SSC CHSL 2025 PYQs

Concept: Active: subject does the action. Passive needs 'be' + V3.

1. Verb: 'has reshaped' = has + V3 (present perfect, no 'been').
2. Subject 'The expectation…' performs the reshaping on 'work habits'.
3. No 'be' form → active.

Trick: Passive test: look for be/been + V3. 'has reshaped' has no 'been' → Active.

Answer: (A) Active voice

Concept: A finite verb shows tense and agrees with the subject; -ing participles/gerunds are non-finite.

1. Subject 'Many individuals' + 'have started' → carries present perfect tense.
2. waking, checking, skipping, struggling are -ing forms with no tense of their own.

Trick: Ask 'Can it change with tense/subject?' – started (have started/had started) can; checking cannot.

Answer: (A) started

Concept: Deleterious = harmful, damaging.

1. Passage: deleterious consequences → sleep problems, anxiety = harmful effects.
2. Adverse = harmful/unfavourable – exact match.
3. Advantageous is the opposite; temporary and uncertain don't fit.

Trick: Read the next line of the passage – the listed effects (anxiety, poor sleep) reveal the meaning.

Answer: (B) Adverse

Concept: A clarion call = a loud, urgent call to take action.

1. Clarion = a war trumpet with a clear, sharp sound.
2. Experts want everyone to reassess priorities at once → strong, urgent appeal.
3. 'Mild' or 'confusing' contradicts the urgency.

Trick: Clarion = 'clear + alarm' – think of a trumpet sounding an alarm.

Answer: (B) A strong and urgent appeal

Concept: Locate the factor stated in the passage.

1. Para 1: technology raised pressure 'by shortening response times'.
2. That = shortened response expectations → fatigue.
3. Leisure, reduced tech use and fixed hours are never mentioned as causes.

Trick: In 'according to the passage' questions, match key words (shortening/response) – don't use outside opinion.

Answer: (A) Shortened response expectations

Concept: Arrange process steps in the order they actually happen.

1. P – specimen introduced and placed on the slide (start).
2. Q – dye applied to the sample.
3. R – cover slip lowered to secure it.
4. S – slide placed under the lens (final step).

Trick: 'The specimen' is introduced only in P; 'then' in S marks the last step → P _ _ S, only (B) fits.

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

Concept: The opener introduces the topic; later sentences use pronouns/'the' to refer back.

1. P introduces the humanoid project – opener.
2. R: 'Their skills … merged' – the team starts work.
3. Q: algorithms developed over weeks.
4. S: successful outcome – conclusion.

Trick: Only one option starts with P → (D). S ('outcome') is clearly last.

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

Concept: Synonym = closest meaning.

1. Buyer = one who purchases.
2. Patron = a (regular) customer of a shop/business.
3. Chief = leader; Familiar = well known; Opponent = rival.

Yaad rakhein: Patron also means 'supporter/sponsor', but in shops it simply means customer.

Answer: (D) Patron

Concept: Pick words that sound like the bracketed ones but fit the meaning.

1. right → write (a report is written).
2. boar (wild pig) → bore (to make someone tired/uninterested).

Trick: Rite = ritual, boor = rude person, riot = violent disorder – none fit 'report' or 'tire'.

Answer: (C) write, bore

Concept: Oligarchy = rule by a few.

1. oligo = few, -archy = rule.
2. So a small group controls the government/society.
3. One-person rule = autocracy; lawlessness = anarchy; rule by priests = theocracy.

Trick: Mono = one, Olig = few, Demo = people, Theo = God – learn the prefixes, not the list.

Answer: (B) A small group of people that control a government or society

Concept: An adjective used for a whole group of people (rich, poor, homeless) needs the and takes a plural verb.

1. Sentence A: "Homeless are seeking…" – "Homeless" alone cannot act as the subject.
2. Correct: The homeless are seeking shelter from the cold.
3. B (itself = the cat), C (only "?" missing) and D (superlative + "that") are grammatically fine.

Trick: See an adjective standing as subject with a plural verb? Check for "the" first.

Answer: (A) Homeless are seeking shelter from the cold.

Concept: Fixed pairing: eligible for + noun (post, job, prize).

1. The blank is followed by a noun: "the position".
2. So use for → "not eligible for the position".
3. "eligible to" comes only before a verb (eligible to vote); "with/at" never pair with eligible.

Trick: eligible for + noun, eligible to + verb.

Answer: (C) for

Concept: Pick the phrasal verb whose meaning fits "meeting + sudden emergency" → cancel.

1. call off = cancel a planned event ✔
2. look into = investigate; stand for = represent/tolerate; break up = end a relationship or scatter.
3. Sentence: The committee decided to call off the meeting.

Trick: Emergency + planned event → the answer is almost always "call off" (cancel).

Answer: (A) call off

Concept: Correct spelling of the word meaning "the perfect, purest example".

1. Split it: quint + essential.
2. The ending is the normal word "essential" (e-s-s-e-n-t-i-a-l).
3. So Quintessential is right; the others spoil "essential".

Trick: Find the familiar word "essential" inside – any option that misspells it is out.

Answer: (B) Quintessential

Concept: Homonyms: same spelling and sound, different meaning.

1. Given sentence: ring = a circular ornament on the finger (noun).
2. Option C: the telephone ring = to make a bell sound (verb) – a new meaning.
3. A, B, D all use ring as jewellery – same meaning, so not homonyms.

Trick: Look for the option where the word changes its part of speech or meaning – the odd one out wins.

Answer: (C) I heard the telephone ring in the hallway.

Concept: Compress = press into a smaller space; antonym = make larger.

1. Expand = to grow or spread out → opposite ✔
2. Squeeze, shrink, contract all mean making smaller – they are synonyms.

Trick: Three options share one meaning? The odd one out is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Expand

Concept: When the object of the main verb is also the object of the infinitive, do not repeat it as "it".

1. "water" is already the object of "boiled".
2. "to drink it" repeats the same object → redundant.
3. Correct: She boiled some fresh water to drink.

Yaad rakhein: Same pattern: "He gave me a book to read" (not "to read it").

Answer: (A) to drink

Concept: Past reporting verb → back-shift tenses and change time/place words.

1. can → could; does not want → did not want.
2. here → there (so come → go); tomorrow morning → the following/next morning; my → his.
3. Only option B makes every change correctly.

Trick: Check modals first: options with "can" (A) or present "does" (C, D) drop out instantly.

Answer: (B) He said that he could go there the following morning if his father did not want him to go for practice.

Concept: In a reported wh-question: said to → asked, keep the wh-word, use statement order and back-shift tense.

1. said to → asked; "What is" → "what was".
2. "there is no strategy" → "there was no strategy".
3. Result = option B. "had been", "had to be", "was being" are not the back-shift of "is".

Trick: Simple present "is" moves to simple past "was" – nothing more.

Answer: (B) The players asked the coach what was the best way to start a game when there was no strategy discussed in the meeting.

Concept: Impersonal passive hides the doer; the active form must add a subject and keep the tense.

1. Tense: has been concluded = present perfect passive.
2. Active: Subject + have concluded + that-clause.
3. Option B: "Researchers have concluded that his theory is correct." ✔ (C, D still passive; A drops the clause.)

Trick: In voice change, eliminate any option that still has "be + V3".

Answer: (B) Researchers have concluded that his theory is correct.