General Knowledge MCQs
Topic Notes: General Knowledge
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
71
What is a 'Descriptive' dictionary?
Answer:
One that records how people *actually* speak
Modern lexicography is descriptive; it observes and records usage rather than judging it as 'good' or 'bad'.
72
Lindley Murray is best known for:
Answer:
Writing the most popular English grammar schoolbooks of the 19th century
His 'English Grammar' (1795) was the standard text in schools in Britain and America for decades, enforcing prescriptive rules.
73
The 'COBUILD' project, which revolutionized lexicography using corpus data, was led by:
Answer:
John Sinclair
Sinclair and the University of Birmingham collaborated with Collins to create the first dictionary based entirely on electronic corpus evidence.
74
Who is known as the 'father of Systemic Functional Grammar'?
Answer:
M.A.K. Halliday
Halliday viewed language as a social semiotic system, focusing on how language functions in social contexts.
75
Which Roman grammarian wrote the 'Ars Grammatica', which became the standard textbook for Latin grammar in the Middle Ages?
Answer:
Donatus
Aelius Donatus's work was so influential that a rudimentary grammar book was often simply called a 'Donet' in Middle English.
76
Samuel Johnson's dictionary definition of 'Oats' is famous for insulting which group of people?
Answer:
The Scots
He defined oats as: 'A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.'
77
The 'Urban Dictionary' is famous for documenting:
Answer:
Crowdsourced slang and cultural memes
Launched in 1999, it allows users to define slang terms that traditional dictionaries often miss or are too slow to record.
78
Who was the 'madman' contributor to the OED who sent thousands of quotations from an asylum for the criminally insane?
Answer:
Dr. W.C. Minor
William Chester Minor was an American surgeon and murderer who found purpose in contributing to the OED from Broadmoor Asylum.
79
What is a 'Corpus' in the context of modern dictionary making (lexicography)?
Answer:
A massive electronic database of real-world language usage
Modern dictionaries (like COBUILD) use corpora to see how words are actually used, rather than relying solely on intuition.
80
Who wrote the first grammar of a European language (Spanish) in 1492, famously telling Queen Isabella that 'language is the perfect instrument of empire'?
Answer:
Antonio de Nebrija
Nebrija's 'Gramática de la lengua castellana' was the first grammar of a modern Romance language.