SSC CGL 2025 PYQs

Concept: A homonym use shows the same word in a different meaning.

1. Given: 'aporia' = a philosophical puzzle/impasse, a state of doubt.
2. (A), (B), (D) keep this sense of doubt or uncertainty.
3. (C) treats it as something an architect calculates for a structure – a different (structural) sense.

Trick: Find the option whose context field differs (architecture vs philosophy) – that is the odd usage.

Answer: (C) The architect calculated the aporia of the structure using software tools.

Concept: is/are being + V3 (passive) = is/are + V-ing (active).

1. Agent 'the students' becomes the subject (plural ⇒ 'are').
2. The students are solving the problem.

Trick: 'Being' in passive = continuous tense; match '-ing' in the active and drop options in other tenses.

Answer: (A) The students are solving the problem.

Concept: Present perfect cannot go with a definite past time word (yesterday, last week, ago).

1. 'Yesterday' ⇒ simple past.
2. He completed his work yesterday.

Trick: Spot time markers: yesterday/ago/last/in 2010 ⇒ V2 only, never has/have + V3.

Answer: (A) completed his work

Concept: With no helping verb in the statement, the tag uses do/does/did.

1. 'He plays' = simple present, 3rd person singular ⇒ 'does'.
2. Positive statement ⇒ negative tag: doesn't he?

Trick: Convert 'plays' into 'does play' – the hidden auxiliary 'does' forms the tag.

Answer: (A) doesn't he?

Concept: Converting to direct speech, undo the backshift: past perfect/past → present.

1. Reported 'had' (from 'has') returns to 'has'.
2. The professor said, "The theory has several limitations."

Trick: Meaning must remain the same – options changing 'several limitations' to 'full of errors' or 'no limitations' are out at once.

Answer: (A) The professor said, "The theory has several limitations."

Concept: 'Let us' (proposal) → reporting verb 'suggested/proposed' + that + subject + should.

1. said → suggested; 'us' → 'they'.
2. Ravi suggested that they should help the needy.

Trick: 'Told' always needs an object (told me/him); 'ordered' changes a suggestion into a command.

Answer: (B) Ravi suggested that they should help the needy.

Concept: Start with the sentence that introduces the topic; pronouns follow their nouns.

1. 1 introduces 'ancient trade routes'.
2. 2 'They' refers to those routes – what they enabled.
3. 3 adds the merchants' difficulties; 4 'Over time' concludes.

Trick: 'They' cannot begin a paragraph and 'Over time' signals the end – only 1-2-3-4 satisfies both.

Answer: (B) 1-2-3-4

Concept: adapt + ability = adaptability.

1. Root 'adapt' (to adjust) keeps single p and single t.
2. Suffix '-ability' keeps 'a'.

Yaad rakhein: Don't confuse 'adapt' (adjust) with 'adopt' (take up) – option (C) uses the wrong root.

Answer: (B) adaptability

Concept: Shortened = made shorter.

1. Truncated = cut short by removing the end part ✓.
2. Lengthened/Extended are antonyms; Complicated is unrelated.

Trick: Truncate comes from Latin 'truncus' – a tree trunk with branches cut off; think 'cut off'.

Answer: (C) Truncated

Concept: Restore = bring back to its original condition.

1. Pulverize = crush into powder, destroy completely ✓ (opposite).
2. Recreate, Replenish, Regenerate all mean rebuilding – near-synonyms.

Trick: Three options start with 're-' and share the 'bring back' idea – the odd word out is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Pulverize

Concept: 'The writing on the wall' = a clear sign that failure or disaster is coming.

1. The coach sensed the coming end of the team and resigned early.
2. It is a warning sign, not a confession, love or brilliance.

Yaad rakhein: Origin: Biblical feast of King Belshazzar, where a hand wrote his doom on the wall.

Answer: (B) A clear warning of inevitable doom

Concept: Brittle = hard but easily broken (like glass).

1. Correct spelling: b-r-i-t-t-l-e (double t, ends in -le).
2. 'Brittel', 'Brittlle', 'Britle' each alter the ending or the t's.

Trick: Pattern like little, kettle, bottle: short vowel + double consonant + -le.

Answer: (B) Brittle

Concept: Bankrupt = legally declared unable to pay debts.

1. The key words are 'declared in law' – only bankrupt has legal status.
2. Pauper = very poor; Debtor = one who owes; Spendthrift = wasteful spender.

Yaad rakhein: Insolvent is a close synonym; 'bankruptcy' is the legal process (India: IBC, 2016).

Answer: (B) Bankrupt

Concept: Polymath = a person with wide knowledge across many subjects.

1. 'Poly' = many, 'math' (Greek manthanein) = learning ⇒ many learnings ✓.
2. Prodigy = gifted child; Virtuoso = master performer (music/art); Savant stresses deep learning, not breadth.

Trick: 'Wide' in the definition points to breadth ⇒ poly- (many).

Answer: (A) Polymath

Concept: Fix pairs first using links like 'Yet' and 'this gap'.

1. 'Yet … digital divide' (3) contrasts with 'digital tools' (2) ⇒ 2 → 3.
2. 'Bridging this gap' (4) refers to the divide in 3 ⇒ 3 → 4.
3. Only option (A) 2-1-3-4 keeps 2 → 3 → 4 in order.

Trick: Find the fixed block (2-3-4 order) and eliminate any option that breaks it: (B), (C), (D) all fail.

Answer: (A) 2-1-3-4

Concept: Simple future passive = will be + V3.

1. Active: 'will finish' (simple future); object 'their homework' becomes subject.
2. Passive: Their homework will be finished by the children by dinner time.
3. 'is finished' (present), 'would be' (conditional), 'has been' (present perfect) change the tense.

Trick: Tense never changes in voice change — keep 'will', add 'be' + V3.

Answer: (A) Their homework will be finished by the children by dinner time.

Concept: Superficial = shallow, only on the surface.

1. Correct form: s-u-p-e-r-f-i-c-i-a-l (super + ficial, single 'p', single 'l').
2. 'supurficial' wrong vowel; 'supperficial/ supperficiall' double letters.

Trick: Think 'SUPER + face' — on the surface (super = above, ficies = face).

Answer: (C) superficial

Concept: Start with the cause; linkers like 'As a result' must follow it.

1. 2 states the problem: fossil fuels → global warming.
2. 1 ('As a result') shows rising demand for renewables; 3 names those sources (solar, wind).
3. 4 ends with heavy investment in such technology → 2-1-3-4.

Trick: A sentence beginning with 'As a result' can never be first — removes (B).

Answer: (C) 2, 1, 3, 4

Concept: Introduce the topic, explain the process, then its outcome.

1. 2 introduces machine learning.
2. 3 explains training on datasets; 1 ('This enables…') refers back to that training.
3. 4 ('Consequently') gives applications → 2-3-1-4.

Trick: 'This' in 1 needs a noun/process before it — that is sentence 3, so 3 → 1 is a fixed pair.

Answer: (B) 2-3-1-4

Concept: Advanced = far developed, ahead in progress.

1. Incipient = in an early stage, just starting → opposite.
2. Mature, Developed, Progressed all mean nearly the same as 'advanced'.

Trick: When three options are synonyms of the word, the odd fourth is the antonym.

Answer: (B) Incipient