General English for UPSC EPFO: Syllabus, Analysis & Sample Questions!

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recruits an Enforcement Officer (EO)/ Assistant Officer (AO) through the Employment Provident Fund Organisation (EFPO). The recruitment is a two-level process: a recruitment test and an interview. General English is a part of the UPSC EPFO written test syllabus. The following article will throw light on the General English section and ways to provide for the same effectively. Read thoroughly to update yourself on the General English for UPSC EPFO.

• The total questions asked in the examination is 120 questions.
• The marks awarded for 120 questions is 300 marks.
• ⅓ of the mark awarded to the question will be deducted for each wrong answer.
• The total duration of the examination is 2 hours (120 minutes).

Enroll in our UPSC EPFO Coaching to upskill your exam preparation.

Overview of the UPSC EPFO Examination 2025

Candidates aiming to clear the UPSC EPFO examination must understand the structure and the overview of the examination. Below listed are the highlights of the UPSC EPFO exam for the candidates to refer to.

Candidates can get the details on the UPSC EPFO Eligibility Criteria here!

Syllabus for General English for UPSC EPFO

It is essential that the candidates are aware of the updated and recent syllabus for the General English for EPFO exam to have an effective preparation strategy. Below given is the syllabus for the General English for UPSC EPFO.

Candidates can get the whole UPSC EPFO Syllabus here!

UPSC EPFO General English Analysis

Candidates must do a brief and detailed question paper analysis as a part of their UPSC EPFO exam preparation. Below are some of the questions asked under the General English section in the previous exams for the candidates reference along with the difficulty level

1. It’s time you went out and ___ your own living.
2. The elephant fell into a ___ the hunters had set. 
3. The dress isn’t really tight. It’ll ____ when you have worn it.
4. With his back to the old man, he stood at the window, fist clenched, and his shoulders ___ with his choked sobbing.
5. The bereaved mother proudly received the gallantry award ___ her brave son who had laid down his life in the recent war.
6. Find the opposite meaning (antonym) word of : lavish
7.  Find the opposite meaning (antonym) word of : Valor
8. Find the opposite meaning (antonym) word of : fertile
9. Find the opposite meaning (antonym) word of : immigrants
10. Find the opposite meaning (antonym) word of : elementary
11. Find the nearest in meaning (synonyms) word of: Carnage
12. Find the nearest in meaning (synonyms) word of: Religious
13. Find the nearest in meaning (synonyms) word of: Imagine
14. Find the nearest in meaning (synonyms) word of: invades
15. Find the nearest in meaning (synonyms) word of: liberal
16. Spot the Error: Neither the servant nor the clerk has done this.
17. Spot the Error: The car which went past us when we were driving on the highway must have been doing at least a hundred miles per hour.
18. Spot the Error: Raju will go back home in a year after his stay abroad.
19. Spot the Error: I have much work to do.
20. Psychology didn’t develop into a science-based on careful observation and experimentation until the late 1800s.

Candidates must do a thorough and complete paper analysis is beneficial as it helps in multiple forms during exam preparation:

• It provides candidates information with the coverage of topics mentioned in the UPFO EPFO General English syllabus.
• Candidates can know the difficulty level of the questions asked in the UPSC EPFO exam beforehand.
• A better understanding of the correlation between UPSC EPFO syllabus topics and questions asked is developed for the students.
• It gives students a broad idea about the mark’s distribution for the General English section.

Important Topics for General English for UPSC EPFO 

The UPSC EPFO Exam is moderately easy compared to the other exams conducted by UPSC. Candidates usually take up the language as an easy topic and they tend to lose marks easily on the subject. Here are a few important topics that students can give special preference while they prepare for the exam.  

• Students will be tested on their writing, and speaking skill
• English language and grammar
• Vocabulary usage
• Synonyms/ Antonyms
• Grammar Usage.

Sample Questions on General English for UPSC EPFO Exam

Knowing the pattern and type of questions that might be asked in the examination will help the candidates clear the General English for EPFO Exam with a high score. Candidates can have a look at these questions given below to know the type of questions that can be asked from the syllabus of General English for UPSC EPFO Exam.

1. Which one of the following is the appropriate question tag in this question, “Take a seat”?

1. Shall you ?
2. Can’t you?
3. Won’t you?
4. Would you?

Answer: c. Won’t you?

2. Which one of the phrasal verbs can be used in the sentence, “I have to ________ (finish) this work before I leave tomorrow morning.

1. Clear up
2. Clean up
3. Finish up
4. Do away with

Answer: a. Clear up

3. Which one of the following part of sentence has an error, “After a lot of argument I brought him forward to my point of view”

1. After a lot of argument
2. I brought him forward
3. To my point of view
4. No error

Answer: b. I brought him forward

4. Which one of the following words is the antonym of the word “ENMITY”?

1. Amity
2. Cooperation
3. Dispute
4. Hostility

Answer: a. Amity

5. Which one of the following can be used as a substitute for the words written in capital letters in the following sentence, “There is no meaning to CRY OVER THE SPILT MILK since the matter is over?

1. No use of worrying about
2. No use of spilling now
3. No use of celebration
4. No use of asking for

Answer: a. No use of worrying about 

Books to Prepare for General English for UPSC EPFO Exam

Candidates must make use of the best books to prepare their General English for UPSC EPFO. Books that candidates choose must help them improve their vocabulary, speaking and writing skills. Here is a list of books that candidates can make use of to boost their preparation for the exam

Candidates can get the complete list of UPSC EPFO Books here!

Preparation Tips for General English for UPSC EPFO

Candidates should prepare with a preparation strategy to ace in the General English for UPSC EPFO Exam. Students can refer to these preparation tips to devise a preparation strategy for the upcoming UPSC EPFO Exam.

• Candidates always tend to keep the General English for UPSC EPFO aside and they usually concentrate on the major topics, but students must understand that the General English fetches them a good score on the paper.
• After getting the syllabus candidates must go for the relevant UPSC EPFO Books to prepare for the UPSC EPFO General English.
• Students practicing the General English for UPSC EPFO exam must refer to the latest Syllabus to know the recent updates. Candidates can refer to the Testbook and the UPSC Website to get the latest updates.
• Students practicing for the General English in the UPSC EPFO are advised to take up at least a mock test everyday to make themselves updated on all the topics.
• Candidates can also go for UPSC EPFO Previous Year Papers as it will help them decode the question paper pattern. 
• The questions asked in the General English for UPSC EPFO are moderately easy compared to the other UPSC Exams.Candidates must revise all the topics given in the syllabus such as reading Comprehension, cloze test, spelling, error spotting, and etc.
• Along with all these students appearing for the UPSC EPFO Exam must improve their speaking skills in order to outperform in the exam.
• Aspirants must read the questions twice to incorporate their meaning properly.
• Candidates can refer to the General English for UPSC EPFO syllabus and books in this article.

Candidates must check out the UPSC EPFO Cut-Off here!

We hope that this article gives enough information about the General English for UPSC EPFO and will help the candidates to prepare effectively for the exam. For more content, information and updates on the same exam and other competitive exams, candidates can prefer downloading and making use of our Testbook App for all types of exam updates, live quizzes, and mock tests.