English Grammar for Kerala PSC: Tenses, Voice, Speech, Vocabulary

English carries 10-15 marks in every Kerala PSC paper. The questions test grammar rules and vocabulary — not creative writing. If you know the rules, these are free marks. This guide covers every question type that appears.

1. Tenses

The 12 Tenses at a Glance

Tense	Structure	Example
Simple Present	V1 / V1+s	She writes letters.
Present Continuous	am/is/are + V-ing	She is writing a letter.
Present Perfect	has/have + V3	She has written a letter.
Present Perfect Continuous	has/have been + V-ing	She has been writing for an hour.
Simple Past	V2	She wrote a letter.
Past Continuous	was/were + V-ing	She was writing a letter.
Past Perfect	had + V3	She had written the letter before I came.
Past Perfect Continuous	had been + V-ing	She had been writing for an hour.
Simple Future	will/shall + V1	She will write a letter.
Future Continuous	will be + V-ing	She will be writing at 5 PM.
Future Perfect	will have + V3	She will have written by then.
Future Perfect Continuous	will have been + V-ing	She will have been writing for 2 hours.

Key Tense Rules (PSC traps)

1. Universal truths use Simple Present even in reported speech:

   • “The earth revolves around the sun” → He said that the earth revolves around the sun (NOT “revolved”)

2. “Since” and “For” require Perfect or Perfect Continuous tenses:

   • I have lived here since 2010 / for 14 years (NOT “I am living since”)

3. “If” conditional:

   • Type 1: If + present, will + V1 → “If it rains, I will stay home”
   • Type 2: If + past, would + V1 → “If it rained, I would stay home”
   • Type 3: If + had + V3, would have + V3 → “If it had rained, I would have stayed home”

2. Active and Passive Voice

Conversion Formula

Active: Subject + Verb + Object Passive: Object + be (in same tense) + V3 + by Subject

Tense	Active	Passive
Simple Present	She writes a letter	A letter is written by her
Present Continuous	She is writing a letter	A letter is being written by her
Present Perfect	She has written a letter	A letter has been written by her
Simple Past	She wrote a letter	A letter was written by her
Past Continuous	She was writing a letter	A letter was being written by her
Past Perfect	She had written a letter	A letter had been written by her
Simple Future	She will write a letter	A letter will be written by her

3. Direct and Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)

Reporting Verb Changes

Direct	Indirect
say/says	said
”am/is”	was
”are”	were
”was”	had been
”will”	would
”can”	could
”may”	might
”shall”	should/would
”this”	that
”these”	those
”here”	there
”now”	then
”today”	that day
”tomorrow”	the next day
”yesterday”	the previous day

Types of Reported Speech

Statement: He said, “I am happy” → He said that he was happy.

Question (WH): She asked, “Where do you live?” → She asked where I lived.

Question (Yes/No): He asked, “Are you coming?” → He asked if/whether I was coming.

Command: She said, “Sit down” → She ordered me to sit down.

Request: He said, “Please help me” → He requested me to help him.

4. One-Word Substitutions (Most Tested Vocabulary)

Description	One word
A person who is always dissatisfied	Malcontent
One who eats human flesh	Cannibal
One who eats too much	Glutton
One who knows many languages	Polyglot
One who hates mankind	Misanthrope
One who hates women	Misogynist
One who loves mankind	Philanthropist
Government by the people	Democracy
Government by one person	Autocracy
Government by the rich	Plutocracy
Government by a few	Oligarchy
Rule by the military	Stratocracy
Killing of one’s father	Patricide
Killing of one’s mother	Matricide
Killing of one’s brother	Fratricide
Killing of an infant	Infanticide
Killing of a king	Regicide
Mass killing of people	Genocide
Study of birds	Ornithology
Study of insects	Entomology
Study of earthquakes	Seismology
Study of the heart	Cardiology
Study of the skin	Dermatology
A place where bees are kept	Apiary
A place where birds are kept	Aviary
A baby horse	Foal
A baby dog	Puppy
A baby cat	Kitten
A group of fish	Shoal
A group of sheep	Flock
A group of wolves	Pack
A group of bees	Swarm
Words inscribed on a tomb	Epitaph
A speech delivered without preparation	Extempore
That which cannot be read	Illegible
That which cannot be heard	Inaudible
That which cannot be avoided	Inevitable
That which cannot be corrected	Incorrigible
One who walks in sleep	Somnambulist

5. Idioms and Phrases

Idiom	Meaning
A bolt from the blue	Something unexpected
A bone of contention	Cause of a quarrel
A white elephant	A costly but useless possession
At the eleventh hour	At the last moment
Beat around the bush	Avoid the main topic
Bite the dust	To die or fail
Break the ice	Start a conversation
Burn the midnight oil	Study/work late at night
By hook or by crook	By any means necessary
Call a spade a spade	Speak frankly
Cry over spilt milk	Regret over what’s done
Cut corners	Do something cheaply/quickly
Hit the nail on the head	Say exactly the right thing
In the nick of time	Just in time
Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely
Poke your nose	Interfere in others’ matters
Pull strings	Use influence
Rain cats and dogs	Rain heavily
See eye to eye	Agree completely
Turn a blind eye	Pretend not to see
Turn over a new leaf	Make a fresh start

6. Error Spotting Rules

Common errors PSC tests:

1. Subject-verb agreement:

   • “The behaviour of the children were excellent” → was (behaviour is singular)
   • “Each of the boys have arrived” → has (each is singular)

2. Pronoun agreement:

   • “Everyone should bring their book” → his/her (everyone is singular)
   • “You and I saw the movie, didn’t you?” → didn’t we (You and I = we)

3. Article usage:

   • “He is a honest man” → an honest (h is silent)
   • “She is an European” → a European (Eu = “yoo” sound, consonant)

4. Preposition errors:

   • “He is superior than me” → to (superior/inferior/senior/junior use “to”)
   • “She insisted to go” → on going (insist on + V-ing)

5. Commonly confused words:

   • Affect (verb) vs Effect (noun)
   • Advice (noun) vs Advise (verb)
   • Principle (rule) vs Principal (head person/main)
   • Stationary (not moving) vs Stationery (paper/pens)
   • Lose (verb, opposite of win) vs Loose (adjective, not tight)

7. Tag Questions

Rules for forming tag questions:

• Positive statement → Negative tag
• Negative statement → Positive tag
• Match the tense and subject

Statement	Tag
She is coming,	isn’t she?
They won’t come,	will they?
He can swim,	can’t he?
Let’s go,	shall we?
Open the door,	will you?
I am right,	aren’t I?
Nobody came,	did they?
Everybody knows,	don’t they?

8. Synonyms and Antonyms (Most Repeated)

Synonyms

Word	Synonym
Abandon	Forsake, desert
Brave	Courageous, valiant
Calm	Serene, tranquil
Cunning	Shrewd, crafty
Enormous	Huge, immense
Genuine	Authentic, real
Generous	Liberal, benevolent
Hazardous	Dangerous, perilous
Obstinate	Stubborn, adamant
Remedy	Cure, treatment

Antonyms

Word	Antonym
Accept	Reject
Ancient	Modern
Bold	Timid
Expand	Contract
Humble	Arrogant
Maximum	Minimum
Optimist	Pessimist
Permanent	Temporary
Victory	Defeat
Voluntary	Compulsory

PSC English Strategy

1. One-word substitutions and idioms = pure memorisation. Learn 50 of each. They repeat.
2. Voice and speech = learn the formula, practice 20 conversions each. The rules are mechanical.
3. Tenses = understand the 12 tenses; focus on PSC traps (since/for, universal truths).
4. Error spotting = subject-verb agreement and pronoun errors are 80% of questions.
5. Spelling = PSC loves asking “find the correctly spelt word.” Read English daily.

Patterns based on Kerala PSC English questions from 2014-2024 across LDC, Graduate Level, and Secretariat Assistant papers.