SSC CGL 2025 PYQs

Concept: Confusion is uncountable: no plural, and it takes 'much', not 'many'.

1. 'so many confusions' is wrong.
2. Correct: '…they would not have had so much confusion.'
3. Parts 1–3 (third conditional 'Had… would not have') are correct.

Trick: Uncountable nouns like information, advice, furniture, luggage, confusion never take -s or 'many'.

Answer: (D) (4)

Concept: Simple present passive: am/is/are + V3; negative: aren't + V3.

1. Object 'pets' becomes subject; 'don't allow' → 'aren't allowed'.
2. Vague doer 'they' is usually dropped.
3. (B) present perfect, (C) past, (D) modal 'should' – tense changed.

Trick: Keep the tense: 'don't/doesn't' in active always maps to 'is/are not' in passive.

Answer: (A) Pets aren't allowed in this hotel.

Concept: Homonyms: same spelling, different meaning (here also different pronunciation).

1. In 'lead pencil', lead /led/ is the noun – the writing core (metal/graphite).
2. (A) and (D) use the same metal sense; (C) 'lead' = clue – a noun.
3. (B) lead /liːd/ = verb 'to guide' – a clearly different word with the same spelling.

Yaad rakhein: lead /led/ = metal (Pb); lead /liːd/ = to guide – a classic homograph pair, like 'tear' and 'wind'.

Answer: (B) He will lead the team to victory.

Concept: To make the sentence active, supply a doer for 'was reported'.

1. Given: passive with hidden agent – 'The meeting was reported to have been postponed…'
2. Active: a subject does the reporting → 'Officials reported that the meeting had been postponed…'
3. (B) and (C) are still passive; (A) 'The news reported' is awkward – news is not a doer of reporting here.

Trick: In voice change, first find the verb 'was reported' – the answer must have a real subject + 'reported'.

Answer: (D) Officials reported that the meeting had been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Concept: 'So + adjective' is followed by 'that + clause', not by 'to + verb'.

1. 'so hungry to eat' ✗ → 'so hungry that he could eat the entire meal' ✓
2. Past main clause (was) → past modal 'could' in the result clause.
3. (C) 'eats' breaks tense; (D) 'might' shows doubt, not result.

Trick: Pairs to remember: so…that, such…that, too…to (too hungry to wait).

Answer: (A) that he could eat the entire meal

Concept: Latin comparatives ending in '-ior' are followed by 'to', not 'than'.

1. superior/inferior/senior/junior/prior + to.
2. 'more superior' is a double comparative – wrong.
3. So 'superior than' → 'superior to his colleague'.

Trick: '-ior' words + to; also 'prefer A to B'.

Answer: (A) superior to his colleague

Concept: Past perfect in reported speech stays past perfect when converted back to direct speech.

1. Reported: 'that the employees had neglected…' → direct: "The employees had neglected…"
2. Remove 'that', add commas and inverted commas; reporting verb 'complained' stays.
3. (A) 'did neglect', (C) present, (D) present perfect – all change the tense.

Trick: Past perfect has no further backshift, so it remains the same in both directions.

Answer: (B) The manager complained, "The employees had neglected the safety protocols during the inspection."

Concept: Past reporting verb ⇒ will → would; pronouns change by speaker/listener.

1. 'I' (Anita) → she; 'you' (the listener, i.e. the reporter) → me.
2. 'will meet' → 'would meet'.
3. Result: Anita said she would meet me at the station.

Yaad rakhein: Backshift chart: will → would, shall → should, can → could, may → might.

Answer: (B) Anita said she would meet me at the station.

Concept: Begin with the general statement, then who came, the arrangements, and the highlight.

1. 1 introduces the festival – the topic sentence.
2. 3 tells who joined; 2 describes the stalls set up for these visitors.
3. 4 ends with the performances that entertained 'the crowd'.

Trick: Only option (A) starts with sentence 1 – the only sentence that can open the paragraph.

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

Concept: In a process, arrange steps in the order they physically happen.

1. Choose the recipe (4) → buy ingredients (1) → knead dough (2) → bake bread (3).

Trick: Find the first and last steps: choosing a recipe must come first, baking last – only 4-1-2-3 fits both.

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

Concept: Antonym = word of opposite meaning.

1. Exacerbate = to make a problem or pain worse.
2. Ameliorate = to make a bad situation better – the opposite.
3. Intensify, aggravate, heighten are all synonyms (make worse/stronger).

Trick: Three options mean the same thing – the odd one out (Ameliorate) is the antonym.

Answer: (B) Ameliorate

Concept: Idioms carry a fixed figurative meaning.

1. 'Throw caution to the wind' = to act boldly or recklessly, ignoring possible risks.
2. E.g. He threw caution to the wind and invested all his savings.

Trick: Picture it: your 'caution' is tossed away into the wind – nothing left to hold you back.

Answer: (B) To do something without worrying about the risk or negative results

Concept: Correct spelling of the word meaning 'in proportion to'.

1. Correct: C-O-M-M-E-N-S-U-R-A-T-E (double m, 'su', ending '-ate').
2. Usage: Salary will be commensurate with experience.
3. Other options double the t, use 'se' or drop '-ate'.

Trick: Split it: com + mensur (measure) + ate – 'measured together'.

Answer: (A) Commensurate

Concept: Start with the sentence that introduces the subject; pronouns follow their noun.

1. 2 introduces 'robotic probes' – opener (1 begins with 'These robots', so it cannot start).
2. 1 tells what they do; 4 ('They can travel…') adds their reach.
3. 3 ('This keeps astronauts safe') gives the final benefit → 2-1-4-3.

Trick: Only (A) and (C) start with 2; 'This keeps…' needs an action before it, so 3 cannot come second → (A).

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

Concept: Forms of government named by who holds power.

1. Aristocracy = rule by nobles / a privileged upper class.
2. Monarchy = rule by a king/queen; Gerontocracy = rule by old people; Authoritarianism = strict rule with little freedom.

Yaad rakhein: Plutocracy – the rich; Theocracy – religious leaders; Oligarchy – a small group; Kleptocracy – thieves/corrupt.

Answer: (C) Aristocracy

Concept: Pick the noun for an expert hired to give advice.

1. Consultant = a person engaged to give professional advice to an organisation.
2. Delegate = a representative; Mentor = a personal guide; Intrusive is an adjective (interfering).

Trick: Remove the adjective first (Intrusive), then match 'advise an organisation' → Consultant.

Answer: (B) Consultant

Concept: Noun = verb 'obstruct' + suffix '-ion'.

1. obstruct + ion = Obstruction (single t, 'c' not 'k').
2. Other options add an extra n, double the t, or use k.

Trick: Same pattern: construct → construction, instruct → instruction.

Answer: (B) Obstruction

Concept: Synonym = word of similar meaning.

1. Jubilant = extremely happy, rejoicing (often after success).
2. Thrilled = very excited and pleased – closest meaning.
3. Tedium = boredom; Indolence = laziness; Bewilderment = confusion.

Trick: Jubilant → 'jubilee' (celebration) – look for a happy word.

Answer: (D) Thrilled

Concept: 'Explain' is transitive – it takes a direct object without 'about'.

1. Error in part (1): 'explained about the revised procedures'.
2. Correct: The coordinator carefully explained the revised procedures…

Yaad rakhein: No preposition after: explain, discuss, describe, attend, resemble, enter (in the sense of a place).

Answer: (A) (1)

Concept: Simple past active → was/were + V3; drop vague agents like 'somebody'.

1. 'stole' (simple past) → 'was stolen'.
2. Agent 'somebody' is omitted → My wallet was stolen last night.
3. (C) present perfect cannot go with 'last night'.

Trick: A past time marker (last night, yesterday) never takes 'has been'.

Answer: (B) My wallet was stolen last night.