SSC CHSL 2025 PYQs

Concept: A sentence with only one finite verb (one clause) is simple, however long.

1. Finite verb: only permits (subject: careless dumping).
2. 'to drift…' = infinitive; 'triggering…', 'threatening…' = participle phrases – no finite verb.
3. No conjunction joining clauses → simple sentence.

Trick: Count finite verbs: 1 = simple; 2 joined by and/but = compound; with who/that/because = complex.

Answer: (A) Simple sentence

Concept: For a yes/no question, move the existing auxiliary before the subject.

1. Verb: have become.
2. Shift 'have' to the front.
3. Have plastic products become essential to daily routines?

Trick: Do not change tense or helping verb – just swap the auxiliary and subject.

Answer: (D) Have plastic products become essential to daily routines?

Concept: Use the clause after 'as' to decode the word in context.

1. Coasts 'accumulate vast tides of debris' → they get harmed easily.
2. Susceptible = easily affected; prone to harm.
3. Strong / clean are opposites; remote has no link with debris.

Yaad rakhein: Susceptible to = vulnerable to; antonym: immune / resistant.

Answer: (C) Prone or liable to harm

Concept: 'Alleviate' = make pain or stress less severe.

1. The sentence lists two benefits: alleviates stress, curbs oil demand.
2. Both reduce something → Relieves.
3. 'Increases' is opposite; 'describes', 'ignores' do nothing to stress.

Trick: 'not only … but also' links two similar ideas – 'curbs' (reduces) hints that 'alleviates' also reduces.

Answer: (C) Relieves

Concept: Answer only from what the passage states.

1. The passage links the coasts' weakness to huge amounts of waste that sea currents keep bringing ashore.
2. The word 'as' introduces this reason → option C.
3. Plastic production, regulation, people's habits are not mentioned for coasts.

Trick: Look for a reason-word (as, because, since) near the key term – the answer sits right there.

Answer: (C) They often accumulate large amounts of debris from ocean currents.

Concept: Start with the sentence that introduces the topic; pronouns and 'this/the' point backwards.

1. Q introduces settlers moving west → opener.
2. R ('the long journey') refers to Q's movement.
3. P ('attracted them') needs settlers already named; S ('This mass migration') concludes → Q R P S.

Trick: Opener has no pronoun; closer starts with 'This …' summing up. Only option D starts with Q.

Answer: (D) Q, R, P, S

Concept: Attentive = careful, paying full attention.

1. Opposite = careless / negligent.
2. Derelict = neglectful of duty → antonym.
3. Punctilious, meticulous = very careful (synonyms); wary = cautious.

Trick: Three options mean 'careful' – the odd one is the antonym.

Answer: (B) Derelict

Concept: A homonym has several unrelated meanings; check each option.

1. Means of communication – yes (mass medium).
2. Material through which something passes – yes (air is a medium for sound).
3. Person contacting spirits – yes. 'Lowest level' – no, medium = middle level.

Trick: Medium sounds like 'median' = middle, never the lowest.

Answer: (B) The lowest level on a rating scale

Concept: Altruist = one who selflessly cares for others' welfare.

1. Concern for others' happiness → Altruist.
2. Narcissist = self-obsessed (opposite).
3. Philanthropist = donates to causes; Optimist = hopeful person.

Trick: 'Alter' (Latin) = other → altruist cares for others.

Answer: (A) Altruist

Concept: Coup = sudden forcible removal of a government/leader.

1. Key phrase: 'removal of a leader by force'.
2. That is a coup (coup d'état).
3. Uprising/revolt = people rising, not necessarily removal; sedition = inciting against the state.

Yaad rakhein: Coup d'état is French for 'blow against the state'.

Answer: (C) Coup

Concept: Find the word with the same meaning as 'Reticent'.

1. Reticent = not inclined to reveal one's thoughts; quiet and holding back.
2. Reserved = slow to show feelings or open up – same sense.
3. Talkative, Garrulous, Loquacious = chatty – all opposite in meaning.

Trick: Three options mean the same thing (talkative) – when three options are near-identical, the odd one out is usually the answer.

Answer: (B) Reserved

Concept: 'Time' meaning duration is uncountable, so it stays singular after 'much'.

1. 'Much' goes with uncountable nouns; 'times' (plural) means occasions, e.g. 'twice/five times'.
2. Here the sense is duration spent resting → 'too much time resting'.
3. Error is in part (C).

Trick: much + singular uncountable noun; many + plural noun. 'much times' is never correct.

Answer: (C) too much times resting.

Concept: In simple present, a third-person singular subject takes verb + s/es.

1. Sentence A: 'He' (singular) + habitual action ('every day') → simple present.
2. So 'damage' must be 'damages': He damages his health…
3. B, C and D are grammatically fine.

Trick: Spot He/She/It + bare verb with a habit word (every day, always) – it's almost always the error.

Answer: (A) He damage his health by eating too much junk food every day.

Concept: Pick the adjective that matches the clue 'uniting members across the committee'.

1. The clue says everyone came together → support from all.
2. Unanimous = with the agreement of all members.
3. Partisan = favouring one side; perfunctory = careless/routine; nominal = only in name.

Trick: Clue word 'uniting … across' = all agree → 'unanimous' (uni = one; one mind).

Answer: (B) unanimous

Concept: Words that sound alike but differ in meaning and spelling (homophones).

1. The sentence is about property → we need a person who inherits.
2. Heir = one who legally receives property after someone's death.
3. Hair = strands on the head; hare = rabbit-like animal; hire = employ; 'hier' is not a word.

Trick: Heir → 'h' is silent, like 'honest'; heir-ess, inherit – all about inheritance.

Answer: (B) Heir

Concept: Identify the wrongly spelt word.

1. Correct form: Environment = environ + ment.
2. Given 'Enviorment' drops the 'n' and jumbles 'ron'.
3. Hurricane, Atmosphere, Storm are correct.

Trick: Break it: en-VIRON-ment. 'Environ' (surround) + 'ment' – keep both n's.

Answer: (B) Enviorment

Concept: 'Load (a vehicle) with goods' – the container is loaded WITH its contents.

1. Subject = the van (container); boxes = contents.
2. Correct: 'The van was loaded with boxes of medical supplies.'
3. 'Loaded into' fits only when goods are the subject (boxes were loaded into the van); 'from' shows source.

Trick: Container + WITH; goods + INTO/ONTO.

Answer: (A) loaded with

Concept: Fixed collocations: accuse of, blame for, convict of.

1. 'Blamed with' is wrong (blame takes 'for').
2. Accused of leaking sensitive information – correct pairing.
3. 'Convicted to' is wrong (convicted of); 'blamed by' changes meaning to the person blaming.

Trick: Charge WITH, accuse OF, blame FOR – learn these three as a set.

Answer: (B) accused of

Concept: Future perfect active (will have + V3) → passive: will have been + V3.

1. Object 'the task' becomes subject.
2. Verb: will have completed → will have been completed.
3. Add 'by the workers' and keep 'by evening'.

Trick: Perfect tenses in passive always add 'been' (has been / had been / will have been) – never 'being'.

Answer: (D) The task will have been completed by the workers by evening.

Concept: Past reporting verb → tense shifts back; pronouns and time words change.

1. said to me → told me that; I → he; my colleague → his colleague.
2. am going → was going; finishes → finished.
3. next week → the following week.

Trick: Check one change at a time – 'is going' kills A, 'they' kills C, 'my colleague' kills D.

Answer: (B) He told me that he was going to start working on the project from the following week until his colleague finished his part.