WHOLE-SYLLABUS RAPID REVISION

1. Parts of Speech

Same word, different part of speech by use: "a fast car" (adjective) / "runs fast" (adverb) / "the fast ended" (noun).

2. Sentence & Clauses

• By function: Assertive, Interrogative, Imperative, Exclamatory, Optative.
• By structure: Simple (1 finite clause), Compound (2+ main, coordinating conj.), Complex (1 main + 1+ subordinate), Compound-complex.
• Clause types: Noun clause (works as subject/object), Adjective/Relative clause (qualifies a noun), Adverb clause (of time, place, reason, condition, etc.).

A phrase has no subject-verb pair; a clause does. "In the morning" = phrase; "when morning came" = clause.

3. Nouns

Plural-looking but singular: news, mathematics, physics, politics take a singular verb. Always plural: scissors, trousers, spectacles, cattle, police.

4. Pronouns

• Cases: Subjective (I, he, who) vs Objective (me, him, whom) vs Possessive (my/mine).
• After prepositions and than/as in formal use → objective/subjective per the implied verb ("taller than I (am)").
• Reflexive (myself) needs a matching subject; never a stand-in subject: ✗ "Ram and myself went" → Ram and I.
• Each/either/neither/everyone/none → singular verb & pronoun (his/her).

Order of pronouns (polite): 2-3-1 → "You, he and I". For bad news/blame: 1st person first — "I and my brother are at fault".

5. Adjectives & Degrees

• Two things → comparative; three+ → superlative.
• Latin comparatives take to, not than: superior/inferior/senior/junior/prior to.
• Absolute adjectives have no degree: unique, perfect, round, full, supreme.

"Comparative + than any other + singular": "India is larger than any other country in Asia." (not "any country").

6. Determiners & Articles

• a/an by sound: a university, a one-rupee coin, an hour, an MLA.
• the for unique things, superlatives, rivers/seas/ranges, holy books, nationalities.
• No article with proper nouns, languages, meals, abstract/uncountable nouns in general sense.
• Quantity: much/little (uncountable), many/few (countable). "a few" = some; "few" = almost none.

"The" + adjective = plural class: the rich = rich people (plural verb).

7. Verbs & Non-finites

• After prepositions → gerund: fond of reading, good at singing.
• Bare infinitive after modals and after make/let/see/hear/bid (active).

Avoid the dangling participle: ✗ "Entering the room, the light was on." → "Entering the room, I saw the light was on."

8. Auxiliaries & Modals

Modal + bare infinitive only (no to) except ought to, used to, have to. ✗ "must to go".

9. The 12 Tenses

Time clauses (after/before/when/until/as soon as) take present for future meaning: ✗ "When he will come" → "When he comes". Use since + point of time, for + period.

10. Subject-Verb Agreement

• One subject, one verb in number/person.
• Either/neither/each/every/everyone/none → singular.
• Two subjects + and → plural; but a single idea → singular ("Bread and butter is...").
• Either…or / neither…nor / not only…but also → verb agrees with the nearer subject.
• The number of → singular; a number of → plural.
• Subject + (with/along with/as well as/together with) → verb agrees with the first subject.

"One of + plural noun + that/who" → the verb after who/that is plural: "One of the boys who were present..."

11. Voice (Active ↔ Passive)

No passive for: Perfect Continuous tenses and intransitive verbs. Imperative passive → "Let + object + be + V3" (Let the door be shut).

12. Narration (Direct ↔ Indirect)

Reporting verbs: statement → said that; question → asked if/wh- (no helping-verb inversion, no "?"); command → told/ordered to; request → requested to. Universal truths do not back-shift.

13. Prepositions (key collocations)

In time: at (clock), on (day/date), in (month/year/long period). No preposition before home, abroad, downstairs, yesterday, today, tomorrow.

14. Conjunctions (correlatives)

• either…or, neither…nor, both…and, not only…but also, whether…or, no sooner…than, hardly…when, scarcely…when, such…that, so…that.
• Keep parallel structure: "not only sang but also danced" (verb–verb).
• No sooner…than (not "but"); Hardly/Scarcely…when (not "than"); Lest…should.

"Though/Although" pairs with a comma, never with "but". ✗ "Although he is poor but honest."

15. Punctuation

• Full stop ends statements; question mark ends direct questions only.
• Comma separates list items, clauses, appositives; no comma before "that".
• Semicolon links two related independent clauses; colon introduces a list/explanation.
• Apostrophe: possession (boy's, boys'); contraction (it's = it is); its = possessive (no apostrophe).
• Capital letters: sentence start, proper nouns, "I", titles, days/months.

16. Spelling Rules

• i before e except after c: believe, receive (exceptions: seize, weird, foreign).
• Drop silent e before a vowel suffix: hope → hoping; keep before consonant: hope → hopeful.
• Final y after consonant → i: happy → happiness; carry → carried.
• Double final consonant (1 syllable, single vowel): stop → stopping; refer → referred (stress on last syllable).

17. Vocabulary — Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes

18. Idioms (high-frequency)

19. One-Word Substitutions

20. Synonyms / Antonyms — tips

• Use context and connotation (positive/negative) to choose, not "feel".
• Spot the prefix for antonyms: in-, un-, dis-, mis-, mal-, anti-.
• Beware partial synonyms — match register (formal vs informal) and collocation.

21. Transformation Patterns

22. Common Errors — Top List

• ✗ "discuss about" → ✓ "discuss"; ✗ "order for" → ✓ "order".
• ✗ "one of my friend" → ✓ "one of my friends".
• ✗ "more better" → ✓ "better"; ✗ "most cleverest" → ✓ "cleverest".
• ✗ "He is senior than me" → ✓ "senior to me".
• ✗ "cope up with" → ✓ "cope with"; ✗ "comprises of" → ✓ "comprises".
• ✗ "Each of the boys are" → ✓ "is".
• ✗ "I am having a car" → ✓ "I have a car" (possession, not continuous).
• ✗ "Returned back / repeat again" → drop the redundancy.

GOLDEN RULES OF THE WHOLE SYLLABUS

1. Identify a word's part of speech by its function, not its form.
2. A clause has a subject + finite verb; a phrase does not.
3. Singular subject → singular verb in number and person.
4. Each/either/neither/everyone/none take a singular verb.
5. Either…or / neither…nor → verb agrees with the nearer subject.
6. "As well as / with / along with" do not change the verb's number.
7. "A number of" → plural; "the number of" → singular.
8. Use "a/an" by sound; "the" for the unique and the superlative.
9. "Few/little" = almost none; "a few/a little" = some.
10. Comparative for two, superlative for three or more.
11. Latin comparatives (superior, junior, prior) take "to", not "than".
12. Never double a comparative or superlative.
13. Modals are followed by the bare infinitive.
14. After a preposition, use a gerund (-ing).
15. Avoid dangling/misrelated participles.
16. In time/conditional clauses use the present for future meaning.
17. "Since" + point; "for" + period; perfect tenses with "since".
18. Stative verbs (have, know, believe) avoid the continuous form.
19. Passive = correct form of "be" + past participle (V3).
20. Perfect-continuous and intransitive verbs have no passive.
21. The doer in passive is introduced by "by" (means/material by "with").
22. In indirect speech, back-shift the tense one step into the past.
23. Universal truths and habitual facts do not back-shift.
24. Questions in indirect speech drop inversion and the question mark.
25. Commands → "ordered/told … to"; requests → "requested … to".
26. Pronouns agree with antecedent in number, person and gender.
27. Use the subjective case for subjects, objective after verbs/prepositions.
28. Reflexive pronouns need a matching subject in the same clause.
29. Keep correlatives parallel and correctly paired.
30. "Though/although" never pairs with "but"; "lest" pairs with "should".
31. "No sooner … than", "hardly/scarcely … when".
32. Apostrophe shows possession or contraction; "its" ≠ "it's".
33. No comma before defining "that".
34. "i before e except after c" (with the usual exceptions).
35. Drop silent "e" before a vowel-suffix; keep it before a consonant.
36. Change final "y" to "i" before suffixes after a consonant.
37. Match synonyms by connotation, register and collocation.
38. "Too…to" = "so…that…not"; convert degrees carefully.
39. Remove redundancy (return back, repeat again, free gift).
40. Read the whole sentence before choosing; eliminate, then decide.

MOST IMPORTANT FACTS / FORMULA SHEET

Tense structures: Pres: V1 · is+Ving · has+V3 · has been+Ving | Past: V2 · was+Ving · had+V3 · had been+Ving | Future: will+V1 · will be+Ving · will have+V3 · will have been+Ving.

Passive: Pres.Simple is/are+V3; Past was/were+V3; Perfect has/have/had been+V3; Cont. is/was being+V3; Future will be+V3; Modal modal+be+V3; Imperative Let + obj + be + V3.

Narration shifts: now→then, today→that day, tomorrow→the next day, yesterday→the previous day, here→there, this→that, ago→before, will→would, can→could, may→might, must→had to.

Key collocations: afraid/fond/tired/sure of; good/bad/clever at; depend/rely/insist on; different from; superior/inferior/senior/junior/prior to; consist/composed/comprised of; congratulate on; comply/deal with.

Top confusables: its/it's · their/there/they're · affect (verb)/effect (noun) · accept/except · advice (n)/advise (v) · principal/principle · stationary (still)/stationery (paper) · complement/compliment · among (3+)/between (2) · less (uncount.)/fewer (count.) · lie/lay · raise/rise · lose/loose.

EXAM-DAY STRATEGY

• Time management: Allot a fixed average per question; do not spend over 60–75 seconds on any single MCQ in the first pass.
• Attempt order: Two passes — first sweep the easy, certain questions; flag the doubtful; return in the second pass.
• Negative marking: If marks are deducted for wrong answers, skip a question only when you cannot eliminate even one option; a 50/50 guess after elimination is usually worth it.
• Elimination: Remove the two clearly wrong distractors first, then decide between the remaining pair on a single distinguishing rule.
• Read fully: Watch for "NOT/EXCEPT/INCORRECT" in stems; underline them mentally.
• OMR discipline: Fill bubbles in batches, recheck question numbers, keep the sheet clean.
• Calm reset: If you blank, breathe, move on, and revisit — a fresh look often reveals the answer.

FINAL MIXED REVISION TEST — 50 MCQs

Easy (1–15)

1. Choose the correct verb: "Each of the students ___ a book."

(a) have (b) has (c) are having (d) were
Answer: (b) has
Explanation: "Each of" takes a singular verb.

2. Identify the part of speech of "fast" in "He runs fast."

(a) Adjective (b) Noun (c) Adverb (d) Verb
Answer: (c) Adverb
Explanation: It modifies the verb "runs".

3. Fill in the article: "He is ___ honest man."

(a) a (b) an (c) the (d) no article
Answer: (b) an
Explanation: "Honest" begins with a vowel sound (silent h).

4. Choose the correct preposition: "She is fond ___ music."

(a) of (b) for (c) with (d) at
Answer: (a) of
Explanation: "Fond of" is the fixed collocation.

5. Passive of "She writes a letter."

(a) A letter is written by her (b) A letter was written by her (c) A letter is being written by her (d) A letter has written
Answer: (a) A letter is written by her
Explanation: Present simple passive = is + V3.

6. Choose the comparative: "Gold is ___ than silver."

(a) costly (b) more costly (c) most costly (d) costliest
Answer: (b) more costly
Explanation: Comparison of two needs the comparative degree.

7. Indirect: He said, "I am happy." → He said that he ___ happy.

(a) is (b) was (c) were (d) has been
Answer: (b) was
Explanation: Present simple back-shifts to past simple.

8. The plural of "ox" is:

(a) oxes (b) oxen (c) oxs (d) oxies
Answer: (b) oxen
Explanation: "Ox" forms an irregular plural "oxen".

9. Choose the correct word: "It's ___ tail." (the dog's)

(a) it's (b) its (c) its' (d) it is
Answer: (b) its
Explanation: Possessive "its" has no apostrophe.

10. Which is a conjunction?

(a) under (b) because (c) quickly (d) happiness
Answer: (b) because
Explanation: "Because" joins clauses.

11. Fill in: "I have lived here ___ 2010."

(a) for (b) since (c) from (d) by
Answer: (b) since
Explanation: "Since" precedes a point of time.

12. Correct spelling:

(a) recieve (b) receive (c) receeve (d) receve
Answer: (b) receive
Explanation: "ei" after "c".

13. Choose the right pronoun: "Between you and ___, this is wrong."

(a) I (b) me (c) myself (d) mine
Answer: (b) me
Explanation: Objective case follows the preposition "between".

14. One-word substitution: "A person who cannot read or write."

(a) ignorant (b) illiterate (c) innocent (d) immature
Answer: (b) illiterate
Explanation: "Illiterate" is the precise term.

15. Choose the future continuous: "This time tomorrow I ___ to Delhi."

(a) travel (b) will travel (c) will be travelling (d) have travelled
Answer: (c) will be travelling
Explanation: "This time tomorrow" signals future continuous.

Moderate (16–35)

16. "Neither the teacher nor the students ___ present."

(a) was (b) were (c) is (d) has been
Answer: (b) were
Explanation: The verb agrees with the nearer subject "students" (plural).

17. Convert: "He is too weak to walk." (so…that)

(a) so weak that he can walk (b) so weak that he cannot walk (c) so weak to walk (d) too weak that he walks
Answer: (b) so weak that he cannot walk
Explanation: "Too…to" = "so…that…not".

18. "One of the boys who ___ chosen has resigned."

(a) was (b) were (c) is (d) has
Answer: (b) were
Explanation: "Who" refers to plural "boys", so a plural verb follows.

19. Indirect: She said, "I bought a pen yesterday." → She said she ___ a pen the previous day.

(a) bought (b) had bought (c) has bought (d) buys
Answer: (b) had bought
Explanation: Past simple becomes past perfect; "yesterday → the previous day".

20. Choose the correct sentence:

(a) He is senior than me (b) He is senior to me (c) He is more senior than me (d) He is senior from me
Answer: (b) He is senior to me
Explanation: "Senior" takes "to".

21. Passive of "Someone has stolen my bag."

(a) My bag is stolen (b) My bag has been stolen (c) My bag was stolen (d) My bag has stolen
Answer: (b) My bag has been stolen
Explanation: Present perfect passive = has been + V3.

22. Correct the error: "He suggested me to wait."

(a) suggested me to wait (b) suggested to me to wait (c) suggested that I should wait (d) suggested me waiting
Answer: (c) suggested that I should wait
Explanation: "Suggest" is not followed by "object + to-infinitive".

23. Fill in: "Hardly had he arrived ___ it began to rain."

(a) than (b) when (c) then (d) that
Answer: (b) when
Explanation: "Hardly … when" is the correct correlative.

24. Identify the clause: "I know that he is honest."

(a) Adjective clause (b) Adverb clause (c) Noun clause (d) Main clause only
Answer: (c) Noun clause
Explanation: "That he is honest" is the object of "know".

25. Choose the gerund use: "___ is good exercise."

(a) To swim (b) Swimming (c) Swam (d) Swum
Answer: (b) Swimming
Explanation: The gerund acts as the subject.

26. "The committee ___ divided in its opinion."

(a) is (b) are (c) was (d) were
Answer: (d) were
Explanation: When members act individually (divided), the collective noun takes a plural verb.

27. Choose the correct question tag: "You are coming, ___?"

(a) are you (b) aren't you (c) don't you (d) isn't it
Answer: (b) aren't you
Explanation: A positive statement takes a negative tag with the same auxiliary.

28. Synonym of "benevolent":

(a) cruel (b) kind (c) clever (d) lazy
Answer: (b) kind
Explanation: "Bene-" means good; benevolent = kind.

29. Antonym of "transparent":

(a) clear (b) opaque (c) bright (d) thin
Answer: (b) opaque
Explanation: Opaque = not allowing light through.

30. Choose the correct article use: "He plays ___ violin well."

(a) a (b) an (c) the (d) no article
Answer: (c) the
Explanation: "The" precedes musical instruments.

31. Idiom "to let the cat out of the bag" means:

(a) to free an animal (b) to reveal a secret (c) to make noise (d) to lose something
Answer: (b) to reveal a secret
Explanation: Fixed idiomatic meaning.

32. "If I ___ rich, I would help the poor."

(a) am (b) was (c) were (d) will be
Answer: (c) were
Explanation: Second conditional uses "were" for all persons.

33. Choose the correct: "Scarcely had I slept ___ the phone rang."

(a) than (b) when (c) then (d) but
Answer: (b) when
Explanation: "Scarcely … when".

34. Direct: He said, "Where do you live?" → Indirect:

(a) He asked where do I live (b) He asked where I lived (c) He asked where did I live (d) He asked that where I live
Answer: (b) He asked where I lived
Explanation: Drop inversion; back-shift the tense; no question mark.

35. Choose the correctly punctuated sentence:

(a) Its raining today. (b) It's raining today. (c) Its' raining today. (d) Its raining, today.
Answer: (b) It's raining today.
Explanation: "It's" = "it is".

Difficult (36–50)

36. "No sooner had the bell rung ___ the students rushed out."

(a) when (b) then (c) than (d) that
Answer: (c) than
Explanation: "No sooner … than" is the fixed pairing.

37. Choose the correct sentence:

(a) He is one of the best player. (b) He is one of the best players. (c) He is one of best players. (d) He is one of the best play.
Answer: (b) He is one of the best players
Explanation: "One of the + superlative + plural noun".

38. Passive of "Let him do it."

(a) It is done by him (b) Let it be done by him (c) Let it done by him (d) It may be done
Answer: (b) Let it be done by him
Explanation: Imperative passive = "Let + object + be + V3".

39. Identify the error: "The reason for his failure is because he was careless."

(a) The reason (b) for his failure (c) is because (d) careless
Answer: (c) is because
Explanation: "The reason … is that", not "is because" (redundant cause).

40. "Hardly ___ when the train started."

(a) I had reached the station (b) had I reached the station (c) I reached the station (d) did I reach
Answer: (b) had I reached the station
Explanation: After an initial "Hardly", the subject and auxiliary invert.

41. Choose the correct: "He spoke as if he ___ everything."

(a) knows (b) knew (c) has known (d) know
Answer: (b) knew
Explanation: "As if" with a present main verb takes the past subjunctive.

42. Convert to superlative: "No other metal is as precious as gold."

(a) Gold is more precious than any metal (b) Gold is the most precious of all metals (c) Gold is as precious as metals (d) Gold is precious metal
Answer: (b) Gold is the most precious of all metals
Explanation: "No other … as … as" equals the superlative form.

43. Choose the right form: "I would rather ___ than beg."

(a) to die (b) die (c) died (d) dying
Answer: (b) die
Explanation: "Would rather" takes the bare infinitive.

44. Identify the correct sentence:

(a) Each of the answers are correct. (b) Neither of the answers are correct. (c) Neither of the answers is correct. (d) None of the answer are correct.
Answer: (c) Neither of the answers is correct.
Explanation: "Neither of" takes a singular verb.

45. "It is high time we ___ the truth."

(a) tell (b) told (c) have told (d) will tell
Answer: (b) told
Explanation: "It is high time" is followed by the past subjunctive.

46. Choose the correctly transformed compound sentence: "Being ill, he stayed at home."

(a) He was ill and stayed at home (b) He was ill but stayed at home (c) Although ill, he went out (d) He stayed at home so he was ill
Answer: (a) He was ill and stayed at home
Explanation: The participial phrase expresses cause, joined by "and".

47. Fill in: "Many a student ___ failed this year."

(a) have (b) has (c) are (d) were
Answer: (b) has
Explanation: "Many a + singular noun" takes a singular verb.

48. Choose the correct word: "He gave me a ___ on grammar." (free advice)

(a) advices (b) advice (c) piece of advice (d) an advice
Answer: (c) piece of advice
Explanation: "Advice" is uncountable; quantify with "piece of".

49. Direct: "What a beautiful scene!" is an example of:

(a) Assertive sentence (b) Imperative sentence (c) Exclamatory sentence (d) Optative sentence
Answer: (c) Exclamatory sentence
Explanation: "What a …!" expresses sudden strong feeling.

50. Choose the correct sentence:

(a) He prevented me to go. (b) He prevented me from going. (c) He prevented me of going. (d) He prevented me going for.
Answer: (b) He prevented me from going.
Explanation: "Prevent … from + gerund" is the correct structure.

Key Takeaways

• Grammar is rule-driven: master the rule and the answer follows.
• The most-tested zones are agreement, voice, narration, prepositions and degree transformation.
• Vocabulary marks come from roots, prefixes and confusables — learn them in pairs.

Memory Map (of the whole syllabus)

WORD (parts of speech → noun, pronoun, adjective/degree, verb/non-finite, modal, preposition, conjunction) → SENTENCE (kinds, clauses) → SYSTEMS (tense → agreement → voice → narration → transformation) → MECHANICS (articles/determiners, punctuation, spelling) → MEANING (vocabulary, roots, idioms, one-word, synonyms/antonyms) → APPLICATION (common errors + exam strategy).

Important Rules to Remember

• Nearer-subject rule for either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also.
• Back-shift tenses in indirect speech; do not back-shift universal truths.
• Passive = be + V3; no passive for perfect-continuous/intransitive.
• Latin comparatives take "to"; never double a degree.
• Bare infinitive after modals; gerund after prepositions.

Last Minute Revision

• Skim the Formula Sheet: tense table, passive table, narration shifts, collocations, confusables.
• Re-read the 40 Golden Rules once.
• Glance at the Common Errors list — these recur every year.
• Sleep well; carry your admit card, ID and pen; reach the centre early.

You have studied the whole book; trust your preparation, keep a steady head, and write with confidence. Wishing you clarity, calm and a well-earned success in your UPESSC TGT English examination!