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Banking | IBPS Clerk

English Language for IBPS Clerk

IBPS Clerk sets 70 English Language questions for 70 marks across 2 stages, so it is worth planning your preparation around the topics below.

70 questions70 marks8 topics

How to approach English Language in IBPS Clerk

Reading comprehension and the cloze test decide this section, and both reward reading widely more than memorising rules. Build a daily reading habit, learn to spot the grammatical error patterns that recur, and treat vocabulary as something absorbed in context rather than crammed from a list.

Weightage in the paper

How much English Language is worth in each IBPS Clerk stage, from the official pattern.

StageQuestionsMarksTimeShare
Preliminary Examination303020 min30%
Main Examination404035 min21%

English Language syllabus for IBPS Clerk

Every topic in the official syllabus. The linked ones open a set of solved questions you can practise straight away.

Sample English Language questions with solutions

Written to the IBPS Clerk pattern, with the answer key and the method behind it — a look at how the section is actually set before you drill the full topic sets.

Cloze test · solved example

Read the passage and choose the word that best fits each numbered blank. Financial literacy is no longer an (1)_____ skill. As more people gain access to bank accounts and digital payments, the ability to (2)_____ money wisely has become essential. A person who understands interest and inflation can (3)_____ better decisions than one who does not. Schools have begun to (4)_____ basic money management, recognising that habits formed early tend to (5)_____ for life.

Choose the word that best fits blank (1).

  • hard
  • optionalCorrect
  • foreign
  • useless

Solution

"No longer an optional skill" means it has become necessary, which fits the rest of the passage.

Para jumble · solved example

Rearrange the following five sentences into a coherent paragraph and answer the question. P. A good monsoon lifts rural incomes and food output. Q. The monsoon is central to India's economy. R. For this reason, its arrival is watched as closely by economists as by farmers. S. Nearly half the country's farmland depends on it for water. T. A weak one, by contrast, can push up prices and slow growth.

Which sentence comes immediately after P?

  • TCorrect
  • Q
  • R
  • S

Solution

P (a good monsoon) is naturally followed by the contrast T (a weak one). The order is Q, S, P, T, R.

Fill in the blanks · solved example

Choose the pair of words that fits both blanks most appropriately. Although the scheme was ______ with considerable publicity, its ______ across the smaller districts has been slow and uneven.

  • launched / rolloutCorrect
  • withdrawn / progress
  • designed / intention
  • announced / withdrawal
  • criticised / expansion

Solution

'Although' sets the loud beginning against the disappointing follow-through, so the first blank needs the beginning and the second the follow-through. 'Launched' and 'rollout' give exactly that. Option B fails at once, since a scheme withdrawn with publicity has no progress to be slow. Option C puts an intention where the sentence needs something that can be slow and uneven across districts. Option D makes the second half describe a withdrawal, which the concession does not support, and E starts with criticism, which no amount of publicity implies.

Word swap · solved example

In the sentence below, two highlighted words must be interchanged to make it meaningful. Identify them. The government has (A) raised the deadline for filing (B) returns and (C) extended the (D) penalty for late payment.

  • A and CCorrect
  • A and D
  • B and C
  • B and D
  • C and D

Solution

A deadline is extended and a penalty is raised, so the sentence as written has the two verbs the wrong way round. Interchanging A and C gives 'has extended the deadline for filing returns and raised the penalty for late payment', which is meaningful throughout. The nouns at B and D are correctly placed, so swapping either of them only makes matters worse. In this question type, find the pair of words that are the same part of speech and read each collocation aloud, since the error is nearly always a verb attached to the wrong noun.

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Practise English Language

Untimed drills with the method shown after every question — the step between learning a topic and sitting it under a clock.

English Language study material

Sit English Language under a real clock

English Language shows up in every IBPS Clerk mock test, in the same interface, with sectional locking and negative marking.

  • IBPS Clerk: 27-question practice mock

    27 questions | 27 min

    Start

  • IBPS Clerk: full-length mock (100 questions)

    100 questions | 1 hr

    Start

Frequently asked questions

How many English Language questions are asked in IBPS Clerk?

IBPS Clerk 2026-27 cycle (CRP CSA-XVI) sets 70 English Language questions for 70 marks, split across 30 in the Preliminary Examination and 40 in the Main Examination.

Is there negative marking for English Language in IBPS Clerk?

Yes. IBPS Clerk deducts one fourth of a mark for each wrong answer, English Language included, so unsure guesses cost you. One fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer. Questions left blank carry no penalty.

Which English Language topics matter most for IBPS Clerk?

The IBPS Clerk syllabus lists Reading comprehension, Cloze test, Para jumbles, Error spotting and sentence correction, Sentence improvement, Fill in the blanks and more. Weight your revision towards the ones you are weakest on and confirm the emphasis against the paper analysis for recent cycles.

How can I practise English Language for IBPS Clerk free?

Every English Language question on this site is free and written to the exam pattern. Use the topic drills for instant-feedback practice, the daily quiz to keep the section warm, and the IBPS Clerk mock tests to sit it under a real clock with negative marking.