SSC CHSL 2025 PYQs

Concept: Check each segment for a misspelt word.

1. Segment D: 'possesion' is wrong.
2. Correct: possession – double 's' twice (po-ss-e-ss-ion).
3. wealthy, surprised, silver are correct.

Trick: Possession has 4 s's – 'ss' + 'ss'.

Answer: (D) D

Concept: Passive 'Let + object + be + V3 + by + agent' → Active 'Let + agent + V1 + object'.

1. Agent = the user; object = the software's instructions; V1 = review.
2. Active: Let + the user (doer) + review (V1) + the instructions (object).
3. A and B change the sentence type (statement / 'should'); C drops the doer.

Trick: A 'Let' passive stays a 'Let' sentence in the active – choose the option that begins with 'Let'.

Answer: (D) Let the user carefully review the software's instructions before installation.

Concept: A plural amount of money/time/distance treated as one sum takes a singular verb.

1. 'Ten thousand dollars' = one price (one amount).
2. So the verb is singular: is.
3. Correct: Ten thousand dollars is the price of the workstation.

Trick: Ask 'one amount or many items?' – one amount → is/was.

Answer: (B) Ten thousand dollars is the price

Concept: Present perfect passive = has/have + been + V3.

1. Active: has launched (present perfect).
2. Object 'a mobile application' becomes subject (singular) → has been launched.
3. Pattern: subject + has been + launched + by + agent.

Trick: Tense never changes in voice change: 'has' must stay 'has' – only C keeps it.

Answer: (C) A mobile application has been launched by the tech company.

Concept: Going back to direct speech, reverse the tense shift and pronoun change.

1. 'told him that' → 'said to him, "..."'.
2. 'he' (the father himself) → 'I'.
3. 'would' (past of will) → 'will'. So: "I will not …"

Trick: Back-shift reversal: would→will, could→can, was→is.

Answer: (B) His father said to him, "I will not sell the house."

Concept: A clause that qualifies a noun is an adjective clause.

1. In the passage the clause comes right after the noun 'framework'.
2. 'where every borrowed rupee is transformed...' describes what kind of framework.
3. So it is an adjective clause (relative adverb 'where' = in which).

Trick: Replace 'where' with 'in which' – if it fits after a noun, it is an adjective clause.

Answer: (B) Adjective clause

Concept: Interrogative negative = question form + 'not' (usually contracted).

1. Modal 'can' + not = can't, placed before the subject.
2. Can't + the state + direct …?
3. A has no negative; B is a tag question; D changes the modal.

Trick: Look for helping verb + n't at the very start of the sentence.

Answer: (C) Can't the state direct massive capital toward nation-building projects?

Concept: Ostensibly = apparently or seemingly, while the real reason is different.

1. The passage: bonds are issued 'ostensibly' to invite public participation.
2. Next it reveals their primary function is to bridge the revenue–expenditure gap.
3. So the word = appears one thing, is another. Fraudulently, explicitly, legally do not appear in the passage with this sense.

Trick: The answer must be a word actually used in the passage – only 'ostensibly' is.

Answer: (B) Ostensibly

Concept: Subsume = to include or absorb something into a larger group.

1. Passage: subsume departmental budgets into a centralized master plan.
2. Many small budgets → one big plan = absorbing into something larger.
3. The next sentence ('consolidating these fragmented outlays') confirms it.

Trick: 'Sub' (under) + 'sume' (take) → take under a larger whole.

Answer: (C) To include or absorb into something larger

Concept: Locate the sentence about borrowing 'too aggressively'.

1. Paragraph 2: heavy borrowing risks 'crowding out' private players.
2. The state absorbs most of the market capital, leaving less for private investors.
3. Options A, C, D are not stated anywhere in the passage.

Trick: Keyword match: 'borrows too aggressively' → 'crowding out'.

Answer: (B) It leads to "crowding out" by reducing available capital for private investors.

Concept: Start with the general statement, then define, then describe.

1. Q opens: there are two types of mind.
2. S names the first type: the retrospective/submissive mind.
3. R describes it as legal and conservative, looking to the past; P adds that it sees the world as finished and over.

Trick: Q must start (general intro) and S must follow ('The first type') – only Q S _ _ options remain; R explains 'looks back to the past', P extends it.

Answer: (A) QSRP

Concept: Arrange the actions in their natural time order.

1. Q: enter the recipient's address first.
2. R: add the subject line.
3. P: write the body/draft; S: click submit and feel relieved (end).

Trick: S (final relief) must be last – only option A ends with S.

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

Concept: Follow the physical order of an athletic jump.

1. R: sprint to build momentum.
2. Q: leap and rotate in the air.
3. P: land smoothly; S: acknowledge officials after the display.

Trick: Run → jump → land → bow. Only option A begins with the run (R) and keeps Q before P.

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

Concept: Homophones sound alike but differ in meaning; fit each to its blank.

1. 'be for naught' = be in vain, achieve nothing.
2. 'if he did not find' – negative needed.
3. Other pairs (council/counsel, discrete/discreet, weather/whether) do not fit either blank.

Trick: The second blank is 'did ___ find' – only 'not' fits there, so pick the pair containing 'not'.

Answer: (C) naught, not

Concept: Word for making up false information to deceive.

1. Fabrication = inventing a false story or facts.
2. Vilification = abusive criticism to damage reputation.
3. Desecration = disrespecting a sacred thing; blasphemy = insulting God/religion.

Trick: 'Fabricate' also means 'to make/build' – fabricating a lie = building a false story.

Answer: (A) Fabrication

Concept: Pick the word that names a person with deep, specialised knowledge.

1. Key clue: highly knowledgeable in a particular field.
2. Expert = a specialist who has mastered one subject.
3. Amateur = does it as a hobby; Novice = a beginner; Prodigy = an unusually gifted child – none means 'specialist'.

Trick: Amateur and Novice are the opposites of Expert – strike them out first; Prodigy is about age + talent, not field knowledge.

Answer: (C) Expert

Concept: Find the word for someone who leaves the religion he once followed.

1. Apostate = one who renounces his earlier religion or belief.
2. Agnostic = says God's existence can't be known.
3. Devotee = a loyal follower; Infidel = one who doesn't believe in a given religion at all (never had it).

Trick: Apostate = 'apo' (away) + 'stasis' (standing) → 'stands away' from the old faith.

Answer: (A) Apostate

Concept: The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, not with the noun inside an 'of…' phrase.

1. In (A) the head noun is principles (plural); of science is just a modifier.
2. Plural subject → plural verb: is must become are.
3. (B) Responses…have, (C) The writer…is, (D) lines…are – all agree correctly.

Trick: Cover the 'of + noun' phrase with your finger and read subject + verb together: 'principles is' instantly sounds wrong.

Answer: (A) The basic principles of science is hard to grasp.

Concept: 'Insist' is always followed by the preposition on (or upon) when it means 'demand firmly'.

1. Pattern: insist on + noun / -ing.
2. So: insisted on absolute silence.
3. over / with / at do not pair with 'insist'.

Trick: Similar 'on' verbs: insist on, rely on, depend on, comment on, congratulate on.

Answer: (C) on

Concept: We leave a closed vehicle (car, taxi) with out of; an open one (bus, bike, train) with off.

1. 'stepped from the car' is not idiomatic.
2. Replace it with stepped out of → '…as Rohit stepped out of the car.'
3. (B) and (C) would repeat 'the car'; (C) also misses 'of'.

Trick: Car = out of; bus/train/plane/bike = off. Think: you crawl OUT of a box, you jump OFF a platform.

Answer: (A) stepped out of