1. Muktai Chavan Deb
Unit VI: Verbal Ability
English language
Synonyms &
Antonyms
Spotting the
Errors
Parajumbles Verbal Analogies
Idioms & One
word
substitution
Comprehension
Passages
2. Verbal Ability: Comprehension, One
Word Substitutes, Idioms and Phrases,
Change of Voice, Change of Speech, Verbal
Analogies, Spotting Errors, Synonyms,
Antonyms, Selecting Words, Spellings, Sentence
Formation, Ordering of Words, Sentence
Correction, Sentence Improvement, Completing
Statements, Ordering of Sentences,
Paragraph Formation
3. Comprehension
Here we have to read a given passage and answer the
questions based on it. We all have been doing such
passages since our school days. The only difference is
of the difficulty level.
Questions will often be about a topic which is
unfamiliar to you, but this is an advantage rather than
a disadvantage because you need to answer the
questions based only on the information that you are
given – not using any knowledge that you already
have.
4. You have to read the whole passage presented at least once.
One can first see the questions given to get an
understanding of the passage and it may help them in
finding the answer as they read through the passage.
Time Management- For multiple choice tests, cross out
answers you know are wrong to eliminate them from
contention. If you can't decide between two or three
choices, make an educated guess and move on. Wasting too
much time on one question may hurt you later in the test.
Other Considerations- As you read through the passage
for the first time, it is a good idea to use a pencil to note
down ideas, quotes, or other information that seems
important and may appear in questions.
There's no better way to increase reading comprehension
scores than to practice doing it. Practicing helps you
increase your test-taking speed and allow you to pinpoint
the areas that you need to work on the most.
5. Synonyms & Antonyms: Similar Meaning and Opposite
meaning words
Learning the entire dictionary is not the solution to building
the vocabulary. Instead one can start early by following the
steps given below.
A simple technique- Write down A-Z in a notebook. Now
write a sentence such as
“My neighbor’s dog is ___________.”
Now start writing words with A, B,C,D, and so on in the blank
space.
Eg: My neighbor’s dog is amazing, awful, afraid, etc.
My neighbor’s dog is Bold, Brave, Bad, etc.
As you go on writing you come up with words and can match
synonyms and antonyms. You can make many such
sentences. Doing it with your friends will help and will be fun
too.
6. Experiment with synonyms
After you see the meaning of a word,
look up its usage in the sentence that is
usually present in the dictionary. Note
down this sentence. Prepare a new
sentence after understanding the
meaning of the word.
Prepare sentences with antonyms
So the next step is to find the antonym
of the word, this further helps you to
store the word well in your mind. Now
try to form a sentence or couple of
sentences with the antonyms.
If you can follow this strategy, it would
definitely solve your problem of
learning new words without forgetting
their meaning.
7. Verbal Analogies
Verbal analogies provide excellent training in
seeing relationships between concepts.
How to "Read" Analogies- The symbol ( : ) means
"is to" and the symbol ( : : ) means "as." Thus, the
analogy, "aspirin : headache : : nap : fatigue,"
should be read "aspirin is to headache as nap is to
fatigue." Stated another way, the relationship
between aspirin and headache is the same as the
relationship between nap and fatigue.
8. Common Relationships Between Word Pairs
1. Sameness (synonyms) boring : monotonous
wealthy : affluent : : indigent : poverty-stricken
2. Oppositeness (antonyms) genuine : phony
zenith : nadir : : pinnacle : valley
3. Classification Order (general - specific) food : fruit : peach
orange : fruit : : beet : vegetable
4. Difference of Degree (or Connotative Values) cool : cold : frozen
slender : skinny
clever : crafty : : modest : prim
5. Person Related to Tool, Major Trait, Skill, or
Interest
writer : novel
9. 6. Part and Whole wheels : bicycle
eraser : pencil : : tooth : comb
7. Steps in a Process birth : life : death
cooking : serving : : word processing :
printing
8. Cause and Effect (or Typical Result) poison : death
fire : scorch : : blizzard : freeze
9. Thing and Its Function shovel : dig
scissors : cut : : pen : write
10
.
Qualities or Characteristics gold : valuable
aluminum : lightweight : : thread : fragile
10. 11. Substance Related to End Product cow : milk
silk : scarf : : wool : sweater
12. Implied Relationships light : knowledge
clouds : sun : : hypocrisy : truth
13. Thing and What It Lacks spinster : husband
atheist : belief : : indigent : money
14. Symbol and What It Represents Uncle Sam : U. S.
dove : peace : : four-leaf clover : luck
12. Spotting the errors
You have to find out the
grammatically incorrect part of the
sentence. What is needed here is
strong foundation of grammar- use of
commas, semicolons, conjunctions,
verbs, clauses, etc. you have to first
get the basics clear and then move
ahead to attempt such questions.
