiring "has."
Common usage error: difference between "its" and "it's."
"Its" is a possessive pronoun (belonging to it); "it's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has."
Common usage error: when to use "fewer" versus "less."
Use "fewer" for countable nouns (fewer books) and "less" for uncountable nouns (less water).
Common usage error: difference between "affect" and "effect."
"Affect" is usually a verb meaning to influence; "effect" is usually a noun meaning the result. (E.g., "The change affected sales; the effect was huge.")
What strategy is used for a single-blank fill-in question?
Read for context clues and tone, determine the meaning required by the sentence, then choose the word that fits grammatically and logically; eliminate options of wrong meaning or contradictory tone.
Single blank fill-in: "Despite his wealth, he led a very ___ life." Best word from: lavish, simple, luxurious?
"simple." The contrast signal "Despite his wealth" demands a word opposite to wealth's expected lifestyle.
What is the key to solving double-blank fill-in questions?
Identify the logical relationship between the two blanks (contrast, cause-effect, similarity) using connecting words, and ensure BOTH words fit; if either word is wrong, reject the whole option.
Double blank: "___ the heavy rain, the match was ___." Choose: (Because of / postponed).
"Because of the heavy rain, the match was postponed." Cause-and-effect relationship between the two blanks.
What is contextual word choice, and how is the right word selected?
It is selecting the word whose precise meaning, connotation, and tone fit the surrounding context, not just a dictionary synonym; judge by how the word functions in that specific sentence.
Contextual word choice: which fits "The lawyer gave a ___ argument that convinced the jury": cogent, vague, or weak?
"cogent" (clear, logical, convincing). The context ("convinced the jury") requires a positive, persuasive word.
In reading comprehension, what is the "main idea" or central theme of a passage?
The single, overarching point the author wants to convey — the umbrella statement that the whole passage supports; it is general, not a minor detail.
How do you identify the main idea of a passage?
Look at the topic sentence (often first/last), find the point repeated or supported throughout, and ask "What is the author mainly trying to say?" Choose the option broad enough to cover the whole passage but not too broad.
What is an inference question in reading comprehension?
A question whose answer is not stated directly but must be logically deduced from the information and implications in the passage ("reading between the lines").
What is "tone" in a passage, and name three common tone words.
Tone is the author's attitude or emotional stance toward the subject. Common tones: critical, optimistic, sarcastic (also objective, sympathetic, pessimistic).
How do you determine the author's intent or purpose in a passage?
Ask why the author wrote it — to inform, persuade, describe, entertain, or criticize — by examining word choice, tone, and the overall structure/argument.
What does "vocabulary-in-context" require you to do when a word has multiple meanings?
Choose the meaning that fits the specific sentence and surrounding context, not the most common dictionary definition. Substitute each option into the sentence to test which preserves the intended meaning.
What this deck covers
The English Language & Verbal Ability deck follows the SBOTS English Language & Verbal Ability syllabus — 5 chapters and 20 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 10.0 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 134 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
English Language & Verbal Ability flashcards FAQ
How many English Language & Verbal Ability flashcards are in this SBOTS deck?
50 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these SBOTS flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 50-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the English Language & Verbal Ability cards cover?
They follow the SBOTS English Language & Verbal Ability syllabus — 5 chapters and 20 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.