VERBAL APTITUDE

BY KAVYA DARSHANA MADHUBALA REVATHI DHIVYA

Sentence filler Odd man out series Transformation Analogy Sentence completion Passage completion Formation of words Active and passive voice Preposition Idioms and phrases

Synonyms/ Antonyms Spotting the errors Comparison based problems Comprehending passage Sentence improvement Substitution

Also called as stem filling Technique used SFM SFM abbreviated as stem filler match technique

STEM
Semantic clues
Structural clues

The more we looked at the piece of modern art, ___________ (A) It looked better (B) The more we like it (C) We liked it less (D) The less we liked it (E) Better we liked it

ANS: The more we looked at the piece of modern art, The less we liked it

He is so lazy that he ___________ A) Always extends help to others to complete their work B) Dislikes to postpone the work that he undertakes to do C) Can seldom complete his work on time D) Cant delay the schedule of completing the work E) Cant depend on others for getting his work done

ANS: He is so lazy that he Can seldom complete his work on time

The doctor warns him that unless he gives up smoking ___________ A) Will he able to recover B) He will not suffer C) His health will soon be recovered D) He will not recover

ANS: The doctor warns him that unless he gives up smoking ,he will not recover

1) a) perspicacious b) abstruse c) intangible d) impalpable ANS : a) Perspicacious astute, smart, sagacious. meaning: clear mental vision Impalpable= intangible=abstruse Meaning: difficulty, mystery, vague & abstract, imaginary.

Exercise : 1) a) cursory b) brusque c) abrupt d) curt ANS: a) Cursory superficial, hasty, fleeting All others synonyms sudden, offhand, brief 2) a) blasphemous b) sacrilegious c) reverent d) profane ANS : c) reverent respectful, worshipful Synonyms - irreverent , disrespectful

3) a) spurious b) atrocious c) apocryphal d) unauthentic ANS : b) atrocious wicked, terrible , awful, extremely cruel All others are synonyms fictional, untrue, dubious 4) a) detrition : pulverisation b) succinct : terse c) reprimand : castigate d) plaudit : denigrate ANS : d) Plaudit (praise)and denigrate (criticize) are antonyms a) Powderiness b) concise & clear d) Expressing strong disapproval

5) a) scalpel : surgeon c) awl : cobbler

b) surgeon : solder d) knife : chef

ANS : b) In all other pairs, first is the tool used by the second

Given two sentences should be combined Choices beginnings of the sentence Meaning conveyed should be same

He is rich. He is kind A) Although he_____ B) Rich as_________ C) Inspite of_______ 1) Only A 2) A & B 3) B & C ANS : 5) 4) Only C 5) A, B & C

All his family members behave very cordially with one another. The home atmosphere is very conductive to all-round development. A) Because the home atmosphere is very conductive___________ B) The cordial behaviour of all his family members___________ C) Although all his family members______ 1) Only A 2) Only B 3) Only C 4) A & B Only 5) None of these ANS : 2)

You will not recover fast. Refrain from smoking. A) Unless you recover_________ B) If you want to refrain from smoking________ C) Inspite of refraining from_________ 1) Only A 3) Only C 5) None of these ANS : 5) 2) Only B 4) A & B Only

Similarity or resemblance Relationship between two given things Ability to comprehend the relationship that exists between 2 objects, things or figures

1) Acting :: Theatre :: Gambling : ? A) Casino B) Club C) Bar D) Gym ANS: A) second is the place for performing the first 2) Dog :: Bark :: Goat : ? A) Bleat B) Howl C) Grunt D) Bray ANS: A) second is the noise produced by the first

3) Nurture :: Neglect :: Denigrate : ? A) Reveal B) Extol C) Recognize D) Caluminate ANS: B) The word in each pair are antonyms 4) Lemur :: Monkey :: Rook : ? A) Cat B) Crow C) Vulture D) Owl ANS: B) Rook belongs to the family of Crow

5) Imprison :: Jail :: Exile : ? A) Country B) Depart C) Banish D) Punishment ANS: C) The word in each pair are synonyms 6) Scissors :: Cloth :: Scythe : ? A) Wood B) Steel C) Grass D) Paper ANS: C) Scythe is used to cut the grass

A phrase whose meaning is different from the meanings of individual words

They are recognised through experience

 Direct

multiple choice

Sentence

form

 Blue

blood to belong to a royal family Pandoras box a cause of several problems To kick ones heels to waste time Stick ones neck out to take risk French leave absence without permission Midas touch ability to succeed in all the projects

1) To take occasion

a) to take advantage of an opportunity b) celebrate c) to draw a normal attention d) organise a ceremony ANS: a) 2) A pipe dream a) an impracticable plan b) a pleasant dream c) a foolish idea d) a bad dream ANS: a)

3) A snake in the grass a) A very poisonous snake b) A secret agent c) An unrecognisable enemy or danger d) Not a reliable person ANS: c) 4) Between the devil and the deep sea a) to be in a dilemma b) to be in a temper c) to choose correctly d) to live dangerously ANS: a)

1) When I saw him in the morning, he looked like a duck in a thunderstorm a) entrapped c) indomitable b) distressed d) timid ANS: b) 2) He burnt his fingers by interfering in his neighbours affair a) got himself into trouble b) burnt himself c) got himself insulted d) got rebuked ANS: a)

 Active

voice

1) Rahul / reads / a book - S / V / O 2) Rahul / reads / books - S / V / O Here the subject performs the action , and the verb is said to be in active voice.

 Passive

voice

1) A book is read by Rahul 2) Books are read by Rahul when the subject of the verb is acted upon, that is, it receives or suffers the action, the verb is said to be in passive voice

TENSE/VERB Simple present

FORM ACTIVE VOICE Help Is helping Help Was helping Has helped

PASSIVE VOICE Is helped Is being helped Was helped Was being helped Has been helping

Present continuous Simple past Past continuous Present perfect

Past perfect
Future Conditional Perfect conditional Present infinitive Perfect infinitive Present participle Perfect participle

Had helped
Will help Would help Would have helped To help To have helped Helping Having helped

Had been helping

Will be helped Would be helped Would have been helped To be helped To have been helped Being helped Having been helped

ACTIVE VOICE
The players were making a noise He might suffer a great loss

PASSIVE VOICE
A noise was being made by the players A great loss might be suffered by him

Dont waste your time

Let me try this question

Let your time be not wasted by you

Let this question be tried by me

He teaches us Sanskrit
He teaches us Sanskrit

We are taught Sanskrit by him

Sanskrit is taught to us by him

ACTIVE VOICE
They elected him secretary Parents spoke to children You will have to read it The enemy has been defeated Do you speak French? What did you purchase?

PASSIVE VOICE
He was elected secretary by them Children were spoken to the parents It will have to be read by you The army has defeated the enemy Is French spoken by you? What was purchased by you?

Word which shows the relationship between two objects indicating their position Preposition shows a) time b) position c) direction

At In On By For Since from

At, in Between, among Amongst Above, under Under, over beneath

To Towards Into At For Off From Against Along Across Before Behind Beside After

1) No one can stop a man from doing a thing if he really keen________ it. a) in b) at c) for d) on e) with ANS: d) 2) Very often we do not get what we pine_____ a) about b) for c)At d) on ANS: b)

3) Finding myself short _____money, I wrote ______ my uncle ________ help. a) of; to; for b) in; to; to c) with; to; for d) to; to; about ANS: a) 4) It is a long time ______ I saw my friend who lives _____his parents ______ the neighbouring town. a) when; at; of b) since; with; in c) when; for; in d) since; for; of ANS: b)

The accused __________ to the judge for mercy. a) Asked b) Applied c) Demanded d) Appealed e) Requested ANS: d)

The defending champion justified his top__________ by clinching the title a) Form b) Technique c) Supremacy d) Billing e) Skill ANS: d)

The little girl ________ for the light switch in the dark a) Groped b) Grappled c) Gripped d) Grovelled ANS: a)

1) The degrees were awarded in the annual __________ a) Conference b) Convention c) Convolution d) Convocation ANS : d)

2) We had a _______ of warm weather in march. a) Spell b) Period c) Time d) Phase ANS : a) 3) Handle with care , it is_____________ a) Agile b) Volatile c) Ductile d) Fragile ANS : d)

4) Some of our external problems have completely _______ our national leaders. a) Beguiled b) Belaboured c) Blustered d) baffled ANS : d)

Also called as CLOZE Test It is a variation of sentence completion test

Use Elimination technique

ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE

ALTERNATIVES

STEP-1 STRUCTURE

STEP-2 MEANING

STEP 3

COMMON USAGE
STEP 4-CLUES

NUANCES

STEP 5REASONING

CORRECT CHOICE

Without water(1)animal can survive. In desert regions the greatest (2)to life is drying up. But many creatures are able to make use of(3)little water that exists in road areas. One of natures masterpieces(4) creatures equipped to(5) with desert life is the hardy camels. Stories range the desert lands far and wide about (6) endurance feats by camels. It is said that camels can(7) a distance of about 800 miles in eight days through continuous travel(8) an intake of a single drop of water . The popular(9) that camels store water in their hump is (10) in a way, water is indeed stored there but in the form of fat.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)

a) every b)no c)any d)desert e)exceptional a)need b)worry c)threat d)requirement e)inadequate a) what b)the c)very d)that e)extremely a) for b)about c)among d)with e)of a) live b)resist c)bear d)cope e)mix a) remarkable b)little c)tolerable d)popular e)obvious a) measure b)reduce c)lead d)reach e)cover a) for b)without c)accepting d)receiving e)except a) proverb b)guess c)belief d)version e)statement a) baseless b)wrong c)misleading d)correct e)untruthful

Interviews are very important for all of us. We must face interviews with confidence. There is(1) any person who at one time or the other has not(2) an interview situation. While(3) are a day to day(4) for people who(5) with others in their daily chores, we are here(6) with interview situations when one is a(7) aspiring for an(8) . Such situations, not very(9) happen in ones life, are(10) when the candidate likes to come on top of the situation. This calls for careful study and preparation.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10.

a) perhaps b)hardly c)probably d)possibly a) known b)faced c)measured d)seen a) interviews b)discussions c)meetings d)seminars a) possibility b)feeling c)happenings d)experience a) interact b)speak c)react d)concern a) meeting b)concerned c)involved d)interested a) beggar b)candidate c)person d)student a) employment b)estimation c)elevation d)establishment a) frequent b)happy c)important d)consequent a) minutes b)times c)hours d)occasions

choose one word out of the given alternatives, which cannot be formed from the letters of the word consultation a) constant b) nation c) salute d)station ANS : c) Solution : carefully looking at the words, we find that the word consultation does not contain the letter e. so, the word salute cannot be formed.

If the letters of the word articulates can ne used as many times as one wants to use, then which one of the following four words cannot be formed? a) COURTS b) LATER c) ELECTRIC d) ARTICLE ANS : a) Solution: Clearly , the word articulates does not contain the letter O and as such, the word COURTS cannot be formed.

If it is possible to make only one meaningful word with the second, the fourth, the fifth and the tenth letters of the word creditable using each letter only once , the which of the following will be the first letter of that word? If more than one such words can be formed, give M as the answer and if no such word can be formed, then give N as the answer. a)D b) E c) R d) M e) N ANS: d) Solution: The second, fourth, fifth and tenth letters of the word creditable are R, D, I, E respectively. Using these letters, we can form two words- DIRE and RIDE.

Intelligence A) TILLAGE b) incite c) gentle d) neglect ANS : a) Consolidate a) lentil b) slain c) condole d) detail ANS : a) Liberationist a) bittern b) serial c) liberal d) relation ANS : c) Enthusiastically a) tantalus b) shale c) helminth d) Satiate ANS : c)

If it is possible to make a meaningful word from the second, the seventh, the ninth and the eleventh letters of the word organisation using each letter only once, them which will be the third letter of that word? If no such word can be formed, your answer would be X and if more than one such word can be formed, your answer would be M. a) R b) S c) T d)M e)X

ANS : a)

In such type of questions, clues are given regarding comparisons among a set of persons or things with respect to one or more qualities. The candidate is required to analyse the whole information from a proper ascending or descending sequence and then answer the given questions accordingly.

There are five friends Sachin, Kunal, Mohit, Anuj and Rohan. Sachin is shorter than Kunal but taller than Rohan. Mohit is tallest. Anuj is a little shorter than Kunal and taller than sachin.

1)Who is the shortest? a) Rohan b) sachin c) Anuj d) kunal e) None of these.

2) If they stand in their order of their heights, who will be in the middle? a) Kunal b) Rohan c) Sachin d) Anuj e) None of these
3) If they stand in the order of increasing heights, who will be the second? a) Anuj b) sachin c) Rohan d) kunal e) None of these

4) Who is second tallest? a) Sachin b) kunal c) Anuj d) rohan

5) Who is taller than anuj but shorter than Mohit? a) Kunal b) Rohan c) Sachin d) data inadequate e) none

Let us denote the five boys by the first letter of their names, namely S, K, M, A , R. Clues: a) R<S<K b) M<R<S<K c) S<A<K
Order : R<S<A<K<M

1)

2)
3) 4) 5)

a) d) b) b) a)

In an examination, Raj got more marks than Mukesh but not as many as Priya. Priya got more marks than Mukesh and Kamal. Dinesh got less marks than Mukesh but his marks are not lowest in the group. Who is the second in descending order of marks? a) Priya b) kamal c) Raj d) cannot be determined e) None of these

In terms of marks obtained, Mukesh<Raj Raj<Priya Dinesh<Priya Kamal<Priya Dinesh<Mukesh Since Dinesh marks are not the lowest, Kamal marks are the lowest. SEQUENCE: Kamal<Dinesh<Mukesh<Raj<Priya. ANS : c)

INFORMATION Every passage offers you some information. Some questions are straight forward and they may be answered from the information within the passage itself. The information in the passage may be 1) Direct 2) Implied

ELIMINATION Elimination is saying no to alternatives on justifiable grounds until you have a positive answer. Usually, questions of the TRUE or FALSE category can be answered by this process of elimination.

INFERENCE The word Inference means to arrive at a logical conclusion. Some questions which cant be answered by information or elimination require the process of inference. Inference may be either SIMPLE or COMPLEX.

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. The general recognition of this fact is shown in the proverbial phrase, it is the busiest man who has time to spare. thus, an elderly lady at leisure can spend the entire day writing a post card to her niece. An hour will be spent in finding the postcard, another hunting for spectacles, half an hour to search for the address, an hour and a quarter in composition and twenty minutes in deciding whether or not to take an umbrella when going to the pillar box in the street. The total effort that would occupy a busy man for three minutes, all told, may in the fashion leave another person completely exhausted after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil

1) What happens when the time to be spent on some work increases? a) The work is done smoothly b) The work is done leisurely c) The work consumes all the time d) The work needs additional time ANS : c) 2) Explain the sentence : work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. a) The more work there is to be done, the more time needed b) Whatever time is available for a given amount of work, all of it will be used c) If you have more time, you can do more work d) If you have some important work to do, you should always have some additional time ANS : b)

3) Who is the person likely to take more time to do work? a) A busy man b) A man of leisure c) An elderly person d) An exhausted person ANS : b) 4) What is the total time spent by the elderly lady in a writing postcard? a) Three minutes b) Four hours and five minutes c) Half an hour d) A full day ANS : d)

5) What does the expression pillar box stands for? a) A box attached to the pillar b) A box in the pillar c) Box office d) A pillar type post-box ANS : d)

Substitute the highlighted portion. Apply rules of grammar usage and vocabulary. If highlighted portion correct, no improvement needed.

This project would encourage development and enable every villager to govern their own destiny. A)To govern his B)To governing his c)Have governed his D)May govern their E)No correction required ANS : A)

Lets buy a new sari with the annual bonus, can we? A)Cant we B)Dont we C)Shall we D)No improvement ANS : A)

1) He shouted that he might attract attention a) To attract attention b) For attracting attention c) That he may attract attention d) No correction ANS : a) 2) A large number of houses has come up around Kolkata a) Is coming up b) Are coming up c) Had come up d) No correction ANS : b)

Selecting single word for

Given phrase

Group of words

One who cuts precious stones Lapidist (lapidary) One who is new to a profession Novice One who collects postage stamps Philatelist A speech made to oneself Soliloquy

Boredom and frustration in life Ennui A long wandering journey Odyssey A person claiming to be superior in culture and intellect to others High brow The act of spying Espionage Fear of crowds Oclophobia

Strong and settled dislike between two persons a) Apathy b) Hatred c) Antipathy d) Animosity ANS : c)

One who is determined to exact full vengeance for wrongs done to him a) Vindicator b) Usurer c) Vindictive d) Virulent ANS : c)

1) Release of a prisoner from jail on certain terms and conditions. a) Parole b) parley c) Pardon d) acquit ANS : a) 2) A person who wishes to throw over all establishments a) Anarchist b) hooligan c) Criminal d) rebel ANS : a)

1) IMPLICATE a)Include b)Entreat c)Suggest d)Imply Solution: The word Implicate may be used in a sentence as The man implicated him falsely in the case Clearly, the word means involve or include Hence, the answer is a)

ADMONISH a)Threaten b)Praise c)Appeal d)Support ANS: a) TYRANNY a)Misrule b)Power c)Madness d)Cruelty ANS: b) DEAR a)Due b)Close c)Costly d)Young ANS: c)S

FATIGUE a)Weariness b)Sweating c)Tension d)Disrespect ANS: a)

JUVENILE a)Hidden b)Young c)Humorous d)Tedious ANS: b)

OBSCURE a)Pedantic b)Implicit c)Explicit d)Obnoxious Solution: obscure means Secret. so the antonym would be Explicit Hence, the answer is c)

Dearth a)Extravagance c)Abundance ANS: c) Onerous a)Straight-forward c)Complex ANS: b) Languid a)Smart c)Fast ANS: b)

b)Scarcity d)Sufficiency

b)Easy d)Plain

b)Energetic d)Ferocious

Batty a)Prudent c)Cunning ANS: b)

b)Sane d)Cautious

Grim a)Serious c)Delightful ANS: c)

b)Satisfying d)Painful

Homonyms are words that have same or almost the same pronunciation but are different in meaning. Example: Aught and ought sound similar. But aught means anything and ought means should as it is clear from the sentences below. Tell me frankly, if you have aught to say. We ought to obey our parents.

Exercise:
1)deify/defy a) It is on account of his extensive social service that people ________ him everywhere. b) We should not ________ the authority of the Government. 2)Tenur / teneur a) The _____ of his speech was not clear. b) His _____ of office is drawing to a close 3)antic/antique a) He was being laughed at for his _____ gesture. b)______ articles are priced much these days.

Exercise:
1)I go the bed at eight every night. 2)By all standards he is a best soldier our military school has produced so far. 3)Recently I visited kashmir and found the sceneries to be marvelous. 4)Had I come to know about his difficulties I would have certainly helped. 5)Never did this exhibition of contempt and anger ceased so long as British rule remained a live thing in India.

Objective general English by R.S.Aggarwal & Vikas Aggarwal Objective English by Hari Mohan Prasad & Uma Rani Sinha A modern approach to Verbal Reasoning by Dr. R.S. Aggarwal Objective English by Edward Thorpe & Showick Thorpe