NIFT 2026 Communication Ability & English Comprehension Questions: Topics & Previous Year Sample Questions

Candidates appearing in NIFT 2026 must pay special attention to the NIFT Communication Ability and English Comprehension sections, as they carry maximum weightage. Here are practice questions and tips for effective preparation.

If you want to do well in the NIFT 2026 entrance exam, you must do well in Communication Ability and English Comprehension sections. This is because this section carries the maximum weightage for B.Des (40%) and M.Des (50%) programs.

To do well in NIFT 2026 Communication Ability and English Comprehension sections, you must have a clear idea about question types asked and topics from which these questions are asked.

NIFT 2026 Application forms and Notifications can be out anytime now for B.Des, M.Des, B.F. Tech, M.F.Tech, and M.F.M programmes. The application form will be released at  @nift.ac.in. The NIFT entrance exam application form is the same for all courses. The application fee for NIFT will be around INR 3,000 (INR 1500 for SC, ST, and PwD categories). NIFT Application forms can also be filled with late fees. The late fee will be around INR 5,000.

NTA is expected to conduct the NIFT 2026 Entrance exam in the second week of February 2026. The application form for NIFT will be available on the website of NTA NIFT.

NIFT GAT 2026 Exam Pattern 

The pattern of NIFT B.Des and M.Des are

NIFT 2026 Syllabus for Communication Ability & English Comprehension 

The test components, topics and skills that will be tested during the Communication Ability and English Comprehension sections are outlined in the table below.

NIFT Communication Ability & English Comprehension 2026 - Overview

An overview of the NIFT 2026 Communication Ability and English Comprehension sections is outlined below.

NIFT 2026 English Section - Types of Questions Asked 

Here are some of the common types of questions asked in the English Comprehension section of the NIFT 2026 question paper.

How to prepare for NIFT 2026 English Comprehension?

Here are some tips to improve your English comprehension abilities and prepare for the NIFT 2026 exam.

• Do active reading -  You mustn’t simply read the texts, but engage and interact with the words and underlying concepts given in the text. If you do active reading, it will engage your brain, which will help you come up with effective strategies to retain what you have read.
• Decide the purpose of your reading - It is important to know beforehand what kind of questions will be asked in the given assignment. Reading for a multiple-choice exam will require greater attention to detail than reading for discussion or to write an essay.
• Identify the theme - The paragraph that you are provided will have a specific theme. You need to identify the theme and the main ideas.
• Identify the keyword - The passage will also have keywords that revolve around the central theme of the passage. You need to identify these keywords.
• Subject-verb agreement - Unless you are grammatically sound, you won’t be able to fix errors in the subject-verb agreement. So, brush up on your grammar.
• Learn how to create crisp sentences - You not only need to learn how to frame meaningful sentences, but must be able to keep them crisp and clean. 
• Practice quick reading - You must be able to quickly skim through the given paragraph without missing key information. To master this skill, you need to practice reading a lot. 
• Read up on parts of speech - You need to know the various parts of speech, their functions, and usage. Get hold of a good grammar book to improve on this front.

Previous Year NIFT English Comprehension & Communication Ability Questions

Here are a few sample questions that are asked in the NIFT English Comprehension and Communication Ability Sections.

Read the passage given below.

Though he makes Biblical references throughout "The Raven," Poe does not allude to the Bible because he is religious. Rather, he does this because he wishes to invoke the Bible’s dramatic and philosophical weight. For instance, in line 89 the narrator asks the raven, "Is there—is there balm in Gilead?" In ancient Arabia, the balm of Gilead was a salve produced from the tree Commiphora gileadensis. The balm was used to treat the dry, scratchy skin common in Arabia’s desert climate. (The substance currently marketed as "balm of Gilead," a compound made from the gum of the North American balsam poplar tree, is unlikely to be the subject of Poe’s reference.) The balm is more famous, however, because of its mention in the book of Jeremiah, a reference that readers during Poe’s time would have easily recognized. As God punishes Jeremiah’s people for their years of sin and disobedience, Jeremiah utters the phrase "is there no balm in Gilead?" The meaning of Jeremiah’s question is not literally "is there an ointment that can heal our skin," but something more philosophical: "Is there anything we can do to relieve the suffering of God’s punishment?" This philosophical question about the nature of relief from suffering is the one Poe invokes in "The Raven." The narrator is suffering greatly from the loss of his lover Lenore, and this suffering seems hopeless until the mysterious raven appears. The narrator interprets the raven as an omen of Lenore’s future return, but Poe’s reference to the balm of Gilead signals to the reader that the narrator’s hope is futile. Just as Jeremiah’s people had no hope of evading God’s power or punishment, so does the narrator have no hope of reuniting with his lost Lenore. Furthermore, by comparing the profound suffering depicted in the book of Jeremiah to the narrator’s pining for Lenore, Poe emphasizes just how delusional the narrator really is.

The author most likely places the sentence “The substance currently marketed as ‘balm of Gilead,’ a compound made from the gum of the North American balsam poplar tree, is unlikely to be the subject of Poe’s reference” in parentheses because it represents a:

1. A direct quotation from another source
2. A departure from the main idea
3. The main idea of the passage
4. A controversial statement

Q. In the passage given, the word Salve is a synonym of

1. Salvation
2. Solvent
3. None of these
4. Oinment

Q. As used near the end of the passage, which is the best synonym for futile?

1. Pointless
2. Reckless
3. Immature
4. Inaccessible

Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that the author would most likely

Q. Characterize Poe’s attitude toward suffering in “The Raven” as

1. Philosophical
2. Religious
3. Disrespectful
4. Delusional

Q. The author argues that Poe mentions the balm of Gilead in order to

1. Describe how dry, itchy skin was treated in Arabia’s desert climate
2. Argue that the narrator’s suffering is universal
3. Emphasize the delusional nature of the narrator
4. Demonstrate his own religious convictions.

Choose one of the alternatives that will replace the underlined part of the sentences in these questions, so as to make them most effective and meaningfully correct.

Q. The easiest of the thing to do is to ask the address from the postman.

(a) of the things to do

(b) among the things to do

(c) of the things to be done

(d) of all the things done

Q. The chemist had not hardly any of these kind of medicines.

(a) had hardly any of those kinds

(b) had hardly not any of those kinds

(c) had scarcely any of those kind

(d) had hardly any of those kind

Directions: In each of these questions, out of the given group of words, choose the wrongly spelt word.

(1) Heterogeneous (2) Miscellaneous (3) Homogeneous (4) Instantaneous

(1) Saponification (2) Pasterization (3) Recapitulation (4) Fructification

(1) Assimilation (2) Consummation (3) Congregation (4) Renonciation 

Directions: Choose the word which is opposite in meaning of the word in bold.

Q. I abhor the ideas he sometimes expresses.

1. Abominate (2) applaud (3) admire (4) respect

Q. Shashi was often teased as corpulent by her friends.

1. Lean (2) garrulous (3) belligerent (4) rotund

Q. It is one of pernicious customs prevailing in the society.

1. Dangerous (2) indignant (3) permanent (4) beneficial

Q. The valedictorian delivered a laconic speech, in contrast to the salutatorian's lengthy speech.

1. Friendly (2) fretful (3) cool (4) voluble

Directions: In each of these questions, choose the option which can be substituted for the given words.

Q. A person who dislikes, despises, or is strongly prejudiced against women.

1. Misanthrope (2) Effeminate (3) Misogamist (4) Misogynist

Q. The quality of being very difficult or impossible to control, manage, or solve

1. Pseudonym (2) Intractable (3) Monotheism (4) Abdication

Q. The quality of being politely firm and demanding.

1. Aggressive (2) Assertive (3) Lordy (4) Bossy

Q. A person unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others.

1. Altruist (2) Anarchist (3) Indefatigable (4) Haughtiness