How to Prepare the English Language For IBPS PO Exam

IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) conducts a common written test every year to recruit candidates for the bank post for various job profile like Probationary Officer, Clerk and Specialist Officer in the top banks of India, listed with IBPS. In all the common written test of IBPS and many other competitive exams, the English Language is the main subject.

The English language is a subject in which most of the students are scared of because it is a bit complex, even the people who are well-versed with this subject usually end up making mistakes. But if a student gets the basic tips and tricks to solve the question then he can easily score the sectional cutoff required for English. Here we have compiled a list of tips to solve as well as prepare for the English language for IBPS PO Exam.

Before the preparation for the exam is started, it is always better to know the pattern of the Exam.

IBPS PO English Exam Pattern:

Topics	Expected Number of Questions
Reading Comprehension	10
Cloze Test	10
Fill in the blanks	0-5
Multiple meaning/error solving	0-5
Paragraph Complete/ Sentence Correction	5
Para Jumbles	5
Miscellaneous	5

Before we start with the tips first you must always be familiar with the basics and proper usage of grammar and with that always makes sure that sentences you form is clear and concise. It should be making sense.

Tips to prepare for Grammar

Topic covered under Grammar are Re-arranging sentences, spellings Check, idioms & phrases, spotting the Errors, Antonyms, Synonyms, Sentence Completion, etc. These topics are the one that needs thorough practice, So always make sure that you solve one of this topic every day either in morning or before going to bed.

Tips to prepare for Comprehension

For most of the students, Comprehension means the Questions which are to be answered from the passage, but it is actually set to analyze the reading and understanding capacity of the candidates, and frankly, this is one of the favorite topics as many have always scored full marks in comprehension. First of all, forget the conception of reading full comprehension to answer the question, In the exam, there are many questions which do not require reading the full paragraph given. Click here to know 4 Strategies to Master Reading Comprehension and score full marks in Comprehension.

Tips to avoid spelling mistakes and sentence formation

The English language is the collection of sentences which are written to convey a message and a sentence is a collection of words which are brought together to make sense of those words and word has spellings, if one spelling goes wrong the whole sentence can go wrong and ultimately the whole English language goes wrong and therefore it is very important to keep your spellings perfect. To make your spelling perfect, every day just take out 5 minutes and try to take dictations, ask someone to dictate an article from the newspaper or a magazine. Usually, an article in newspaper or magazine contains all the words which are used on daily basis and are a bit complicated and will help you to improve.

Tips to prepare for Error Spotting question

For this section the candidate needs to have their basic knowledge in the English language, though the questions for error-spotting are from simple grammar or spelling, but the questions are placed in such a way that it gets hard to spot the error and to spot the error the candidates themselves end up making an error. Check the link here to get an in detailed procedure to handle the questions related to Error Spotting.

We hope that the tips provided above will help you to ace your exam and get you a secured Career

Articles

Articles are of TWO types. They are

1. Indefinite article  ----      A / An
2. Definite article   ----      The

What's the difference?

If you want to say about ANY item, you should use the articles A / An. If you want to say about a SPECIFIC item, you should use the article THE.

Confused? Lets see an example. Assume that you've selected for a Bank Exam. You have a stupid friend like me. So obviously She will ask you a party.
Suppose if She says

• Lets go to a Restaurant, that means She doesn't have any specific restaurant in Her mind. So you can give her party in ANY cheap restaurant.  But,
• If she says Lets go to THE restaurant, that means She has some SPECIFICATIONS. I mean she have a specific restaurant in her mind. So you cant escape ;)

Well, this is the basic difference between A/An and The. There are so many differences and usages of these articles. We shall discuss them later.

Ok, lets discuss about the Indefinite articles first.

Indefinite Articles :

A : The indefinite article 'a' is used before singular countable nouns that start with a Consonant sound.

An : The indefinite article 'an" is used before singular countable nouns that start with a Vowel sound. 

Wow, Nice definitions. No?

Have a look at some examples,

A :

• A Bat
• A Cat
• A Rat
• A Jug

An :

• An Apple
• An Egg
• AN Ink-Bottle
• An Orange
• An Umbrella

Great,

Now tell me, what should I use before the words European, One-Eyed Beggar, University, Useful Website?

Can I say, Guide4BankExams is an Useful site to know about Banking Exams? 

NO

why ?

Please Re-Read the definitions. Here we are talking about Vowel and Consonant SOUNDS. Not the Letters. People often confuse with this. They blindly put A before a word, if it starts with a Vowel letter (A, E, I, O, U) and put An before the word which starts with the consonant letter. 

Consider the SOUND, not the LETTER.

Confusing?  Lets see a short cut for this. 

• If a word starts with a SWAR (Any of the Indian Language) sound, then we should use An before it.
• If a word starts with a Vyanjan (An of the Indian Language) sound, then we should use A before it.

Have a look at this picture,

so, now see these examples,

A :

• A European
• A One-Eyed beggar
• A University
• A Useful Website

An:

• An hour
• An Honest Man
• An honourable person

Thats it.

Now lets see some more TRICKY examples in English.

Suppose , if you want to say about the Member of Parliament, you can say a Member of Parliament, But if you use shorter form as M.P, Then you should say, He is an M.P

Lets see another example, He is an NRI but He is a Non Resident Indian

Thats all for now friends, tomorrow we shall discuss about the article THE.

Good Day

Spotting Errors in English

Spotting Errors in English – Tips for SBI PO

Even those of us who are well-versed with English end up making the silliest of errors in grammar. It is a very natural tendency but error-spotting is not an art that one can’t master. It is just a matter of swearing by some guidelines and practice! Here are 26 tips for error spotting in English:

1. Certain nouns possess a singular form but still represent plurality and thus, take a plural verb when used in a sentence.

E.g. Cattle, peasantry, people, clergy, police.

Thus,

• The Police has come (Incorrect)
• The Police have come (Correct)

2. Certain nouns always take the plural verb because their form is always plural.

E.g. Scissors, trousers, spectacles, thanks, premises.

Thus,

• The scissors is kept on the table. (Incorrect)
• The scissors are kept on the table. (Correct)

3. When a number is followed by a noun denoting measure, length, money, number or weight, the form of the nouns does not change so long as they are followed by another noun or pronoun.

E.g. Million, pair, metre, year, dozen, foot, head.

Thus,

• This is a nine-metres cloth. (Incorrect)
• This is a nine-metre cloth. (Correct)

4. When a number is followed by a noun denoting measure, length, money, number or weight, but these are not followed by another noun or pronoun, then they take the plural form.
   E.g. Million, pair, metre, year, dozen, foot, head.

Thus,

• This sari is nine yard long. (Incorrect)
• This sari is nine yards long. (Correct)

5. Certain nouns, especially of the collective category, are used as singular when they specify a unit.

E.g. Public, team, committee, government, audience, orchestra, company, jury.

Thus,

• The public were unanimous in their opinion. (Incorrect)
• The public was unanimous in its opinion. (Correct)

6. Certain nouns, especially of the collective category, are used in plural when they specify a difference of opinion or class.
   E.g. Public, team, committee, government, audience, orchestra, company, jury.

Thus,

• The jury was divided in its opinion. (Incorrect)
• The jury were divided in their opinion. (Correct)

7. If the pronoun ‘one’ is used, it must be maintained throughout the sentence.

Thus,

• One must respect his elders.  (Incorrect)
• One must respect one’s elders. (Correct)

8. The word ‘whose’is used for living people and ‘which’ is used for non-living things or ideas.

Thus,

• Which box is kept on the table? (Incorrect)
• Whose box is kept on the table?  (Correct)

9. ‘Less’ is used to denote quantity while ‘fewer’ is used to denote number.

Thus,

• No less than twenty people were (Incorrect)
• No fewer than twenty people were (Correct)

10. ‘One of’is always followed by noun in the plural form.

Thus,

• She is one of the least important person in the office. (Incorrect)
• She is one of the least important people in the office. (Correct)

11. Only ‘than’ should be used after ‘no other’
    Thus,

• I like no other movie but Titanic. (Incorrect)
• I like no other movie than Titanic. (Correct)

12. After the word ‘Know’, ‘how, ‘what’ or ‘when’ should be used before using the infinitive.

Thus,

• I know to speak English. (Incorrect)
• I know how to speak English. (Correct)

13. If the verb indicates a purpose, an infinitive must be used and if the verb indicates a cause, a gerund must be used.

Thus,

• He went to the mall for watching a movie. (Incorrect)
• He went to the mall to watch a movie. (Correct)

• He was suspended to show indiscipline. (Incorrect)
• He was suspended for showing indiscipline.(Correct)

14.‘As’ is not used with verbs like ‘appointed’, ‘elected’ , ‘considered’, ‘called’ but it is used with the word ‘regard’.

Thus,

• He was elected as Secretary of the organisation. (Incorrect)
• He was elected Secretary of the organisation. (Correct)

• I regard Sahil my best friend. (Incorrect)
• I regard Sahil as my best friend. (Correct)

15. Adverbs should not be confused for adjectives. An adjective describes the characteristic of the subject while an adverb describes the action of the verb.

Thus,

• The horse looked beautifully. (Incorrect)
• The horse looked beautiful. (Correct)

16. Question tags are always the opposite of the sentence which means that if the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative and vice versa.

Thus,

• You were dancing, were you? (Incorrect)
• You were dancing, weren’t you? (Correct)

17. An infinitive verb should never be split.

Thus,

• I request you to kindly tell me. (Incorrect)
• I request you kindly to tell me. (Correct)

18. A pronoun after ‘like’, ‘unlike’ and ‘let’ takes an objective case.

Thus,

• You will never find a woman like she. (Incorrect)
• You will never find a woman like her. (Correct)

• Let I do it. (Incorrect)
• Let me do it. (Correct)

19. The relative pronoun ‘that’is used instead of ‘who’ or ‘which’ after adjectives in the superlative degree.

Thus,

• This is the best which she could do. (Incorrect)
• This is the best that she could do. (Correct)

20. To show equality ‘as’is used both before and after the adjective.

Thus,

• I can run as fast, if not faster than you. (Incorrect)
• I can run as fast as, if not faster than you. (Correct)

21. Even though‘More than one’indicates a plural sense, it agrees with a singular noun and takes a singular verb.

Thus,

• More than one students completed their project. (Incorrect)
• More than one student completed his project. (Correct)

22. ‘Scarcely’and ‘hardly’ are followed by ‘when’ and not by ‘than’.

Thus,

• Hardly had the teacher left the room than the pupils started enjoying. (Incorrect)
• Hardly had the teacher left the room when the pupils started enjoying. (Correct)

23. ‘Though’ is followed by ‘yet’and not by ‘but’.

Thus,

• Though he is poor but he is honest. (Incorrect)
• Though he is poor, yet he is honest. (Correct)

24. ‘Lest’must be followed by ‘should’ or by nothing at all and ‘Such’ must be followed by ‘as’.

Thus,

• Work hard lest you will fail. (Incorrect)
• Work hard lest you should fail. (Correct)
• Work hard lest you fail. (Correct)

• He is such a writer that everybody should read his books. (Incorrect)
• He is such a writer as everybody should read his books. (Correct)

25. ‘Unless’ expresses a condition and is always used in the negative sense. Thus ‘not’ is never used with ‘unless’.

Thus,

• Unless you do not work hard, you will not excel in the examination. (Incorrect)
• Unless you work hard, you will not excel in the examination. (Correct)

26. ‘When’denotes a general sense and ‘while’ implies a time duration of doing something.

Thus,

• When learning how to sing, technique is of utmost importance. (Incorrect)
• While learning how to sing, technique is of utmost importance. (Correct)

Now that you know spotting errors in English, you can now practice some exercises on the same to get a good grip on the topic. Keep looking this space as we would be coming up with more related articles to make your preparation journey easy. Don’t forget to look at https://allactivites.blogspot.in/2017/06/26-tips-for-spotting-errors-in-english.html

Let us how you are going about your SBI PO Preparation. Tell us about your experience with the actual exam. We are keen to know.

Banking Awareness,

Q1. ECGC Limited (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd) is a company wholly owned by?

(a) RBI

(b) Government of India

(c) IRDAI

(d) NABARD

(e) Finance Ministry

S1. Ans.(b)
Sol. ECGC Ltd. (Formerly Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd.), wholly owned by Government of India, was set up in 1957 with the objective of promoting exports from the country by providing Credit Risk Insurance and related services for exports. It functions under the administrative control of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and is managed by a Board of Directors comprising representatives of the Government, Reserve Bank of India, banking, and insurance and exporting community. Over the years it has designed different export credit risk insurance products to suit the requirements of Indian exporters and commercial banks extending export credit.

Q2. The Headquarters of Kotak Mahindra Bank is located in _______

(a) Mumbai

(b) Hyderabad

(c) Chennai

(d) Bangaluru

(e) New Delhi

S2. Ans.(a)
Sol. Kotak Mahindra Bank is an Indian private sector banking headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Q3. Minimum amount that can be invested in Kisan Vikas Patra(KVP) Certificate is _________

(a) Rs.100

(b) Rs.200

(c) Rs.500

(d) Rs.1000

(e) Rs.1500

S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. KVP certificates are available in the denominations of Rs 1000, Rs 5000, Rs 10000 and Rs 50000. The minimum amount that can be invested is Rs 1000. However, there is no upper limit on the purchase of KVPs.

Q4. National Housing Bank (NHB), a wholly owned subsidiary of_________

(a) RBI

(b) Government Of India

(c) IRDAI

(d) State Government

(e) NABARD

S4. Ans.(a)
Sol. National Housing Bank (NHB) is an apex level institution for housing. NHB was set up on July 9, 1988 under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987. NHB is wholly owned by Reserve Bank of India, which contributed the entire paid-up capital.

Q5. Where is the corporate office of Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank?

(a) Kolkata

(b) Bengaluru

(c) Mumbai

(d) New Delhi

(e) Chennai

S5. Ans.(c)
Sol. Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank (or MUDRA Bank) is a public sector financial institution has been corporate office in Mumbai.

Q6. The amount invested in Kisan Vikas Patra(KVP) would get doubled in ________ months.

(a) 100

(b) 105

(c) 110

(d) 115

(e) 113

S6. Ans.(e)
Sol. The amount invested in Kisan Vikas Patra would get doubled in 113 months. The interest rate of KVP is 7.6 per cent annually.

Q7. Which of the following holds majority stake in NABARD?

(a) RBI

(b) Government Of India

(c) IRDAI

(d) SEBI

(e) None of the given options is true

S7. Ans.(b)
Sol. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex development bank in India, having headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. RBI sold its stake in NABARD to the Government of India, which now holds 99.60% stake.

Q8. The Regional Rural Banks were owned by _________

(a) Central Government

(b) State Government

(c) Sponsor Banks

(d) All of the Above

(e) None of the given options is true

S8. Ans.(d)
Sol. The Regional Rural Banks were owned by the Central Government, the State Government and the Sponsor Bank. Central Government-50%, State Government- 15% and Sponsor Banks- 35%.

Q9. Authorised capital of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is _________ and paid up capital is _______

(a) Rs 300 crore and Rs 100 crore

(b) Rs 350 crore and Rs 50 crore

(c) Rs 200 crore and Rs 100 crore

(d) Rs 100 crore and Rs 50 crore

(e) Rs 600 crore and Rs 500 crore

S9. Ans.(a)
Sol. NPCI was incorporated in December 2008 and the Certificate of Commencement of Business was issued in April 2009. It was incorporated as a Section 25 company under Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013) and is aimed to operate for the benefit of all the member banks and their customers. The authorized capital was pegged at Rs 300 crore and paid up capital was Rs 100 crore. The aim is to create infrastructure of large dimension and operate on high volumes resulting in payment services at a fraction of the present cost structure.

Q10. The 5-year National saving certificate has the interest rate of- 

(a) 7.1%

(b) 7.2%

(c) 8.1%

(d) 8.2%

(e) 7.9%

S10. Ans.(e)
Sol. National Savings Certificates, popularly known as NSC, is an Indian Government Savings Bond, primarily used for small savings and income tax saving investments in India. These can be purchased from any Post Office in India by an adult (either in his/her own name or on behalf of a minor), a minor, a trust, and two adults jointly. These are issued for five and ten year maturity and can be pledged to banks as collateral for availing loans. Currently the 5-year National saving certificate has the interest rate of 7.9%.

Q11. Maximum limit (amount) that can be invested in Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) Certificate is?

(a) Rs.100

(b) Rs.200

(c) Rs.500

(d) No limit

(e) Rs.1500

S11. Ans.(d)
Sol. KVP certificates are available in the denominations of Rs 1000, Rs 5000, Rs 10000 and Rs 50000. The minimum amount that can be invested is Rs 1000. However, there is no upper limit on the purchase of KVPs.

Q12. Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) was set by the Government of India on 18th November ________ as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. 

(a) 2004

(b) 2005

(c) 2006

(d) 2007

(e) 2008

S12. Ans.(a)
Sol. Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) was set by the Government of India vide O.M. dated 18th November 2004 as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and related crimes. 

Q13. FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by-

(a) President of India

(b) NITI Aayog 

(c) Governor of RBI

(d) Finance Minister

(e) Government of India

S13. Ans.(d)
Sol. Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) was set by the Government of India vide O.M. dated 18th November 2004 as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and related crimes. FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister.

Q14. The record of all economic transactions between the residents of a country and the rest of the world in a particular period is known as?

(a) Balance in Current Account

(b) Balance in Capital Account

(c) Trade Settlements

(d) Balance of Trade

(e) Balance of Payments

S14. Ans.(e)
Sol. The balance of payments (BOP) is the method countries use to monitor all international monetary transactions at a specific period of time. A record of all transactions made between one particular country and all other countries during a specific time period.

Q15. Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) is being to set up to prevent leakages and development of the-

(a) Treasury Market

(b) Bond Market

(c) Money Market

(d) Capital Market

(e) Call Money Market

S15. Ans.(b)
Sol. The Finance Ministry has set up a Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC) with a view to streamline government borrowings and better cash management with the overall objective of deepening bond markets.

QUIZ-23

Q1. India and South Korea have signed an Inter-governmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Defence Industry cooperation between their shipbuilding yards. What is the capital of South Korea?
Answer: Seoul

Q2. Which insurance company has become the first re-insurer to open an office at India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)?
Answer: General Insurance Corporation of India

Q3. Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad has inaugurated welfare initiatives of the Department of Justice. These initiatives are-
Answer: Pro-bono legal services, Tele-law service and Nyaya Mitra Project

Q4. The Reserve Bank of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information” with ____________.
Answer: Bank of Guyana

Q5. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted its first-ever mock exercise on forest fire in ___________ to help improve the preparedness and response mechanism in the event of a forest fire.
Answer: Uttarakhand

Q6. Panchayati Raj Diwas was celebrated recently (April 24) across India. Which Gram Panchayat was the first to become open defecation free (ODF) in the country.
Answer: Kuther Gram Panchayat

Q7. Name the Bollywood film that has recently won the best film honor at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Answer: Newton

Q8. World Book and Copyright Day (WBCD) is observed globally on __________.
Answer: 23 April

Q9. Name the player who has recently won the Men's Singles title of Monte Carlo Masters Tennis tournament 2017.
Answer: Rafael Nadal

Q10. Various Sports including Cricket and Sambo has been removed from the programme list in order to remove burden from the organizers of the 2018 Asian Games. The Asian Games 2018 will be held in _________.
Answer: Jakarta and Padang

Q11. China and Iran have recently signed the first agreement on the reconfiguration of Iran's heavy water reactor. The rector is named as ___________.
Answer: Arak Reactor

Q12. World Malaria Day is observed globally on ___________.
Answer: 25 April

Q13. Name the Indian shot putter who has clinched gold in the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Meet 2017.
Answer: Manpreet Kaur

Q14. Name the environmental activist who has been selected for Goldman Environmental Prize 2017 (also called as Green Nobel) from Asia region for championing the cause of State’s Dongria Kondh tribals and safeguarding their land and culture.
Answer: Prafulla Samantara

Q15. In the recent figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) India stood on which rank in the military expenditure?
Answer: 5th