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English I

BSHS1001 · 11 topics · 16 min read

0/11 revised

Week 1Every paper

Vowel sounds

Where each vowel sits

short vowellong vowel (letter doubled)Position = where the tongue sits

Short vowels

Symbol	IPA	As in	Words from past papers
i	/ɪ/	sit	pit, kit, knit, lit, mitt
e	/e/	bed	wet, pen
a	/æ/	cat	pack, man
o	/ɒ/	hot	bottle, pot
u	/ʊ/	put	foot, book, good
ʌ	/ʌ/	cup	but, love, son
ə (schwa)	/ə/	about	sofa, teacher (unstressed syllables)

i
IPA:
/ɪ/
As in:
sit
Words from past papers:
pit, kit, knit, lit, mitt
e
IPA:
/e/
As in:
bed
Words from past papers:
wet, pen
a
IPA:
/æ/
As in:
cat
Words from past papers:
pack, man
o
IPA:
/ɒ/
As in:
hot
Words from past papers:
bottle, pot
u
IPA:
/ʊ/
As in:
put
Words from past papers:
foot, book, good
ʌ
IPA:
/ʌ/
As in:
cup
Words from past papers:
but, love, son
ə (schwa)
IPA:
/ə/
As in:
about
Words from past papers:
sofa, teacher (unstressed syllables)

Long vowels: the letter is doubled

Symbol	IPA	As in	Words from past papers
ii	/iː/	seat	meet, lead, wheat, neat, feet, bleat
aa	/ɑː/	car	hard, father, start
oo	/ɔː/	law	court, board, hoard, sport, ball
uu	/uː/	food	root, loot, moot, blue, too, flew, through
əə	/ɜː/	bird	her, word, learn

ii
IPA:
/iː/
As in:
seat
Words from past papers:
meet, lead, wheat, neat, feet, bleat
aa
IPA:
/ɑː/
As in:
car
Words from past papers:
hard, father, start
oo
IPA:
/ɔː/
As in:
law
Words from past papers:
court, board, hoard, sport, ball
uu
IPA:
/uː/
As in:
food
Words from past papers:
root, loot, moot, blue, too, flew, through
əə
IPA:
/ɜː/
As in:
bird
Words from past papers:
her, word, learn

PYQ answers (2023–24)

Word with a 'u' sound: Root / Foot / Court? · With an 'oo' sound: Court / Loot / Cat / Feat? · With 'aa': Hoard / Board / Hard / Teeth? · Without 'ii': Meet / Lead / Wet / Wheat? · Same vowel as 'pack': Cat / Bleat / Shear / Boat?

Show solution

Foot has short /ʊ/; root has long uu.
Court has /ɔː/, which the course writes as oo. Loot is uu.
Hard has /ɑː/ (aa).
Wet has short e; the others have ii.
Pack and cat share /æ/.

Answer: Foot · Court · Hard · Wet · Cat

Traps to avoid

Spelling lies: 'oo' in foot is short u /ʊ/, but in food and root it's long uu /uː/.
The course's oo is the vowel in law, court and board, not the one in food.
Odd one out by vowel: knit, pit, kit vs neat; lit, mitt, knit vs feet. The long ii word is the odd one.
All of through, blue, too and flew carry uu (PYQ May 2023: 'All of these').

Week 1Every paper

Diphthongs

A diphthong glides from one vowel to another inside one syllable (b-oy, m-ou-th). A pure vowel holds still (sp-or-t, m-oo-t).

The 8 diphthongs as glides

Glide up to iday · my · boy

Glide to ugo · now

Glide to the centre, ənear · hair · tour

Each arrow is the tongue moving from the first vowel to the second, inside one syllable.

The 8 diphthongs

Symbol	IPA	Examples
ei	/eɪ/	day, bail, maiden, wake, cake
ai	/aɪ/	my, bite, fly, tired
oi	/ɔɪ/	boy, boycott, loiter, coin
ou	/əʊ/	go, boat, coach, both, know
au	/aʊ/	now, mouth, south, shout, snout, stout, pout
iə	/ɪə/	near, dear, here, gear, shear
eə	/eə/	hair, pear, care, bear
uə	/ʊə/	tour, cure, pure

ei
IPA:
/eɪ/
Examples:
day, bail, maiden, wake, cake
ai
IPA:
/aɪ/
Examples:
my, bite, fly, tired
oi
IPA:
/ɔɪ/
Examples:
boy, boycott, loiter, coin
ou
IPA:
/əʊ/
Examples:
go, boat, coach, both, know
au
IPA:
/aʊ/
Examples:
now, mouth, south, shout, snout, stout, pout
iə
IPA:
/ɪə/
Examples:
near, dear, here, gear, shear
eə
IPA:
/eə/
Examples:
hair, pear, care, bear
uə
IPA:
/ʊə/
Examples:
tour, cure, pure

PYQ answers: 'Which word has no diphthong?'

Snout / Stout / Sport / Shout (asked Sep 2023 and Jan 2024) · Mouth / South / Pout / Moot (May 2024) · Loiter / Stew / Maiden (May 2023) · Which have a diphthong: Bottle / Boycott / Bail (May 2023)?

Show solution

Sport has the pure vowel /ɔː/.
Moot has the pure vowel /uː/.
Stew is /stjuː/: a glide consonant plus pure uu.
Boycott (oi) and bail (ei) glide; bottle has short o.

Answer: Sport · Moot · Stew · Both Boycott and Bail

Shortcut: Say the vowel slowly. If your jaw or tongue moves during it, it's a diphthong. If it stays put, it isn't.

Week 1Every paper

Consonants, clusters & glides

Places of articulation, lips to throat

PYQ: near, dear, tear start at the alveolar ridge; gear starts at the velar (back), so it is the odd one out.

Place of articulation (this decides 'odd one out by initial sound')

Place	Sounds	Example words
Bilabial (both lips)	p, b, m, w	peat, beat, pear, man, wet
Labiodental (lip + teeth)	f, v	fan, van, phone
Dental (tongue + teeth)	θ, ð	thin, this
Alveolar (tongue + ridge behind teeth)	t, d, n, s, z, l, r	town, down, noun, near, dear, tear, sun
Post-alveolar	ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ	she, measure, church, judge
Palatal	j (written /y/)	yes, you
Velar (back of tongue + soft palate)	k, g, ŋ	gown, gear, clear, king, sing
Glottal	h	hat

Bilabial (both lips)
Sounds:
p, b, m, w
Example words:
peat, beat, pear, man, wet
Labiodental (lip + teeth)
Sounds:
f, v
Example words:
fan, van, phone
Dental (tongue + teeth)
Sounds:
θ, ð
Example words:
thin, this
Alveolar (tongue + ridge behind teeth)
Sounds:
t, d, n, s, z, l, r
Example words:
town, down, noun, near, dear, tear, sun
Post-alveolar
Sounds:
ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ
Example words:
she, measure, church, judge
Palatal
Sounds:
j (written /y/)
Example words:
yes, you
Velar (back of tongue + soft palate)
Sounds:
k, g, ŋ
Example words:
gown, gear, clear, king, sing
Glottal
Sounds:
h
Example words:
hat

PYQ answers: odd one out by initial sound

near, dear, tear, gear (May 2024) · noun, down, town, gown (Jan 2024) · peat, beat, clear, pear (May 2024)

Show solution

n, d, t are alveolar; g is velar.
n, d, t are alveolar; g is velar.
p, b are bilabial; clear starts with velar /k/ (and a cluster).

Answer: Gear · Gown · Clear

Manner of articulation

Manner	Sounds
Plosive (stop, then burst)	p b t d k g
Nasal (air through the nose)	m n ŋ
Fricative (friction)	f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h
Affricate (stop + friction)	tʃ dʒ
Approximant	l r w j
Voiceless / voiced pairs	p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, s/z, θ/ð, ʃ/ʒ, tʃ/dʒ

Linking glides

go ‿ outgowout

/w/ glide after rounded lips: u, uu, ou, au

she ‿ offeredsheyoffered

/y/ glide after spread lips: i, ii, ei, ai, oi

Linking glides between words

/w/ glide: after u, uu, ou, au (rounded lips) + a vowel
go‿out → go-w-out (PYQ Sep 2023) · do‿it · who‿is
/y/ glide: after i, ii, ei, ai, oi (spread lips) + a vowel
she‿offered → she-y-offered (PYQ Jan 2024) · me‿off (PYQ May 2024) · I‿am · they‿are

Consonant cluster: two or more consonants together in one syllable with no vowel between: clear, street, spring, text (PYQ: TRUE).
Compare first sounds, not letters: knit starts with /n/, city with /s/, chemistry with /k/, phone with /f/.
Silent letters: knit, write, thumb, hour, listen, psychology.
Phone numbers: any clear grouping works (86/37/68/11/34, 863/768/113/4, 8637/6811/34). Say 'double 1' for 11. PYQ answer: 'All of these'.

Week 2Every paper

Nouns & pronouns

Types of nouns

Type	What it names	Examples
Proper	A specific name (capital letter)	Shraddha, Raghav, Chennai
Common	A general kind of thing	student, city, book, walk
Collective	A group as one unit	team, jury, herd, committee, parliament
Abstract	An idea, quality or state	goodness, youth, poverty, success, happiness
Material	A substance	gold, wood, water
Compound	Two or more words acting as one noun	swimming pool, toothpaste, mother-in-law
Uncountable	Can't be counted one by one	advice, information, furniture, luggage

Proper
What it names:
A specific name (capital letter)
Examples:
Shraddha, Raghav, Chennai
Common
What it names:
A general kind of thing
Examples:
student, city, book, walk
Collective
What it names:
A group as one unit
Examples:
team, jury, herd, committee, parliament
Abstract
What it names:
An idea, quality or state
Examples:
goodness, youth, poverty, success, happiness
Material
What it names:
A substance
Examples:
gold, wood, water
Compound
What it names:
Two or more words acting as one noun
Examples:
swimming pool, toothpaste, mother-in-law
Uncountable
What it names:
Can't be counted one by one
Examples:
advice, information, furniture, luggage

Pronouns

Kind	Words
Personal	I, you, he, she, it, we, they · me, him, her, us, them
Possessive (stand alone)	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs: 'That is yours.'
Possessive (before a noun)	my, your, his, her, our, their: the answer keys mark these Pronoun
Reflexive	myself, yourself, themselves
Demonstrative	this, that, these, those
Interrogative	who (subject), whom (object), whose, which, what
Relative	who, whom, whose, which, that
Indefinite	someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, each

PYQ answers

Not an abstract noun: Goodness / Youth / Poverty / Parliament? · Noun in 'Working hard can bring you success'? · Nouns in 'Shraddha is a brilliant student'? · 'This is my letter and that is ___' · '___ wrote The Canterbury Tales?' · 'Their fans were very disappointed': Their is a…?

Show solution

Parliament is a collective noun.
Success (option list: Working, Hard, Bring, Success).
Two answers: Shraddha and student (multi-select).
Yours: a stand-alone possessive.
Who: asks about the subject.
Pronoun.

Answer: Parliament · Success · Shraddha + Student · Yours · Who · Pronoun

Traps to avoid

'Swimming pool' is a compound noun, not adjective + noun.
yours, hers, theirs never take an apostrophe.
Multi-select: when a sentence has two nouns, tick both.

Week 2Every paper

Verbs, tenses & modals

Modals

Modal	Use	Example
can	ability; informal permission	Sudha can speak Telugu. (PYQ)
could	past ability; polite request	Could you help me?
may	formal permission; possibility	May I ask a question? (PYQ)
might	weak possibility	It might rain.
must	obligation; strong certainty	You must wear a helmet.
should	advice, duty	You should rest.
will / shall	future; offers with I/we	Shall we go?
would	polite request; hypothetical	Would you like tea?
ought to	moral duty	We ought to help.

can
Use:
ability; informal permission
Example:
Sudha can speak Telugu. (PYQ)
could
Use:
past ability; polite request
Example:
Could you help me?
may
Use:
formal permission; possibility
Example:
May I ask a question? (PYQ)
might
Use:
weak possibility
Example:
It might rain.
must
Use:
obligation; strong certainty
Example:
You must wear a helmet.
should
Use:
advice, duty
Example:
You should rest.
will / shall
Use:
future; offers with I/we
Example:
Shall we go?
would
Use:
polite request; hypothetical
Example:
Would you like tea?
ought to
Use:
moral duty
Example:
We ought to help.

Tense signals on a timeline

Tense signals

Signal words	Tense	Example
since, for, ever, never, just, already, yet	Present perfect	She has not read anything since Monday. (PYQ)
yesterday, last year, ago, in 2010	Past simple	They bought the house last year. (PYQ)
now, at the moment	Present continuous	He is writing now.
every day, usually, always	Present simple	She usually walks to work.
by + a future time	Future perfect	By next June, she will have completed her degree.

since, for, ever, never, just, already, yet
Tense:
Present perfect
Example:
She has not read anything since Monday. (PYQ)
yesterday, last year, ago, in 2010
Tense:
Past simple
Example:
They bought the house last year. (PYQ)
now, at the moment
Tense:
Present continuous
Example:
He is writing now.
every day, usually, always
Tense:
Present simple
Example:
She usually walks to work.
by + a future time
Tense:
Future perfect
Example:
By next June, she will have completed her degree.

Agreement and form rules

A as well as / along with / with B: the verb agrees with A
'The teacher, as well as the students, is responsible.' (PYQ)
Either … or / neither … nor: the verb agrees with the nearer subject
Each, every, everyone, one of the: singular verb
The number of / a number of: singular / plural
get / have + object + past participle: causative
'We will get it done.' (PYQ)

Confusables

Pair	Rule
tell / say	tell + a person ('Don't tell me…', PYQ); say + the words ('say that…')
affect / effect	affect = verb, to influence ('The storm affected the coast', PYQ); effect = noun, a result
lie / lay	lie = rest (no object); lay = put something down
rise / raise	rise has no object; raise needs one

Traps to avoid

'Since' needs a starting point (since Monday); 'for' needs a length of time (for two days).
Never use the past simple with since/for/ever: 'I have seen it', not 'I saw it ever'.

Week 2Every paper

Adjectives & adverbs

An adjective describes a noun: ripe tomatoes; the house was painted yellow (PYQs).
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb: walk carefully, walked slowly, very happy.
Kinds of adverb: manner (slowly), place (here), time (yesterday), frequency (usually), degree (very, quite, too).
'Rinku reads quite clearly': both quite and clearly are adverbs (PYQ, multi-select).
'Joseph ran faster than everyone': faster is a comparative adverb, because it modifies ran (PYQ).
'She yelled when she hit her toe': yelled is a verb (PYQ).

What each one modifies

Degrees of comparison

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
good / well	better	best
bad	worse	worst
many / much	more	most
little	less	least
far	farther / further	farthest / furthest
fast	faster (PYQ)	fastest

good / well
Comparative:
better
Superlative:
best
bad
Comparative:
worse
Superlative:
worst
many / much
Comparative:
more
Superlative:
most
little
Comparative:
less
Superlative:
least
far
Comparative:
farther / further
Superlative:
farthest / furthest
fast
Comparative:
faster (PYQ)
Superlative:
fastest

Making -ly adverbs

Adjective	Adverb
suitable	suitably (PYQ)
happy	happily
true	truly
gentle	gently
basic	basically

Traps to avoid

Comparative + than: 'better than', never 'more better'.
Superlatives take 'the': 'the best chocolate cake' (PYQ).
too = excessively or also ('too many people', PYQ); to = towards or infinitive; two = 2.
Not every -ly word is an adverb: friendly, lovely and lonely are adjectives.

Week 3Every paper

Articles: a, an, the

a: before a consonant sound
a laptop, a cold day, a book, a university, a European, a one-way street
an: before a vowel sound
an emergency exit, an hour, an honest man, an MBA, an umbrella
the: specific: something already known or identified
'Pass me the book on the table.'
the: unique: only one exists
the Sun, the Earth, the sky, the east
the: rank: superlatives and ordinals
the best, the first, the only
the: geography: rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, island groups
the Ganga, the Himalayas, holidays in the mountains
No article: single mountains, most countries and cities, languages, meals, sports, general abstract ideas
Mount Everest, India, English, breakfast, cricket

Picking the article

a/an go by the first sound, not the first letter.

PYQ answers

There is __ emergency exit · This is __ best chocolate cake · __ Sun rises in the east · Tomorrow will be __ cold day · I want to buy __ laptop · They spend their holidays in __ mountains · He gave me __ book on my birthday

Show solution

Vowel sound → an.
Superlative → the.
Unique → the.
Consonant sound, one of many days → a.
Any laptop → a.
Mountain range → the.
Any book → a.

Answer: an · the · The · a · a · the · a

Week 3Every paper

Prepositions & conjunctions

at, on, in: from wide to exact

Prepositions of time and place

Use	When	Examples
at	an exact time or point	at 5 pm, at night, at the station
on	days, dates, surfaces	on Monday, on 5 May, on the table
in	months, years, seasons, parts of the day, inside	in May, in 2024, in the morning, in the fridge (PYQ)
since / for	starting point / length of time	since Monday / for two hours
ahead of	before someone in a line	standing in line ahead of me (PYQ)

at
When:
an exact time or point
Examples:
at 5 pm, at night, at the station
on
When:
days, dates, surfaces
Examples:
on Monday, on 5 May, on the table
in
When:
months, years, seasons, parts of the day, inside
Examples:
in May, in 2024, in the morning, in the fridge (PYQ)
since / for
When:
starting point / length of time
Examples:
since Monday / for two hours
ahead of
When:
before someone in a line
Examples:
standing in line ahead of me (PYQ)

Fixed phrases

Phrase	Example
worried about	Sushma is worried about the exam. (PYQ)
in my opinion	In my opinion, she is clever. (PYQ)
look into	Look into the matter (investigate). (PYQ)
interested in · good at · afraid of	She is good at maths but afraid of heights.
depend on · responsible for · different from	Who is responsible for this?
angry with a person · about a thing	She was angry with him about the delay.

Conjunctions

Kind	Words	Example
Coordinating (FANBOYS)	for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so	He may be poor but his character is faultless. (PYQ)
Correlative (pairs)	both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also	The culprit was both fined and punished. (PYQ)
Subordinating	because, although, if, unless, while, until, as if, so that	She behaves as if she was the captain. (PYQ)

Coordinating (FANBOYS)
Words:
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Example:
He may be poor but his character is faultless. (PYQ)
Correlative (pairs)
Words:
both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also
Example:
The culprit was both fined and punished. (PYQ)
Subordinating
Words:
because, although, if, unless, while, until, as if, so that
Example:
She behaves as if she was the captain. (PYQ)

Traps to avoid

'As if' introduces an imagined comparison; plain 'as' means 'in the way that' or 'because'.
'Beyond' in 'beyond Zuckerberg's post' is a preposition (PYQ May 2024).

Week 3Every paper

Phrasal verbs, idioms & collocations

The 'it' test

sumitupseparable: 'it' fits in the middle

takeitafterinseparable: 'take after it'

Separable vs inseparable

Test: put 'it' in the middle: 'sum it up' ✓ → separable · 'take it after' ✗ → inseparable
Separable: sum up (PYQ), call by (PYQ), bring up, turn off, put off, pick up, give up, call off, fill in
Inseparable: come across (PYQ), look after, live on, see about, take after, hit on, keep at, stand for, look into, wait on, get over, run into

Phrasal verb meanings

Phrasal verb	Meaning
wait on	serve someone (PYQ)
lay off (something)	stop doing or using it (PYQ: TRUE); also: dismiss workers
break up	end: 'The meeting broke up before dinner' (PYQ)
break out	start suddenly (war, fire)
break into	enter by force
bring up	raise a child: 'The kids were well brought up' (PYQ)
bring out	publish or launch
come across	find by chance (PYQ: inseparable)
look into	investigate
take after	resemble a parent
put off · call off · get off	postpone · cancel · leave a bus or train
put up with	tolerate

Idioms

Idiom	Meaning
a dark horse	an unexpected winner (PYQ)
cut corners	do something the fastest, cheapest way (PYQ: TRUE)
break the ice	remove the tension at a first meeting (PYQ)
get out of hand	become difficult to control (PYQ)
cost an arm and a leg	be very expensive (PYQ)
keep someone in the loop	keep them updated (PYQ)
be on board	agree with, support (PYQ)
take a hit	be affected badly (PYQ)
once in a blue moon	very rarely
under the weather	slightly ill
spill the beans	reveal a secret
hit the nail on the head	be exactly right
a blessing in disguise	a good thing that first seemed bad
burn the midnight oil	work late into the night
see eye to eye	agree
beat around the bush	avoid the main point
call it a day	stop working
a piece of cake	very easy

Collocations: every paper has a 5-item match

Paper	Pairs
May 2023	land acquisition · moral decay · final blow · weather forecast · unanimous decision
Sep 2023	sports equipment · library card · garden hose · job offer · fishing rod
May 2024	bank account · strong coffee · lazy afternoon · short temper · ancient ruins
Also learn	heavy rain · make a decision · do homework · take a break · pay attention · catch a cold · commit a crime · deep sleep · golden opportunity · tight schedule · broad daylight

Shortcut: Match collocations in two passes: lock the pairs you're sure of first (weather forecast, bank account), then the leftovers fall into place.

Week 4Every paper

Vocabulary: synonyms, antonyms, homophones

Homophones and confusables

Words	Meanings
week / weak	seven days / not strong: 'stay for a week' (PYQ)
wether / weather / whether	a castrated ram / climate / if: 'The wether was unsold in the auction' (PYQ)
too / to / two	excessively or also / towards / 2
course / coarse	a path or programme / rough
principal / principle	head, main / a rule
stationary / stationery	not moving / paper and pens
complement / compliment	completes / praise
accept / except	receive / excluding
loose / lose	not tight / misplace
desert / dessert	sandy land / sweet dish
its / it's	belonging to it / it is

Words from past papers

Word	Answer
tenacity	antonym: timidity
yeoman	a farmer who owned and worked on his own land
archipelago	a collection of islands
order	antonym: chaos
surpassed	exceeded
touted	promoted
tanking	failing
debut	first appearance
prove · maladroit · tired · coach · coarse	establish · clumsy · wearied · counsel · gravelly

Shortcut: Synonym or antonym from a passage? Put each option into the sentence. The synonym keeps the meaning; the antonym flips it.

Week 4Every paper

Reading comprehension & conversations

Strategy

Read the questions first, then the passage, so you know what to look for.
Answers are paraphrased: match the meaning, not the exact words.
'NOT TRUE' or 'EXCEPT': find each option in the passage; the one you can't find (or that contradicts it) is the answer.
True/False: a single wrong detail (a name, number or place) makes the whole statement false.
Use only the passage, never outside knowledge.

Conversation fill-ins: phrases that fit

Situation	Phrase
Answering a formal call	Good morning, XYZ Hospital. How may I help you?
Asking for someone	May I speak to Dr. …, please?
Asking the caller to wait	Could you please hold the line? / Please hold on a moment.
Taking a message	Would you like to leave a message? / May I know who's calling?
Booking	I'd like to book an appointment for…
Didn't catch it	Could you repeat that, please?
Closing	Thank you for calling. Have a nice day.
Informal reply	I'm doing great, thanks. How about you?

Shortcut: For each blank, read the line after it. The reply tells you what the blank said: 'Sure, I'll hold' means the blank asked them to hold.

Traps to avoid

Match the register: hospital, office or professor ⇒ formal ('May I…', 'Could you please…'); siblings or friends ⇒ informal ('Hey', 'Cool').

Exam morning

Last-minute checklist

The 12 things to read on the way to the exam centre.

1Long vowels are doubled: ii (seat), aa (car), oo (law, court), uu (food), əə (bird).
2'u' is the vowel in foot; 'uu' is the vowel in food.
3No-diphthong answers so far: sport, moot, stew, bottle.
4/w/ glide after rounded vowels (go‿out); /y/ glide after i-type vowels (she‿offered, me‿off).
5Odd one out by initial sound = different place of articulation (gear, gown, clear are velar).
6a/an go by sound: an hour, an MBA, a university.
7'The' for unique things, superlatives, rivers and mountain ranges.
8'A as well as B' → the verb agrees with A.
9Since + starting point; for + length of time.
10Separable test: put 'it' in the middle (sum it up ✓).
11Collocations: weather forecast, unanimous decision, bank account, strong coffee, short temper.
12RC 'NOT TRUE' questions: eliminate what you can find in the passage.

Now test yourself

Turn these notes into marks

Sit a real paper in the exam portal, then come back to the Traps view for whatever you got wrong.

Previous-year papersThe real papers, official keys PracticeDrill PYQs by topic Full mockAll four courses, timed

Formulas and conventions follow the IIT Madras BS course material for weeks 1–4. “Every paper” and “Most papers” count how often a topic appears in the qualifier papers on BTechi (January 2023 to May 2024). BTechi is not affiliated with IIT Madras.

English I

BSHS1001 · 11 topics · 16 min read

0/11 revised

Week 1Every paper

Vowel sounds

Where each vowel sits

short vowellong vowel (letter doubled)Position = where the tongue sits

Short vowels

Symbol	IPA	As in	Words from past papers
i	/ɪ/	sit	pit, kit, knit, lit, mitt
e	/e/	bed	wet, pen
a	/æ/	cat	pack, man
o	/ɒ/	hot	bottle, pot
u	/ʊ/	put	foot, book, good
ʌ	/ʌ/	cup	but, love, son
ə (schwa)	/ə/	about	sofa, teacher (unstressed syllables)

i
IPA:
/ɪ/
As in:
sit
Words from past papers:
pit, kit, knit, lit, mitt
e
IPA:
/e/
As in:
bed
Words from past papers:
wet, pen
a
IPA:
/æ/
As in:
cat
Words from past papers:
pack, man
o
IPA:
/ɒ/
As in:
hot
Words from past papers:
bottle, pot
u
IPA:
/ʊ/
As in:
put
Words from past papers:
foot, book, good
ʌ
IPA:
/ʌ/
As in:
cup
Words from past papers:
but, love, son
ə (schwa)
IPA:
/ə/
As in:
about
Words from past papers:
sofa, teacher (unstressed syllables)

Long vowels: the letter is doubled

Symbol	IPA	As in	Words from past papers
ii	/iː/	seat	meet, lead, wheat, neat, feet, bleat
aa	/ɑː/	car	hard, father, start
oo	/ɔː/	law	court, board, hoard, sport, ball
uu	/uː/	food	root, loot, moot, blue, too, flew, through
əə	/ɜː/	bird	her, word, learn

ii
IPA:
/iː/
As in:
seat
Words from past papers:
meet, lead, wheat, neat, feet, bleat
aa
IPA:
/ɑː/
As in:
car
Words from past papers:
hard, father, start
oo
IPA:
/ɔː/
As in:
law
Words from past papers:
court, board, hoard, sport, ball
uu
IPA:
/uː/
As in:
food
Words from past papers:
root, loot, moot, blue, too, flew, through
əə
IPA:
/ɜː/
As in:
bird
Words from past papers:
her, word, learn

PYQ answers (2023–24)

Show solution

Foot has short /ʊ/; root has long uu.
Court has /ɔː/, which the course writes as oo. Loot is uu.
Hard has /ɑː/ (aa).
Wet has short e; the others have ii.
Pack and cat share /æ/.

Answer: Foot · Court · Hard · Wet · Cat

Traps to avoid

Spelling lies: 'oo' in foot is short u /ʊ/, but in food and root it's long uu /uː/.
The course's oo is the vowel in law, court and board, not the one in food.
Odd one out by vowel: knit, pit, kit vs neat; lit, mitt, knit vs feet. The long ii word is the odd one.
All of through, blue, too and flew carry uu (PYQ May 2023: 'All of these').

Week 1Every paper

Diphthongs

A diphthong glides from one vowel to another inside one syllable (b-oy, m-ou-th). A pure vowel holds still (sp-or-t, m-oo-t).

The 8 diphthongs as glides

Glide up to iday · my · boy

Glide to ugo · now

Glide to the centre, ənear · hair · tour

Each arrow is the tongue moving from the first vowel to the second, inside one syllable.

The 8 diphthongs

Symbol	IPA	Examples
ei	/eɪ/	day, bail, maiden, wake, cake
ai	/aɪ/	my, bite, fly, tired
oi	/ɔɪ/	boy, boycott, loiter, coin
ou	/əʊ/	go, boat, coach, both, know
au	/aʊ/	now, mouth, south, shout, snout, stout, pout
iə	/ɪə/	near, dear, here, gear, shear
eə	/eə/	hair, pear, care, bear
uə	/ʊə/	tour, cure, pure

ei
IPA:
/eɪ/
Examples:
day, bail, maiden, wake, cake
ai
IPA:
/aɪ/
Examples:
my, bite, fly, tired
oi
IPA:
/ɔɪ/
Examples:
boy, boycott, loiter, coin
ou
IPA:
/əʊ/
Examples:
go, boat, coach, both, know
au
IPA:
/aʊ/
Examples:
now, mouth, south, shout, snout, stout, pout
iə
IPA:
/ɪə/
Examples:
near, dear, here, gear, shear
eə
IPA:
/eə/
Examples:
hair, pear, care, bear
uə
IPA:
/ʊə/
Examples:
tour, cure, pure

PYQ answers: 'Which word has no diphthong?'

Show solution

Sport has the pure vowel /ɔː/.
Moot has the pure vowel /uː/.
Stew is /stjuː/: a glide consonant plus pure uu.
Boycott (oi) and bail (ei) glide; bottle has short o.

Answer: Sport · Moot · Stew · Both Boycott and Bail

Shortcut: Say the vowel slowly. If your jaw or tongue moves during it, it's a diphthong. If it stays put, it isn't.

Week 1Every paper

Consonants, clusters & glides

Places of articulation, lips to throat

PYQ: near, dear, tear start at the alveolar ridge; gear starts at the velar (back), so it is the odd one out.

Place of articulation (this decides 'odd one out by initial sound')

Place	Sounds	Example words
Bilabial (both lips)	p, b, m, w	peat, beat, pear, man, wet
Labiodental (lip + teeth)	f, v	fan, van, phone
Dental (tongue + teeth)	θ, ð	thin, this
Alveolar (tongue + ridge behind teeth)	t, d, n, s, z, l, r	town, down, noun, near, dear, tear, sun
Post-alveolar	ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ	she, measure, church, judge
Palatal	j (written /y/)	yes, you
Velar (back of tongue + soft palate)	k, g, ŋ	gown, gear, clear, king, sing
Glottal	h	hat

Bilabial (both lips)
Sounds:
p, b, m, w
Example words:
peat, beat, pear, man, wet
Labiodental (lip + teeth)
Sounds:
f, v
Example words:
fan, van, phone
Dental (tongue + teeth)
Sounds:
θ, ð
Example words:
thin, this
Alveolar (tongue + ridge behind teeth)
Sounds:
t, d, n, s, z, l, r
Example words:
town, down, noun, near, dear, tear, sun
Post-alveolar
Sounds:
ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ
Example words:
she, measure, church, judge
Palatal
Sounds:
j (written /y/)
Example words:
yes, you
Velar (back of tongue + soft palate)
Sounds:
k, g, ŋ
Example words:
gown, gear, clear, king, sing
Glottal
Sounds:
h
Example words:
hat

PYQ answers: odd one out by initial sound

near, dear, tear, gear (May 2024) · noun, down, town, gown (Jan 2024) · peat, beat, clear, pear (May 2024)

Show solution

n, d, t are alveolar; g is velar.
n, d, t are alveolar; g is velar.
p, b are bilabial; clear starts with velar /k/ (and a cluster).

Answer: Gear · Gown · Clear

Manner of articulation

Manner	Sounds
Plosive (stop, then burst)	p b t d k g
Nasal (air through the nose)	m n ŋ
Fricative (friction)	f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ h
Affricate (stop + friction)	tʃ dʒ
Approximant	l r w j
Voiceless / voiced pairs	p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v, s/z, θ/ð, ʃ/ʒ, tʃ/dʒ

Linking glides

go ‿ outgowout

/w/ glide after rounded lips: u, uu, ou, au

she ‿ offeredsheyoffered

/y/ glide after spread lips: i, ii, ei, ai, oi

Linking glides between words

/w/ glide: after u, uu, ou, au (rounded lips) + a vowel
go‿out → go-w-out (PYQ Sep 2023) · do‿it · who‿is
/y/ glide: after i, ii, ei, ai, oi (spread lips) + a vowel
she‿offered → she-y-offered (PYQ Jan 2024) · me‿off (PYQ May 2024) · I‿am · they‿are

Consonant cluster: two or more consonants together in one syllable with no vowel between: clear, street, spring, text (PYQ: TRUE).
Compare first sounds, not letters: knit starts with /n/, city with /s/, chemistry with /k/, phone with /f/.
Silent letters: knit, write, thumb, hour, listen, psychology.
Phone numbers: any clear grouping works (86/37/68/11/34, 863/768/113/4, 8637/6811/34). Say 'double 1' for 11. PYQ answer: 'All of these'.

Week 2Every paper

Nouns & pronouns

Types of nouns

Type	What it names	Examples
Proper	A specific name (capital letter)	Shraddha, Raghav, Chennai
Common	A general kind of thing	student, city, book, walk
Collective	A group as one unit	team, jury, herd, committee, parliament
Abstract	An idea, quality or state	goodness, youth, poverty, success, happiness
Material	A substance	gold, wood, water
Compound	Two or more words acting as one noun	swimming pool, toothpaste, mother-in-law
Uncountable	Can't be counted one by one	advice, information, furniture, luggage

Proper
What it names:
A specific name (capital letter)
Examples:
Shraddha, Raghav, Chennai
Common
What it names:
A general kind of thing
Examples:
student, city, book, walk
Collective
What it names:
A group as one unit
Examples:
team, jury, herd, committee, parliament
Abstract
What it names:
An idea, quality or state
Examples:
goodness, youth, poverty, success, happiness
Material
What it names:
A substance
Examples:
gold, wood, water
Compound
What it names:
Two or more words acting as one noun
Examples:
swimming pool, toothpaste, mother-in-law
Uncountable
What it names:
Can't be counted one by one
Examples:
advice, information, furniture, luggage

Pronouns

Kind	Words
Personal	I, you, he, she, it, we, they · me, him, her, us, them
Possessive (stand alone)	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs: 'That is yours.'
Possessive (before a noun)	my, your, his, her, our, their: the answer keys mark these Pronoun
Reflexive	myself, yourself, themselves
Demonstrative	this, that, these, those
Interrogative	who (subject), whom (object), whose, which, what
Relative	who, whom, whose, which, that
Indefinite	someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, each

PYQ answers

Show solution

Parliament is a collective noun.
Success (option list: Working, Hard, Bring, Success).
Two answers: Shraddha and student (multi-select).
Yours: a stand-alone possessive.
Who: asks about the subject.
Pronoun.

Answer: Parliament · Success · Shraddha + Student · Yours · Who · Pronoun

Traps to avoid

'Swimming pool' is a compound noun, not adjective + noun.
yours, hers, theirs never take an apostrophe.
Multi-select: when a sentence has two nouns, tick both.

Week 2Every paper

Verbs, tenses & modals

Modals

Modal	Use	Example
can	ability; informal permission	Sudha can speak Telugu. (PYQ)
could	past ability; polite request	Could you help me?
may	formal permission; possibility	May I ask a question? (PYQ)
might	weak possibility	It might rain.
must	obligation; strong certainty	You must wear a helmet.
should	advice, duty	You should rest.
will / shall	future; offers with I/we	Shall we go?
would	polite request; hypothetical	Would you like tea?
ought to	moral duty	We ought to help.

can
Use:
ability; informal permission
Example:
Sudha can speak Telugu. (PYQ)
could
Use:
past ability; polite request
Example:
Could you help me?
may
Use:
formal permission; possibility
Example:
May I ask a question? (PYQ)
might
Use:
weak possibility
Example:
It might rain.
must
Use:
obligation; strong certainty
Example:
You must wear a helmet.
should
Use:
advice, duty
Example:
You should rest.
will / shall
Use:
future; offers with I/we
Example:
Shall we go?
would
Use:
polite request; hypothetical
Example:
Would you like tea?
ought to
Use:
moral duty
Example:
We ought to help.

Tense signals on a timeline

Tense signals

Signal words	Tense	Example
since, for, ever, never, just, already, yet	Present perfect	She has not read anything since Monday. (PYQ)
yesterday, last year, ago, in 2010	Past simple	They bought the house last year. (PYQ)
now, at the moment	Present continuous	He is writing now.
every day, usually, always	Present simple	She usually walks to work.
by + a future time	Future perfect	By next June, she will have completed her degree.

since, for, ever, never, just, already, yet
Tense:
Present perfect
Example:
She has not read anything since Monday. (PYQ)
yesterday, last year, ago, in 2010
Tense:
Past simple
Example:
They bought the house last year. (PYQ)
now, at the moment
Tense:
Present continuous
Example:
He is writing now.
every day, usually, always
Tense:
Present simple
Example:
She usually walks to work.
by + a future time
Tense:
Future perfect
Example:
By next June, she will have completed her degree.

Agreement and form rules

A as well as / along with / with B: the verb agrees with A
'The teacher, as well as the students, is responsible.' (PYQ)
Either … or / neither … nor: the verb agrees with the nearer subject
Each, every, everyone, one of the: singular verb
The number of / a number of: singular / plural
get / have + object + past participle: causative
'We will get it done.' (PYQ)

Confusables

Pair	Rule
tell / say	tell + a person ('Don't tell me…', PYQ); say + the words ('say that…')
affect / effect	affect = verb, to influence ('The storm affected the coast', PYQ); effect = noun, a result
lie / lay	lie = rest (no object); lay = put something down
rise / raise	rise has no object; raise needs one

Traps to avoid

'Since' needs a starting point (since Monday); 'for' needs a length of time (for two days).
Never use the past simple with since/for/ever: 'I have seen it', not 'I saw it ever'.

Week 2Every paper

Adjectives & adverbs

An adjective describes a noun: ripe tomatoes; the house was painted yellow (PYQs).
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb: walk carefully, walked slowly, very happy.
Kinds of adverb: manner (slowly), place (here), time (yesterday), frequency (usually), degree (very, quite, too).
'Rinku reads quite clearly': both quite and clearly are adverbs (PYQ, multi-select).
'Joseph ran faster than everyone': faster is a comparative adverb, because it modifies ran (PYQ).
'She yelled when she hit her toe': yelled is a verb (PYQ).

What each one modifies

Degrees of comparison

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
good / well	better	best
bad	worse	worst
many / much	more	most
little	less	least
far	farther / further	farthest / furthest
fast	faster (PYQ)	fastest

good / well
Comparative:
better
Superlative:
best
bad
Comparative:
worse
Superlative:
worst
many / much
Comparative:
more
Superlative:
most
little
Comparative:
less
Superlative:
least
far
Comparative:
farther / further
Superlative:
farthest / furthest
fast
Comparative:
faster (PYQ)
Superlative:
fastest

Making -ly adverbs

Adjective	Adverb
suitable	suitably (PYQ)
happy	happily
true	truly
gentle	gently
basic	basically

Traps to avoid

Comparative + than: 'better than', never 'more better'.
Superlatives take 'the': 'the best chocolate cake' (PYQ).
too = excessively or also ('too many people', PYQ); to = towards or infinitive; two = 2.
Not every -ly word is an adverb: friendly, lovely and lonely are adjectives.

Week 3Every paper

Articles: a, an, the

a: before a consonant sound
a laptop, a cold day, a book, a university, a European, a one-way street
an: before a vowel sound
an emergency exit, an hour, an honest man, an MBA, an umbrella
the: specific: something already known or identified
'Pass me the book on the table.'
the: unique: only one exists
the Sun, the Earth, the sky, the east
the: rank: superlatives and ordinals
the best, the first, the only
the: geography: rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, island groups
the Ganga, the Himalayas, holidays in the mountains
No article: single mountains, most countries and cities, languages, meals, sports, general abstract ideas
Mount Everest, India, English, breakfast, cricket

Picking the article

a/an go by the first sound, not the first letter.

PYQ answers

Show solution

Vowel sound → an.
Superlative → the.
Unique → the.
Consonant sound, one of many days → a.
Any laptop → a.
Mountain range → the.
Any book → a.

Answer: an · the · The · a · a · the · a

Week 3Every paper

Prepositions & conjunctions

at, on, in: from wide to exact

Prepositions of time and place

Use	When	Examples
at	an exact time or point	at 5 pm, at night, at the station
on	days, dates, surfaces	on Monday, on 5 May, on the table
in	months, years, seasons, parts of the day, inside	in May, in 2024, in the morning, in the fridge (PYQ)
since / for	starting point / length of time	since Monday / for two hours
ahead of	before someone in a line	standing in line ahead of me (PYQ)

at
When:
an exact time or point
Examples:
at 5 pm, at night, at the station
on
When:
days, dates, surfaces
Examples:
on Monday, on 5 May, on the table
in
When:
months, years, seasons, parts of the day, inside
Examples:
in May, in 2024, in the morning, in the fridge (PYQ)
since / for
When:
starting point / length of time
Examples:
since Monday / for two hours
ahead of
When:
before someone in a line
Examples:
standing in line ahead of me (PYQ)

Fixed phrases

Phrase	Example
worried about	Sushma is worried about the exam. (PYQ)
in my opinion	In my opinion, she is clever. (PYQ)
look into	Look into the matter (investigate). (PYQ)
interested in · good at · afraid of	She is good at maths but afraid of heights.
depend on · responsible for · different from	Who is responsible for this?
angry with a person · about a thing	She was angry with him about the delay.

Conjunctions

Kind	Words	Example
Coordinating (FANBOYS)	for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so	He may be poor but his character is faultless. (PYQ)
Correlative (pairs)	both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also	The culprit was both fined and punished. (PYQ)
Subordinating	because, although, if, unless, while, until, as if, so that	She behaves as if she was the captain. (PYQ)

Coordinating (FANBOYS)
Words:
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Example:
He may be poor but his character is faultless. (PYQ)
Correlative (pairs)
Words:
both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also
Example:
The culprit was both fined and punished. (PYQ)
Subordinating
Words:
because, although, if, unless, while, until, as if, so that
Example:
She behaves as if she was the captain. (PYQ)

Traps to avoid

'As if' introduces an imagined comparison; plain 'as' means 'in the way that' or 'because'.
'Beyond' in 'beyond Zuckerberg's post' is a preposition (PYQ May 2024).

Week 3Every paper

Phrasal verbs, idioms & collocations

The 'it' test

sumitupseparable: 'it' fits in the middle

takeitafterinseparable: 'take after it'

Separable vs inseparable

Test: put 'it' in the middle: 'sum it up' ✓ → separable · 'take it after' ✗ → inseparable
Separable: sum up (PYQ), call by (PYQ), bring up, turn off, put off, pick up, give up, call off, fill in
Inseparable: come across (PYQ), look after, live on, see about, take after, hit on, keep at, stand for, look into, wait on, get over, run into

Phrasal verb meanings

Phrasal verb	Meaning
wait on	serve someone (PYQ)
lay off (something)	stop doing or using it (PYQ: TRUE); also: dismiss workers
break up	end: 'The meeting broke up before dinner' (PYQ)
break out	start suddenly (war, fire)
break into	enter by force
bring up	raise a child: 'The kids were well brought up' (PYQ)
bring out	publish or launch
come across	find by chance (PYQ: inseparable)
look into	investigate
take after	resemble a parent
put off · call off · get off	postpone · cancel · leave a bus or train
put up with	tolerate

Idioms

Idiom	Meaning
a dark horse	an unexpected winner (PYQ)
cut corners	do something the fastest, cheapest way (PYQ: TRUE)
break the ice	remove the tension at a first meeting (PYQ)
get out of hand	become difficult to control (PYQ)
cost an arm and a leg	be very expensive (PYQ)
keep someone in the loop	keep them updated (PYQ)
be on board	agree with, support (PYQ)
take a hit	be affected badly (PYQ)
once in a blue moon	very rarely
under the weather	slightly ill
spill the beans	reveal a secret
hit the nail on the head	be exactly right
a blessing in disguise	a good thing that first seemed bad
burn the midnight oil	work late into the night
see eye to eye	agree
beat around the bush	avoid the main point
call it a day	stop working
a piece of cake	very easy

Collocations: every paper has a 5-item match

Paper	Pairs
May 2023	land acquisition · moral decay · final blow · weather forecast · unanimous decision
Sep 2023	sports equipment · library card · garden hose · job offer · fishing rod
May 2024	bank account · strong coffee · lazy afternoon · short temper · ancient ruins
Also learn	heavy rain · make a decision · do homework · take a break · pay attention · catch a cold · commit a crime · deep sleep · golden opportunity · tight schedule · broad daylight

Shortcut: Match collocations in two passes: lock the pairs you're sure of first (weather forecast, bank account), then the leftovers fall into place.

Week 4Every paper

Vocabulary: synonyms, antonyms, homophones

Homophones and confusables

Words	Meanings
week / weak	seven days / not strong: 'stay for a week' (PYQ)
wether / weather / whether	a castrated ram / climate / if: 'The wether was unsold in the auction' (PYQ)
too / to / two	excessively or also / towards / 2
course / coarse	a path or programme / rough
principal / principle	head, main / a rule
stationary / stationery	not moving / paper and pens
complement / compliment	completes / praise
accept / except	receive / excluding
loose / lose	not tight / misplace
desert / dessert	sandy land / sweet dish
its / it's	belonging to it / it is

Words from past papers

Word	Answer
tenacity	antonym: timidity
yeoman	a farmer who owned and worked on his own land
archipelago	a collection of islands
order	antonym: chaos
surpassed	exceeded
touted	promoted
tanking	failing
debut	first appearance
prove · maladroit · tired · coach · coarse	establish · clumsy · wearied · counsel · gravelly

Shortcut: Synonym or antonym from a passage? Put each option into the sentence. The synonym keeps the meaning; the antonym flips it.

Week 4Every paper

Reading comprehension & conversations

Strategy

Read the questions first, then the passage, so you know what to look for.
Answers are paraphrased: match the meaning, not the exact words.
'NOT TRUE' or 'EXCEPT': find each option in the passage; the one you can't find (or that contradicts it) is the answer.
True/False: a single wrong detail (a name, number or place) makes the whole statement false.
Use only the passage, never outside knowledge.

Conversation fill-ins: phrases that fit

Situation	Phrase
Answering a formal call	Good morning, XYZ Hospital. How may I help you?
Asking for someone	May I speak to Dr. …, please?
Asking the caller to wait	Could you please hold the line? / Please hold on a moment.
Taking a message	Would you like to leave a message? / May I know who's calling?
Booking	I'd like to book an appointment for…
Didn't catch it	Could you repeat that, please?
Closing	Thank you for calling. Have a nice day.
Informal reply	I'm doing great, thanks. How about you?

Shortcut: For each blank, read the line after it. The reply tells you what the blank said: 'Sure, I'll hold' means the blank asked them to hold.

Traps to avoid

Match the register: hospital, office or professor ⇒ formal ('May I…', 'Could you please…'); siblings or friends ⇒ informal ('Hey', 'Cool').

Exam morning

Last-minute checklist

The 12 things to read on the way to the exam centre.

1Long vowels are doubled: ii (seat), aa (car), oo (law, court), uu (food), əə (bird).
2'u' is the vowel in foot; 'uu' is the vowel in food.
3No-diphthong answers so far: sport, moot, stew, bottle.
4/w/ glide after rounded vowels (go‿out); /y/ glide after i-type vowels (she‿offered, me‿off).
5Odd one out by initial sound = different place of articulation (gear, gown, clear are velar).
6a/an go by sound: an hour, an MBA, a university.
7'The' for unique things, superlatives, rivers and mountain ranges.
8'A as well as B' → the verb agrees with A.
9Since + starting point; for + length of time.
10Separable test: put 'it' in the middle (sum it up ✓).
11Collocations: weather forecast, unanimous decision, bank account, strong coffee, short temper.
12RC 'NOT TRUE' questions: eliminate what you can find in the passage.

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