Quite often candidates experience difficulty when it comes to finding out sentence errors which are a part of IBPS exam English section. Questions based on sentence error spotting are designed to check whether the candidate has adequate understanding of grammatical structures used in Standard Written English (SWE).
In order to crack these questions, you must have sound knowledge of grammatical concepts.Furthermore, you should be able to apply these concepts and find out that part of the sentence which has the error.To do all this, you have to learn English grammar systematically. In this regard, Vidya Guru, the Best Bank PO Coaching Institute in Delhi, has come up with a comprehensive analysis of the topics which constitute IBPS exam grammar syllabus.
- Nouns & Articles: You can start from the classification of nouns into categories such as proper nouns, common nouns, collective nouns, abstract nouns and material nouns. After that you can look at countable &uncountable nouns and learn how they are used along with articles.Within articles, at first, it is required to distinguish between the definite article (the) and indefinite articles (a/an). Further, you must note that the usage of ‘The’is of great significance and so is the understanding of where no article (zero article) should be used.
- Pronouns: Grammatical errors quite often crop up when pronouns are used in sentences. The rules that govern the usage of pronouns must be learnt well. Particular focus must be given on understanding the usage of subjective case and objective case. Moreover, trouble spots such as ‘who’ vs. ‘whom’, ‘which’ vs. ‘that and ‘its’ vs. ‘their’must also be paid attention to.
- Tenses: Tenses are of great relevance in sentence construction. They tell us about the time and the state of the action which is mentioned in the sentence.Each of the three time zones: Past, Present and Future are further divided into Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous forms. Thus, a total of 12 forms appear which are structurally different from one another. Apart from the structure, it is essential to learn the context in which these forms should be used.
- Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject and the verb must agree with each other. There must be a number agreement between a subject and its verb.A singular verb must be used along with a singular subject and a plural verb along with a plural subject.Errors pertaining to this topic are perhaps the most common ones asked in the exam. Along with the high weight age, the well laid out rules that dictate subject-verb agreement make it a scoring area for the student.
- Modifiers: Adjectives, adverbs and phrases & clauses together constitute modifiers. Modifiers are the words or group of words that describe the qualities of other words. In case of modifiers, the fundamental principle is that there must be synchronization and clarity between a modifier and what it modifies (describes). Within modifiers, the usage of misplaced modifiers, dangling modifiers and squinting modifiers is relevant from the exam perspective.
- Prepositions: Prepositions are the words that describe a relationship between other words in a sentence.They are essential to sentence construction because they provide additional and necessary details. A preposition is almost always combined with another word to forma structure called the prepositional phrase. There are nearly 80 to 100 prepositions which, at times, make the task of choosing the right preposition a little tricky. Faulty usage of prepositions results in frequent grammatical errors which need to be spotted.
- Phrasal Verbs: A phrasal verb consists of a verb and another word or phrase, which is usually a preposition.The unique thing about phrasal verbs is that they don’t convey a literal meaning. They have special meanings which need to be learnt and understood. To Give Up, for instance, means to abandon or withdraw. Whereas, to Give In means to submit and surrender.Such meanings can be grasped only when you develop a consistent reading habit. Without adequate knowledge of commonly used phrasal verbs, it is not possible to confidently attempt spot-the-error questions in the exam.
Finally, topics such as Active-Passive and Direct-Indirect have not been included in the above discussion because they are not of that great a relevance from the perspective of Bank PO & Clerk exams. For greater clarity on this issue you can get in touch with Bank Clerk Coaching experts from Vidya Guru. Nevertheless, you must keep in mind that these topics will definitely have to be covered if you wish to appear in any SSC exam.
Summary
Through the medium of this article, you have been provided with a definitive list of topics for IBPS exam grammar portion. You must cover these topics so as to clear the cut off for English section. However, sustained effort will be required for mastering sentence correction so that you can obtain a strong score on the section. To seek guidance on how this can be done, you can submit your queries by writing at vidyagurudelhi@gmail.com.
