Alphabet - 1 - General Intelligence and Reasoning for SSC CGL

Introduction

The reasoning section of competitive examinations is an important component that often decides overall performance. One frequently tested subtopic is the Alphabet series. Questions based on alphabetical order appear in various formats and are linked to other topics such as Coding-Decoding, Classification and Series. A clear and quick recall of each letter's position from either end of the alphabet is essential to answer these questions accurately and fast.

• Most reasoning test papers begin with one or more questions on the English alphabet. The number and type of questions vary by exam and paper pattern.
• Words given in such questions are treated as individual terms and may have fixed relationships based on alphabetical positions; recognising these relationships is central to solving the problems.
• Candidates should be able to recall the place value of each letter both from the left (A → 1) and from the right (Z → 1 from right) without delay.

Code Based on English Alphabet

Many coding problems use the numeric positions of letters. Familiarity with the positions from left-to-right and right-to-left helps you identify coding patterns quickly. Memorise the basic mappings and practice converting positions both ways.

Table: Position of Alphabets From Left to Right

One useful memory aid is the EJOTY principle. These letters mark the multiples of five in the alphabet.

Under EJOTY: E = 5, J = 10, O = 15, T = 20, Y = 25. Once these anchors are known, you can count forwards or backwards to find any letter's position. With practice, recall of each letter's position becomes immediate.

Rules to Solve

The following rules collect standard methods used to solve alphabet-based questions. Learn them and practise examples for speed and accuracy.

Rule 1

Finding the position of a letter from the other end of the alphabet.

If a letter's position from the left is known and you need its position from the right, subtract the left position from 27. Conversely, if you know the position from the right and need the position from the left, subtract the right position from 27.

Examples (positions from left → positions from right)

Ex. 1: J is 10th alphabet from left.

Ex. 2: H is 8th alphabet from left.

Ex. 3: L is 12th alphabet from left.

Ex. 4: X is 24th alphabet from left.

Ans. 1: 27 - 10 = 17th from right.

Ans. 2: 27 - 8 = 19th from right.

Ans. 3: 27 - 12 = 15th from right.

Ans. 4: 27 - 24 = 3rd from right.

Examples (positions from right → positions from left)

Ex. 5: An alphabet is 14th from right.

Ex. 6: An alphabet is 2nd from right.

Ex. 7: An alphabet is 22nd from right.

Ex. 8: An alphabet is 9th from right.

Ans. 5: 27 - 14 = 13th from left.

Ans. 6: 27 - 2 = 25th from left.

Ans. 7: 27 - 22 = 5th from left.

Ans. 8: 27 - 9 = 18th from left.

Rule 2

Finding the opposite letter in the alphabet (letters that are symmetric around the centre).

Two letters are opposite if the sum of their positions (from the left) is 27. For example, A (1) and Z (26) are opposites because 1 + 26 = 27. To find the opposite of any given letter, subtract its left position from 27; the result gives the left position of the opposite letter.

Examples

Ex. 9: Opposite letter of D?

Ex. 10: Opposite letter of V?

Ex. 11: Opposite letter of J?

Ex. 12: Opposite letter of S?

Ans. 9: D = 4th from left. 27 - 4 = 23 → W.

Ans. 10: V = 22nd from left. 27 - 22 = 5 → E.

Ans. 11: J = 10th from left. 27 - 10 = 17 → Q.

Ans. 12: S = 19th from left. 27 - 19 = 8 → H.

Rule 3

Finding the middle position between two alphabets.

There are three typical cases under Rule 3.

Case I

When one alphabet's position is given from the left and the other from the right.

Convert the right position to its equivalent left position (use 27 - right position). Add both left positions and divide by 2. The quotient gives the left position of the middle letter.

Examples

Ex. 13: 4th from right and 7th from left - which letter is in the middle?

Ex. 14: 17th from left and 6th from right - which letter is in the middle?

Ans. 13: 4th from right = 27 - 4 = 23rd from left. 23 + 7 = 30. 30 ÷ 2 = 15 → 15th letter = O.

Ans. 14: 6th from right = 27 - 6 = 21st from left. 17 + 21 = 38. 38 ÷ 2 = 19 → 19th letter = S.

Case II

When two alphabets are given (their letters, not positions).

Find the left positions of both letters, add those two numbers and divide by 2. The result gives the left position of the middle letter.

Examples

Ex. 15: Which is the middle letter between H and N?

Ex. 16: Which is the middle letter between H and T?

Ans. 15: H = 8, N = 14. 8 + 14 = 22. 22 ÷ 2 = 11 → 11th letter = K.

Ans. 16: H = 8, T = 20. 8 + 20 = 28. 28 ÷ 2 = 14 → 14th letter = N.

Case III

When positions of both alphabets are given from the right.

Add the two right positions and divide by 2. That gives the middle position from the right; convert it to the left position using 27 - (middle position from right).

Ex. 17: 10th from right and 4th from right.

Ans. 17: 10 + 4 = 14. 14 ÷ 2 = 7 → 7th from right. 27 - 7 = 20 → 20th from left = T.

Rule 4

Relative position between two alphabets - when a letter is said to be a certain number of places to the left or right of a given letter.

Procedure:

• Decide whether the reference point (the given position) is measured from the left or from the right.
• Decide whether the required movement is to the left or to the right of that reference point.
• If the reference is given from left and we move right, add the movement to the left position; if we move left, subtract it. If the reference is from right, perform the same logic on right positions and, if necessary, convert end values using 27 - position.

General pattern: Which alphabet is X to the left/right of Y from left/right?

Examples

Ex. 18: Which alphabet is 8th to the right of 10th from left?

Ex. 19: Which alphabet is 4th to the left of 20th from right?

Ans. 18: Reference 10th from left; move 8 to the right: 10 + 8 = 18 → 18th from left = R.

Ans. 19: Reference 20th from right; moving 4 to the left from that right-based reference is equivalent to adding 4 to the right position: 20 + 4 = 24 → 24th from right. Convert to left: 27 - 24 = 3 → 3rd from left = C.

Rule 5

Arrangement of letters of a single word in alphabetical order and finding positions from left/right.

To answer such questions, write the letters of the word in ascending alphabetical order (as in a dictionary). Then count from the left or the right as required.

Examples

Ex. 20: If the word PENCIL is written alphabetically then which is the fourth letter from right?

Ex. 21: If the word COUNTER is written alphabetically then which is the third letter from left?

Ex. 22: If the word REPRESENTATION is written alphabetically then which is the second letter to the left of fifth from right?

Ans. 20: PENCIL → C E I L N P. Fourth from right = I.

Ans. 21: COUNTER → C E N O R T U. Third from left = N.

Ans. 22: REPRESENTATION → A E E E I N N O P R R S T T. Fifth from right = the 5th from the right end; second to its left means 7th from right. 7th from right corresponds to the letter O.

Rule 6

Arrangement of words in alphabetical (dictionary) order.

In a dictionary, words are arranged by comparing letters from the first position; if first letters are the same, compare second letters, and so on. To arrange a list of words:

• Compare the first letters; words are ordered by that letter.
• If first letters match, compare the second letters; continue until a difference is found.
• Shorter words may come before longer words when one word is a prefix of the other (as in a standard dictionary).

Examples

Ex. 23: Arrange the following in alphabetical order: (a) Plight (b) Pledge (c) Pugilist (d) Pander

Correct order: (i) Pander (ii) Pledge (iii) Plight (iv) Pugilist

Ex. 24: Arrange the following in alphabetical order: (a) sundry (b) script (c) season (d) slight

Correct order: (i) script (ii) season (iii) slight (iv) sundry