The MPSC Combine English syllabus primarily focuses on Common Vocabulary, Sentence Structure, Grammar, use of Idioms and Phrases, and Comprehension of the passage.
1. Parts of Speech (The Building Blocks)
Understanding these is foundational for all other grammar topics.
- Noun: Names of a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., Ramesh, Mumbai, book, honesty).
- Focus: Correct usage of Singular/Plural and Possessive forms.
- Pronoun: Replaces a Noun (e.g., I, he, she, it, they, this, which).
- Focus: Subject-Object form confusion (I/me, he/him) and proper use of Relative Pronouns (who, whom, whose, which, that).
- Adjective: Modifies a Noun or Pronoun (e.g., beautiful, tall, two, my).
- Focus: Degrees of Comparison (good, better, best). Rules for using definite and indefinite adjectives.
- Verb: Shows action or state of being (e.g., run, is, have, become).
- Focus: Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA) is crucial (e.g., He is running., They are running.).
- Adverb: Modifies a Verb, Adjective, or another Adverb (e.g., quickly, very, yesterday).
- Focus: Placement in the sentence. Avoid double negatives.
- Preposition: Shows relationship (position, time, direction) between a noun/pronoun and another word (e.g., in, on, at, to, with).
- Focus: Fixed Prepositions (certain words are always followed by a specific preposition, e.g., afraid of, look at).
- Conjunction: Joins words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, because).
- Focus: Use of Correlative Conjunctions (neither…nor, either…or, not only…but also).
- Interjection: Expresses sudden feeling (e.g., Alas!, Wow!). (Less critical for MPSC).
2. Tenses (Time of Action)
This is a core topic, mainly tested in Error Detection and Sentence Improvement.
- Simple Tenses: Used for facts, habits, and completed past actions.
- Simple Present: He plays cricket.
- Simple Past: He played cricket.
- Simple Future: He will play cricket.
- Continuous Tenses: Used for actions happening at a specific time.
- Present Continuous: He is playing cricket.
- Perfect Tenses: Used for actions completed before another point in time.
- Present Perfect: He has played cricket (Action finished, result relevant now).
- Perfect Continuous Tenses: Used for actions that started in the past and continue into the present.
3. Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA)
The Verb must agree with its Subject in number (singular or plural).
- Rule 1: Singular Subjects = Singular Verbs (e.g., The dog runs.)
- Rule 2: Plural Subjects = Plural Verbs (e.g., The dogs run.)
- Rule 3: Words like ‘Each’, ‘Every’, ‘Either’, ‘Neither’, ‘Anyone’, ‘No one’ take a Singular Verb. (e.g., Each of the students is present.)
- Rule 4: ‘A number of’ takes a Plural Verb; ‘The number of’ takes a Singular Verb.
- Rule 5: Collective Nouns (e.g., team, committee, audience) can be singular or plural based on context (acting as one unit = Singular; acting as individuals = Plural).
4. Voice and Speech
These involve transformation of sentences.
- Active and Passive Voice (Change the Voice):
- Active: Subject performs the action (e.g., Ravi wrote a letter.)
- Passive: Action is performed on the Subject (e.g., A letter was written by Ravi.)
- Key: Use of ‘to be’ verb form + Past Participle ($V_3$) in the Passive Voice.
- Direct and Indirect Speech (Narration):
- Direct: Quoting the exact words (e.g., He said, “I am busy.”)
- Indirect: Reporting the words (e.g., He said that he was busy.)
- Key: Change in Tense (e.g., Present to Past), Pronouns, and Time/Place expressions (e.g., now to then).
5. Articles and Determiners
Words that limit or determine the meaning of a noun.
- Articles:a, an, the
- ‘A’ and ‘An’: Indefinite articles. ‘An’ is used before a vowel sound (an apple, an hour). ‘A’ is used before a consonant sound (a boy, a university).
- ‘The’: Definite article. Used for specific things, unique items, rivers, mountains, etc.
- Zero Article (Omission): Used before proper nouns (most names), abstract nouns (general sense), or plural count nouns (general sense).
- Determiners: Include Possessives (my, your), Demonstratives (this, that), Quantifiers (some, many), etc.
6. Vocabulary & Idioms/Phrases
This section requires memorization and consistent practice.
- Common Vocabulary: Focus on Synonyms (similar meaning), Antonyms (opposite meaning), Homophones (same sound, different meaning/spelling, e.g., write/right), and One-Word Substitution.
- Idioms and Phrases: Expressions whose meaning is not easily deduced from the individual words (e.g., A dime a dozen – common and of little value).
7. Sentence Correction and Comprehension
- Sentence Structure: Focus on correct word order, parallelism, and avoiding run-on sentences or comma splices.
- Comprehension: Practice reading and answering questions based on an unseen passage. Focus on main idea, specific details, and inferential questions.
