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SSC ENGLISH – LONG NOTES
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SSC English section tests:
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Reading skills
• Sentence structure
• Error identification
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1. PARTS OF SPEECH
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There are 8 parts of speech in English.
1. NOUN
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A noun is the name of a person, place, thing or idea.
Examples: Ram, Delhi, Book, Honesty
Types:
• Proper Noun – India, Ram
• Common Noun – boy, city
• Collective Noun – team, group
• Abstract Noun – honesty, beauty
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2. PRONOUN
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A pronoun is used in place of a noun.
Examples: he, she, it, they
Types:
• Personal – I, we, you
• Reflexive – myself, himself
• Demonstrative – this, that
• Relative – who, which, that
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3. VERB
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A verb shows action or state of being.
Examples: run, eat, is, are
Types:
• Main Verb
• Auxiliary Verb (is, am, are, was, were, has, have)
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4. ADJECTIVE
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An adjective describes a noun.
Examples: good, tall, beautiful
Degrees:
• Positive – tall
• Comparative – taller
• Superlative – tallest
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5. ADVERB
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An adverb modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb.
Examples: quickly, very, well
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6. PREPOSITION
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Shows relationship between noun and other words.
Examples: in, on, at, under, between
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7. CONJUNCTION
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Joins words or sentences.
Examples: and, but, because, although
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8. INTERJECTION
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Expresses sudden feeling.
Examples: Oh!, Wow!, Alas!
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2. TENSES
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Tense shows time of action.
A. PRESENT TENSE
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• Simple Present – I play
• Present Continuous – I am playing
• Present Perfect – I have played
• Present Perfect Continuous – I have been playing
B. PAST TENSE
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• Simple Past – I played
• Past Continuous – I was playing
• Past Perfect – I had played
• Past Perfect Continuous – I had been playing
C. FUTURE TENSE
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• Simple Future – I will play
• Future Continuous – I will be playing
• Future Perfect – I will have played
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3. SUBJECT–VERB AGREEMENT
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Rule:
• Singular subject → Singular verb
• Plural subject → Plural verb
Examples:
• He runs (✔)
• They run (✔)
Special Rules:
• Each, everyone → singular verb
• A number of → plural verb
• The number of → singular verb
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4. ARTICLES (A, AN, THE)
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A / AN – Indefinite articles
• A → consonant sound
• AN → vowel sound
THE – Definite article
Used for:
• Specific things
• Superlatives
• Rivers, seas, mountains
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5. ACTIVE & PASSIVE VOICE
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Active Voice:
• Ram eats an apple.
Passive Voice:
• An apple is eaten by Ram.
Rule:
Active Object → Passive Subject
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6. DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH
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Direct Speech:
• He said, “I am happy.”
Indirect Speech:
• He said that he was happy.
Rules:
• Change tense
• Remove inverted commas
• Change pronouns
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7. MODALS
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Used to show ability, permission, obligation, etc.
• Can – ability
• May – permission
• Must – obligation
• Should – advice
• Could, Might, Would – past / polite form
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8. VOCABULARY
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A. SYNONYMS
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Words with similar meaning.
Example: Happy – Joyful
B. ANTONYMS
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Opposite meaning.
Example: Hot – Cold
C. ONE WORD SUBSTITUTION
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• One who loves books – Bibliophile
• One who speaks many languages – Linguist
D. IDIOMS & PHRASES
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• Break the ice – start conversation
• Once in a blue moon – very rarely
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9. ERROR SPOTTING
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Find grammatical mistakes.
Check:
• Tense
• Subject–verb agreement
• Article
• Preposition
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10. FILL IN THE BLANKS
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Based on:
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Context
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11. SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT
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Replace incorrect part with correct option.
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12. CLOZE TEST
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A passage with blanks.
Choose correct word based on grammar and meaning.
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13. READING COMPREHENSION
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Steps:
• Read passage carefully
• Identify main idea
• Answer from passage only
• Do not assume
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SSC ENGLISH PREPARATION TIPS
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• Read daily (newspaper / basic English book)
• Revise grammar rules
• Learn 10 new words daily
• Practice previous year questions
• Focus on accuracy first, then speed
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END OF SSC ENGLISH NOTES
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