CUET (UG): Common University Entrance Test

Reading Comprehension Method

• Step 1Read the questions first, underline key words
• Step 2Skim the passage once for tone and main idea
• Step 3Locate the lines for each question; answer from the text, not your opinion
• Main idea / titleCovers the WHOLE passage, not one paragraph
• InferenceMust be supported by the passage; reject options that go further than it says

💡 Extreme words (always, never, only, completely) in an option are usually a sign it is wrong.

Active ↔ Passive Voice

• Simple presentwrites → is/are written
• Simple pastwrote → was/were written
• Present continuousis writing → is being written
• Present perfecthas written → has been written
• Futurewill write → will be written
• Modalcan write → can be written

💡 The tense never changes in voice change; only the verb form changes to be + past participle.

Direct → Indirect Speech

• Tense back-shift (past reporting verb)is → was, are → were, will → would, can → could, has → had
• Time and place wordsnow → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the previous day, here → there
• Yes/No questionsaid to → asked + if/whether + subject + verb (no question mark)
• Wh- questionasked + wh-word + subject + verb
• Commandtold/ordered + to + verb

💡 In indirect questions the word order becomes a statement: 'if I was coming', not 'was I coming'.

High-Frequency Idioms

• Meet one's Waterloo: suffer a final, decisive defeat
• Hobson's choice: no real choice, only one option
• Herculean task: a job needing huge effort
• Bite the bullet: face something unpleasant bravely
• Once in a blue moon: very rarely
• Burn the midnight oil: work late into the night
• Cry over spilt milk: regret what cannot be undone

💡 Many idioms come from history or myth (Waterloo, Hercules, Achilles' heel); learning the story makes the meaning stick.

Phrasal Verbs to Know

• callcall off = cancel; call on = visit; call for = demand
• looklook after = take care of; look into = investigate; look up to = respect
• breakbreak down = stop working; break off = end suddenly; break out = start suddenly (war, fire)
• cutcut off = disconnect; cut down = reduce; cut in = interrupt
• putput off = postpone; put up with = tolerate; put out = extinguish
• givegive up = quit; give in = surrender; give away = reveal or donate

💡 Learn phrasal verbs in families by the main verb; CUET often gives four options with the same verb.

Figures of Speech

• Similecomparison with like/as: 'brave as a lion'
• Metaphordirect comparison: 'Time is a thief'
• Personificationhuman qualities to non-living things: 'The wind whispered'
• Oxymoroncontradictory words together: 'deafening silence'
• Transferred epithetadjective moved to the wrong noun: 'sleepless night'
• Hyperboledeliberate exaggeration: 'I've told you a million times'
• Onomatopoeiaword imitating a sound: 'buzz', 'sizzle'
• Alliterationrepeated starting consonant: 'Peter Piper picked'

💡 Oxymoron = two contradicting words side by side; transferred epithet = feeling given to an object that can't feel it.

Para Jumble Clues

• Opening sentenceIntroduces a topic or name; has no 'this', 'he', 'however', 'then'
• LinkersFirst → then → after that → finally
• Pronoun ruleA sentence with he/she/it/this comes after the noun it refers to
• Mandatory pairsFind two sentences that must sit together, then test only options with that pair

💡 Fix the opening sentence first; it usually eliminates two options straight away.

One-Word Substitutions

• Polyglot: one who speaks many languages
• Philanthropist: one who loves and helps humankind
• Omnipotent: all-powerful
• Insomnia: inability to sleep
• Hydrophobia: fear of water; Claustrophobia: fear of closed spaces
• Anonymous: of unknown name or author
• Bibliophile: lover of books

💡 Learn roots: poly = many, phil = love, phobia = fear, omni = all. One root unlocks dozens of words.