TNPSC Group 4 Syllabus 2026

Part A: Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test – 100 questions

The Part A syllabus is written in Tamil. The topics below are our English summary – the PDF has the full Tamil text.

Unit I: இலக்கணம் – Grammar (25 questions)

Letters: splitting and joining words, sandhi errors, short and long vowels, the letter groups ல/ள/ழ, ன/ண and ர/ற, cognate letters, demonstrative and interrogative letters, singular and plural. Words: root words and the verb and noun forms made from them, loan words and Tamil words, antonyms, verbs, spelling and consonant-doubling errors, the difference between two verbs.

Unit II: சொல்லகராதி – Vocabulary (15 questions)

Antonyms, one-letter words, meanings and synonyms, choosing the right word, alphabetical order, spoken and written forms, filling a blank with the right word, short forms of place names (e.g. Puducherry – Puduvai), pure Tamil words for colloquial words, correcting colloquial errors, joining sentences with connectives, words with more than one meaning.

Unit III: எழுதும் திறன் – Writing skills (15 questions)

Arranging words into sentences; types of sentences (active, passive, causative); correcting singular and plural errors; traditional usage – agreement of gender, number and tense, names of young animals, animal sounds, verb usage and collective nouns; punctuation marks.

Unit IV: கலைச் சொற்கள் – Technical terms (10 questions)

Tamil equivalents of technical terms in science, education, medicine, management, law, geography, technology, media and information technology (e.g. search engine – தேடு பொறி, Gene – மரபணு).

Unit V: வாசித்தல் – புரிந்து கொள்ளும் திறன் – Reading comprehension (15 questions)

Answering questions on a given passage – newspapers, editorials, front-page news, government news and articles; meanings of similes, idioms and proverbs; understanding the content of official documents.

Unit VI: எளிய மொழி பெயர்ப்பு – Simple translation (5 questions)

Tamil equivalents of English and other words in everyday use (e.g. pendrive, printer, computer, keyboard); translating the headings of documents, files, letters and petitions.

Unit VII: இலக்கியம், தமிழ் அறிஞர்களும், தமிழ்த்தொண்டும் – Literature, Tamil scholars and service to Tamil (15 questions)

Facts about Thirukkural (only the 20 chapters listed in the syllabus) and quotations; facts about ethical works such as Naladiyar, Nanmanikkadigai and Pazhamozhi Nanuru; the antiquity and greatness of Tamil and the Dravidian languages; the Tamil work of scholars such as U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer, Devaneya Pavanar, G.U. Pope and Veeramamunivar; Tamil personalities such as Bharathidasan, Kannadasan, Velu Nachiyar and Namakkal Kavignar. Based on school textbooks up to SSLC.

Part A: General English (only for differently abled candidates who are exempted from the Tamil test) – 100 questions

Para 6.2 of the notification says "There will be no translation part in this paper", but Annexure III lists Unit VI Translation (5 questions). The notification does not say which applies – ask TNPSC if this affects you.

Unit I: Grammar (25 questions)

Parts of speech, concord, tense, active and passive voice, types of sentences (statement, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory) and transformation between them, verbs (main and auxiliary, regular and irregular), infinitives, gerunds, participles, question tags, sentence patterns, simple, compound and complex sentences, phrases and clauses, degrees of comparison, direct and indirect speech, synthesis of sentences, punctuation.

Unit II: Vocabulary (15 questions)

Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, homophones, collocations, idioms and phrases, phrasal verbs, spelling, correct usage of words, one-word substitution, word creation, singular and plural (including zero plural), derivatives, abbreviations, British and American English, compound words and figures of speech.

Unit III: Writing skills (10 questions)

Letter writing (formal and informal) and types of letters, jumbled sentences, putting sentences in the right order, making queries, inferences, blanks, substitutions.

Unit IV: Technical terms (10 questions)

Administrative terms, department-related terms, general and official terms, official correspondence (only basics).

Unit V: Reading comprehension (20 questions)

Unseen passages (newspaper, headlines, editorials, government-related news) with strong and weak questions, match the following, sentence completion and ascertainment of facts – choose the best response.

Unit VI: Translation (5 questions)

Word translation, sentence translation, tense-related translation tasks, tense and voice related tasks.

Unit VII: Literary works (15 questions)

Figures of speech, appreciation and analysis of poetry, lines of significance, and the poems and prose listed in the syllabus (school textbooks up to SSLC).

Part B: General Studies – 75 questions

Unit I: General Science (5 questions)

Nature of the universe, measurement of physical quantities, laws of motion, force, pressure and energy; everyday applications of mechanics, electricity, magnetism, light, sound, heat and nuclear physics; elements and compounds, acids, bases, salts, petroleum products, fertilizers, pesticides, metallurgy and food adulterants; life science – classification of living organisms, evolution, genetics, physiology, nutrition, health and hygiene, human diseases; environmental science; latest inventions in science and technology; current affairs.

Unit II: Geography (5 questions)

Earth location, physical features, monsoon, rainfall, weather and climate, water resources, rivers, soil, minerals and natural resources, forest and wildlife, agriculture pattern; transport and communication; population density and distribution in Tamil Nadu and India; calamities and disaster management, environment and climate change; geographical landmarks; current affairs.

Unit III: History, Culture of India and Indian National Movement (10 questions)

Indus Valley Civilization, Guptas, Delhi Sultans, Mughals and Marathas, South Indian history; national renaissance, early uprisings against British rule, Indian National Congress and the emergence of leaders such as B.R. Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, Bharathiar, V.O. Chidambaranar, Thanthai Periyar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Kamarajar, Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Rajaji, Subhash Chandra Bose, Muthulakshmi Ammaiyar and Muvalur Ramamirtham; modes of agitation in Tamil Nadu; characteristics of Indian culture, unity in diversity, India as a secular state.

Unit IV: Indian Polity (15 questions)

Constitution of India – Preamble and salient features; Union, State and Union Territory; citizenship, Fundamental Rights and Duties, Directive Principles; Union and State executive and legislature; local governments and Panchayat Raj; Centre–State relations; elections; judiciary and rule of law; corruption in public life, Lokpal and Lokayukta, Right to Information; empowerment of women; consumer protection forums; human rights charter; political parties and political system in Tamil Nadu and India; current affairs.

Unit V: Indian Economy and Development Administration in Tamil Nadu (20 questions)

Nature of the Indian economy; five-year plan models, Planning Commission and NITI Aayog; sources of revenue, Reserve Bank of India, Finance Commission, Union–State resource sharing, GST; economic trends – employment generation, land reforms and agriculture, science and technology in agriculture; industrial growth; rural welfare programmes; social problems – population, education, health, employment, poverty; social justice and social harmony; education and health systems in Tamil Nadu; geography of Tamil Nadu and its impact on economic growth; government welfare schemes; current socio-economic issues; current affairs.

Unit VI: History, Culture, Heritage and Socio-Political Movements of Tamil Nadu (20 questions)

History of Tamil society and related archaeological discoveries; Tamil literature from the Sangam age to contemporary times; Thirukkural – its significance as secular literature, relevance to everyday life, impact on humanity, universal values, relevance to socio-political-economic affairs and philosophical content; role of Tamil Nadu in the freedom struggle, early agitations against British rule, role of women; social reformers, social reform movements and social transformation of Tamil Nadu.

Part C: Aptitude and Mental Ability – 25 questions

Unit I: Aptitude (15 questions)

Simplification, percentage, HCF, LCM, ratio and proportion, simple interest, compound interest, area, volume, time and work.

Unit II: Reasoning (10 questions)

Logical reasoning, puzzles, dice, visual reasoning, alphanumeric reasoning, number series.

Update log

• 2026-11-08 – Syllabus page published. Exam pattern, syllabus (Annexure III, code 496) and deductions checked against Notification No. 11/2026; 2024 deductions from Notification No. 1/2024.