MH Police Bharti · Bite-size lessons

Alphabet Series

About 6 min · Intellectual Test (Reasoning) · English

Time worked out from the lesson's 346 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.

Alphabet Series is a fundamental reasoning topic that tests your ability to recognize patterns in letter sequences. In the Maharashtra Police Bharti exam, these questions come under the Intellectual Test section and are considered scoring opportunities because they follow predictable logic once you master the underlying patterns.

Key ideas

• Letter Position Numbering: Every letter has a fixed position — A=1, B=2, C=3... L=12, M=13, N=14... Z=26. This is the foundation for all alphabet series problems.
• Forward and Backward Movement: Series can move forward (A→B→C) or backward (Z→Y→X). The direction determines whether you add or subtract from position values.
• Constant Gap Pattern: Most series maintain a fixed gap between letters. Example: A, D, G, J (gap of +3 each time).
• Variable Gap Pattern: Some series have increasing or decreasing gaps. Example: A, B, D, G, K (gaps of +1, +2, +3, +4).
• Opposite Letter Concept: Letters equidistant from both ends are called opposite letters. A↔Z, B↔Y, C↔X, etc. Their positions always sum to 27.

Watch out for

• Counting on fingers from A every time → Memorize the EJOTY landmarks (E=5, J=10, O=15, T=20, Y=25) and calculate from the nearest anchor.
• Confusing forward and backward series → Always check the first two or three terms to establish direction before assuming the pattern continues forward.
• Missing variable gap patterns → If constant gap does not work, immediately check if gaps are increasing (+1, +2, +3...) or form their own sequence.

Quick reference

• EJOTY = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 — your mental anchors for quick position finding.
• Opposite letters sum to 27 — A+Z = 1+26 = 27, B+Y = 2+25 = 27.
• First check constant gap, then check variable gap.
• M=13, N=14 — the alphabet's midpoint; useful for reverse calculations.
• For circular series: Position greater than 26 → subtract 26 to get actual letter.

Check yourself: 3 questions

This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 21 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.

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