BCA Entrance Exam Notes
BcaEnglish•Updated: 5/17/2026
📝 ENGLISH
Marks: 40 | 18 Topics
Grammar • Vocabulary • Comprehension
1. Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonym: A word that has the same or similar meaning
Happy → Joyful, Glad, Content, Pleased
Big → Large, Huge, Enormous, Vast
Quick → Fast, Swift, Rapid, Speedy
Antonym: A word with the opposite meaning
Happy ↔ Sad | Strong ↔ Weak | Ancient ↔ Modern
Brave ↔ Cowardly | Generous ↔ Stingy
Tip: Learn 10 synonyms and antonyms daily from common adjectives, verbs, nouns
Context matters — choose the synonym that fits the sentence meaning
2. Passage Reading (Comprehension)
Read the passage carefully — at least twice before answering
Steps to solve: 1. Read questions first 2. Skim the passage 3. Find specific answers
Types of questions: Main idea, Vocabulary in context, Inference, Detail
Main idea = what the whole passage is about (usually in first/last paragraph)
Inference = reading 'between the lines' — what is implied but not stated directly
Do not bring outside knowledge — answer only from the passage
For vocabulary questions — use context clues from surrounding sentences
3. One Word Substitution
Omniscient: One who knows everything
Omnipotent: One who is all-powerful
Ambidextrous: One who can use both hands equally
Insolvent / Bankrupt: Unable to pay debts
Philanthropist: One who loves and helps mankind
Misanthrope: One who hates mankind
Autobiography: Life story written by oneself
Biography: Life story written by another person
Contemporaries: People living at the same time
Infallible: One who never makes mistakes
Connoisseur: Expert judge in art/taste | Novice: Beginner | Veteran: Experienced
4. Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verb = verb + preposition/adverb that creates a new meaning
Give up = quit/surrender | Look up = search for information
Break down = stop functioning | Put off = postpone
Come across = find by chance | Turn up = arrive
Set up = establish | Call off = cancel
Run out of = exhaust supply | Figure out = understand/solve
Look after = take care of | Bring up = raise (a child) or mention
Note: Meaning of phrasal verbs is often different from individual words
5. Idioms and Phrases
Break a leg = Good luck
Hit the nail on the head = Be exactly correct
Cost an arm and a leg = Very expensive
Under the weather = Feeling ill/sick
Bite the bullet = Endure a painful situation bravely
Let the cat out of the bag = Reveal a secret
Piece of cake = Something very easy
Hit the books = Study hard
Once in a blue moon = Very rarely
Burning the midnight oil = Working late into the night
6. Words Followed by Prepositions
Afraid OF | Agree WITH (person) / Agree TO (proposal)
Angry WITH/AT | Anxious ABOUT | Apologize FOR
Apply FOR | Believe IN | Capable OF
Consist OF | Depend ON | Differ FROM
Familiar WITH | Interested IN | Listen TO
Proud OF | Similar TO | Sorry FOR
Suffer FROM | Think OF/ABOUT | Wait FOR
Tip: Learn collocations (word + preposition pairs) as fixed chunks
7. Use of Articles (a, an, the)
A: Used before singular countable nouns starting with consonant sound → a book, a university
AN: Used before singular countable nouns starting with vowel sound → an apple, an hour
THE: Used for specific nouns, unique things, rivers, oceans, mountain ranges
No article: Before plural nouns generally, proper nouns, languages, sports
a university (u sounds like 'you' — consonant sound) | an umbrella (vowel sound)
THE: the Sun, the Moon, the Nile, the Himalayas, the USA, the Rich
NO article: India, English, cricket, milk, gold (uncountable), love (abstract)
8. Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular subject → singular verb | Plural subject → plural verb
He runs. | They run.
Collective nouns (team, committee) → singular verb: The team is playing.
Two subjects joined by 'and' → plural: Ram and Shyam are friends.
Either/Neither with singular nouns → singular verb: Either book is fine.
Either...or / Neither...nor → verb agrees with nearer subject
Neither the students nor the teacher was present.
Each, Every, Everybody, Everyone, Nobody → always singular verb
News, Mathematics, Physics, Economics → singular (even though plural looking)
9. Relative Pronouns
WHO: refers to people → The man who called you is here.
WHOM: object form of who → The man whom I met is a doctor.
WHICH: refers to things/animals → The book which I read is great.
THAT: refers to people or things (defining clauses) → The car that I bought is red.
WHOSE: shows possession → The girl whose bag was stolen cried.
WHERE: refers to place → The school where I studied is old.
Defining clause (no commas): gives essential info → The book that I like
Non-defining clause (with commas): extra info → Raju, who is my friend, came.
10. Causative Verbs
Make + object + bare infinitive (force/compel)
She made him apologize.
Have + object + bare infinitive (arrange for someone else to do)
I had the mechanic fix my car.
Let + object + bare infinitive (allow)
She let him go.
Get + object + to-infinitive (persuade/convince)
She got him to apologize.
Help + object + bare infinitive / to-infinitive (both OK)
He helped me (to) carry the bags.
11. Use of Tenses
Simple Present: He eats. → habits, facts
Present Continuous: He is eating. → ongoing action now
Present Perfect: He has eaten. → past action with present relevance
Present Perfect Continuous: He has been eating. → started past, still going
Simple Past: He ate. → completed action in past
Past Continuous: He was eating. → ongoing action in past
Past Perfect: He had eaten. → completed before another past action
Simple Future: He will eat. → future intention
Future Perfect: He will have eaten. → completed by a future time
12. Reported Speech
Direct: She said, 'I am happy.'
Indirect: She said that she was happy.
Tense changes: is → was | am → was | are → were
will → would | can → could | may → might
has/have → had | shall → should
Time changes: now → then | today → that day | tomorrow → the next day
yesterday → the day before | here → there
Questions in reported speech use 'whether/if' for yes/no questions
Commands: said → told | 'Go away' → He told me to go away.
13. Active and Passive Voice
Active: Subject performs the action → The dog bit the man.
Passive: Subject receives the action → The man was bitten by the dog.
Formula: Object + be(tense) + past participle + by + subject
Simple Present: is/am/are + V3 (past participle)
Simple Past: was/were + V3
Present Perfect: has/have been + V3
Simple Future: will be + V3
Agent (by whom): included only if important | 'by them/someone' can be omitted
Active → Passive: Object becomes subject | Verb changes | Original subject becomes agent
14. Question Tags
Rule: Positive statement → negative tag | Negative statement → positive tag
He is a doctor, isn't he?
She doesn't know, does she?
They will come, won't they?
You can swim, can't you?
He never lies, does he? (never is negative → positive tag)
'Let's' → shall we? | Imperative → will you? / won't you?
'I am' → aren't I? (exception — not 'amn't I')
Pronoun in tag always matches subject of statement
15. To-Infinitives and Gerunds
Infinitive (to + verb): to eat, to run, to study
Gerund (verb + -ing used as noun): eating, running, studying
Verbs followed by TO-infinitive: want, wish, hope, decide, plan, agree, refuse, fail
She wants to leave. | He decided to stay.
Verbs followed by GERUND: enjoy, avoid, suggest, consider, mind, finish, deny, risk
She enjoys reading. | He avoided meeting her.
Verbs with BOTH (meaning changes): remember, forget, stop, try, regret
Stop to eat (stopped in order to eat) ≠ Stop eating (quit eating)
16. Conditional Sentences
Zero Conditional: general truth | If + present, present
If you heat water to 100°C, it boils.
First Conditional: real/possible future | If + present, will + base
If it rains, I will stay home.
Second Conditional: unreal/hypothetical present | If + past, would + base
If I had money, I would travel the world.
Third Conditional: unreal past | If + past perfect, would have + V3
If I had studied, I would have passed.
Mixed Conditional: combines 2nd and 3rd
If I had slept early, I wouldn't be tired now.
17. Use of Prepositions
AT: specific time/place → at 6pm, at home, at the corner
IN: larger place/period → in Nepal, in 2024, in the morning, in a box
ON: surface/specific day → on the table, on Monday, on June 5
FOR: duration → for 3 hours, for years
SINCE: starting point in time → since 2020, since Monday
BY: deadline/agent → by 5pm, done by Ram
BETWEEN: two things | AMONG: more than two
BESIDE: next to | BESIDES: in addition to
In the morning / In the evening BUT At night (exception)
On time = punctual | In time = before the deadline
18. Use of Conjunctions
Coordinating (FANBOYS): For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
I was tired, but I finished the work.
Subordinating: although, because, since, while, unless, if, when, after, before
Although it rained, we went out.
Correlative (pairs): either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also
Either Ram or Shyam will come.
Not only did she sing, but she also danced.
Unless = if not → Don't go unless you are invited. (= if you are not invited)
While = at the same time | Whereas = contrast between two facts
However (contrast), Therefore (result), Moreover (addition) — connective adverbs