SBI PO English Language syllabus

See the full SBI PO syllabus for the exam pattern and other sections.

English is the largest section in SBI PO Prelims and the one that separates the paper from every other banking recruitment. Forty questions sit inside a locked twenty minute window, which is thirty seconds a question, and the section is set in English only. At Mains the subject returns as English Language with a heavier reading load, and the descriptive paper adds letter and essay writing on top.

Pattern

A wrong answer costs one fourth of the marks assigned to the question, which is 0.25 marks at Prelims. SBI does not publish topic wise question counts, so the distribution below is reconstructed from past papers.

Topics

• Reading Comprehension, including inference, tone, central idea and passage based vocabulary
• Cloze Test, single and double blank
• Error Spotting and Sentence Correction
• Para Jumbles and sentence rearrangement
• Fill in the Blanks
• Sentence Improvement
• Word Swap
• Word Usage and Word Rearrangement
• Phrase Replacement
• Idioms and Phrases
• Connectors and sentence combination
• Paragraph Completion
• Paragraph Inference and Conclusion
• Match the Column
• Spelling and word formation errors

What is not in the syllabus

• No separate literature component. Passages are drawn from editorials, business writing and general reading rather than set texts
• No listening or speaking assessment at any stage
• No Hindi option for this section. It is set in English only
• No published topic wise question split

How to spend the time

The twenty minute lock is what shapes the section. Reading comprehension is the largest block and also the slowest, so taking it first often means the clock runs out before the quick questions are reached. Clearing error spotting, fill in the blanks and word swap first buys the comprehension set a calmer fifteen minutes.

Inside a passage, question order is not reading order. Vocabulary and specific detail questions can be answered from a single paragraph, while central idea and tone questions need the whole passage. Taking the former first protects marks even if the passage is abandoned.

The newer formats, word swap, word usage and match the column, reward pattern recognition rather than grammar theory. They are quick once the shape is familiar and slow when it is not, which makes them the cheapest place to gain attempts in practice.

Daily reading matters more here than in any other section, because 40 questions in 20 minutes is a reading speed problem before it is a grammar problem.

Common mistakes

• Preparing on the IBPS PO weighting, which gives English only 30 questions
• Opening the comprehension passage first and running the clock down before the quick questions
• Treating every passage as worth attempting, when a dense one can cost the block
• Learning grammar rules without practising the new pattern formats that now carry several questions
• Guessing across five options at minus 0.25 on vocabulary questions
• Assuming time saved here can be spent on Quantitative Aptitude, which the section lock prevents

English across the stages of SBI PO

Frequently asked questions

How many English questions are in SBI PO Prelims?

Forty, carrying 40 marks, in a locked 20 minute section.

Why does SBI give English more questions than IBPS PO?

SBI weights its Prelims paper toward reading, with 40 English questions against 30 each at IBPS PO, and takes five questions each from Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning to pay for it.

Is the English section available in Hindi?

No. The English Language section is set in English only, while Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning are bilingual.

How many reading comprehension questions are asked?

SBI publishes no split. Past papers usually carry one or two passages supplying a significant share of the 40 questions, with the remainder spread across the shorter formats.

Is there negative marking in the English section?

Yes. One fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer.

Does the descriptive paper count in the merit list?

Yes. It is part of the scored Mains stage, though it is evaluated only for candidates who clear the objective cut-off.

What are word swap questions?

A format in which two words in a sentence have been exchanged, and the answer identifies the pair that needs to be swapped back. It rewards pattern recognition rather than grammar theory.

Can I carry unused English time into another section?

No. Each Prelims section is locked to 20 minutes and unused time is lost.

Is vocabulary tested directly?

Mostly in context, through passage based meaning questions, cloze tests, idioms and word usage, rather than as standalone synonym and antonym questions.

How should I practise for a 30 second per question pace?

Timed sectional papers rather than untimed topic practice, since the constraint being trained is pace under a fixed clock. Try a free SBI PO mock.

Related syllabus pages

• SBI PO syllabus
• Quantitative Aptitude syllabus, SBI PO
• Reasoning Ability syllabus, SBI PO