FREE PREVIEW Week 2-3 3 lessons

General English: Vocabulary and Comprehension

Synonyms, antonyms, confusing words, spellings, idioms, phrasal verbs, one-word substitution, para jumbles, cloze tests and reading comprehension.

Lessons in this module

Synonyms, Antonyms, Confused Words and Spellings

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Idioms, Phrasal Verbs and One-Word Substitution

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Para Jumbles, Cloze Test and Reading Comprehension

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Lesson notes

1. Synonyms, Antonyms, Confused Words and Spellings

Vocabulary questions are quick to answer if you know the word and impossible if you do not. Learn words in small daily sets, and learn pairs of words that look or sound alike.

Synonyms and antonyms often asked

Abundant: plentiful (antonym: scarce).
Candid: frank, open (antonym: secretive).
Diligent: hard-working (antonym: lazy).
Obstinate: stubborn (antonym: flexible). Brief: short (antonym: lengthy).
Ancient: old (antonym: modern). Expand: enlarge (antonym: contract).
Hostile: unfriendly (antonym: friendly). Humble: modest (antonym: proud).

Commonly confused words

Accept (to receive) / except (leaving out): Everyone came except Ravi.
Affect (verb, to influence) / effect (noun, the result): The rain affected the crop. The effect was serious.
Principal (head of a school; main) / principle (a rule or belief).
Stationary (not moving) / stationery (paper, pens and so on).
Advice (noun) / advise (verb): I advise you to rest. Thank you for your advice.
Loose (not tight) / lose (to fail to keep). Complement (completes something) / compliment (praise).

Spellings that are often wrong

Correct: accommodation, committee, occurrence, necessary, separate.
Correct: definitely, embarrass, government, receive, believe.
Rule: 'i before e except after c' when the sound is 'ee': believe, receive, ceiling.
Correct: guarantee, maintenance, privilege, pronunciation, conscience.
In spelling questions, look for double letters (accommodation, committee) and silent letters (government, Wednesday).

Quick facts

Abundant: plentiful / scarce
Candid: frank / secretive
Diligent: hard-working / lazy
Stationary / stationery: not moving / paper and pens
Principal / principle: head, main / rule
Affect / effect: verb / noun
Advice / advise: noun / verb
Accommodation: double c, double m

💡 Learn 10 new words a day with one example sentence each. Revise the old words every Sunday. Words learned in sentences stay in memory longer.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

2. Idioms, Phrasal Verbs and One-Word Substitution

An idiom is a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the single words. Phrasal verbs are verb + small word combinations. One-word substitution replaces a long phrase with a single word. All three are regular in state exams.

Common idioms and their meanings

A piece of cake: very easy.
Once in a blue moon: very rarely.
Break the ice: to start a conversation in a shy or tense situation.
Bite the dust: to fail or be defeated.
Burn the midnight oil: to study or work late into the night.
Hit the nail on the head: to say exactly the right thing. Cry over spilt milk: to regret what cannot be changed.

Phrasal verbs

Give up: to stop doing something. He gave up smoking.
Look after: to take care of. She looks after her parents.
Put off: to postpone. The meeting was put off till Monday.
Call off: to cancel. The strike was called off.
Break down: to stop working (a machine) or to lose control of feelings. Bring up: to raise a child; to mention a topic.
Turn down: to refuse. Look into: to investigate. Carry out: to perform or complete.

One-word substitution

A person who cannot read or write: illiterate.
A person who does not eat meat: vegetarian. A person who does not believe in God: atheist.
One who knows many languages: polyglot. Life history written by oneself: autobiography.
A speech made without preparation: extempore. That which cannot be seen: invisible.
A government by the people: democracy. Killing of one's own father: patricide.
A place where birds are kept: aviary. A place where bees are kept: apiary.

Quick facts

Once in a blue moon: very rarely
Burn the midnight oil: work late at night
Put off: postpone
Call off: cancel
Turn down: refuse
Polyglot: knows many languages
Extempore: speech without preparation
Apiary / aviary: bees / birds

💡 Never translate an idiom word by word. Learn each idiom as one unit with one example sentence.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

3. Para Jumbles, Cloze Test and Reading Comprehension

These three question types test whether you understand English as connected text, not just single words. Each has a simple method that saves time.

Sentence rearrangement (para jumbles)

First find the opening sentence. It introduces the topic and does not begin with a pronoun (he, it, this, they) or a linking word (but, however, therefore).
Look for pairs: a sentence that names a person or thing comes before a sentence that refers to it as 'he', 'it' or 'this'.
Follow time order (first, then, later, finally) and cause-effect order.
Use the options: once you fix the first sentence or one sure pair, you can usually remove two or three options.
Read your final order once from start to end to check it flows.

Cloze test

A cloze test is a passage with blanks. Read the whole passage first to understand the topic and tone.
For each blank, check grammar first (tense, singular or plural, article, preposition), then meaning.
Watch linking words: 'but' and 'although' show contrast; 'so' and 'therefore' show result; 'and' adds a similar idea.
Fixed collocations help: make a decision, take a step, pay attention, do homework.
After filling all blanks, read the passage again to confirm it makes sense.

Reading comprehension strategy

Read the questions first, then the passage. You will know what to look for.
Main idea and title questions: the answer covers the whole passage, not one detail.
Fact questions: find the exact line in the passage. Do not use outside knowledge.
Inference questions: the answer is not written directly but must follow from the passage.
Vocabulary-in-context questions: replace the word with each option and see which fits the sentence.
Keep comprehension for the end of the English section if you are slow at reading.

Quick facts

Opening sentence: no pronoun or 'but/however' at the start
'He/It/This' sentence: comes after the sentence it refers to
But / although: contrast
So / therefore: result
Title / main idea: covers the whole passage
Fact question: answer is in the passage
Inference: follows logically, not stated directly

💡 In para jumbles, do not try to arrange all sentences in your head. Fix one sure pair, check which options contain it, and eliminate the rest.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

Other modules in KEA Paper 2: General Kannada, English & Computer Knowledge

Start Here: Paper 2 Pattern and StrategyFREE PREVIEW → General Kannada: Grammar (ವ್ಯಾಕರಣ)FREE PREVIEW → General Kannada: Vocabulary, Usage and ComprehensionFREE PREVIEW → General English: GrammarFREE PREVIEW → Computer KnowledgeFREE PREVIEW → Compulsory Kannada Language Test: How to PassFREE PREVIEW → Final AssessmentFREE PREVIEW →

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