SSC CHSL 2025 PYQs

Concept: Antonym: 'acrimonious' = angry and bitter (of a quarrel or speech).

1. Opposite of bitter conflict = peaceful agreement → Harmonious.
2. Bitter, Rancorous, Caustic all mean harsh/resentful – synonyms.

Trick: 'Acri-' links to 'acrid' (sharp, sour) – the opposite is something smooth and sweet.

Answer: (C) Harmonious

Concept: Find the sentence with a wrong spelling.

1. Correct spelling: p-r-i-v-i-l-e-g-e – no 'd'.
2. Option (D) has 'priviledge' – wrong.
3. (A), (B), (C) spell it correctly.

Trick: Don't mix with 'knowledge/ledger' – privilege has no 'd'.

Answer: (D) She lost the priviledge of driving the company car.

Concept: Doubling rule before -ed.

1. 'Occur' is stressed on the last syllable and ends in vowel + consonant.
2. So the final 'r' doubles: occur → occurred, occurring.
3. Option (C) writes 'occured' (single r) – the misspelling.

Trick: Same pattern: prefer → preferred, refer → referred, occur → occurred.

Answer: (C) The problem never occured during the testing phase.

Concept: Passive 'will have been + V3' = future perfect; the active keeps the same tense.

1. Doer 'the teacher' becomes the subject; 'the syllabus' becomes the object.
2. Future perfect active = will have + V3 → 'will have completed'.
3. So the active form uses 'will have completed' with 'the teacher' first.

Trick: Just remove 'been' and swap subject/object – the tense stays.

Answer: (B) The teacher will have completed the syllabus before the exam starts.

Concept: Past reporting verb → back-shift the tense in the reported statement.

1. Reporting verb 'said' is past, so will → would.
2. Statement is joined with 'that'; time phrase 'in five minutes' stays.
3. Result: '…said that the show would start in five minutes.'

Trick: Shift chart: is→was, will→would, can→could, shall→should, may→might.

Answer: (C) The announcer said that the show would start in five minutes.

Concept: Confusable verbs: persecute = harass/oppress; prosecute = take legal action.

1. Authorities taking a trespasser to court = prosecuted.
2. Passive voice needs the agent with by: 'prosecuted by the authorities'.
3. 'with' and 'to' are wrong prepositions here.

Trick: Prosecute → process of law (court); Persecute → personal torment.

Answer: (C) prosecuted by

Concept: Simple past active (V2) → passive 'was/were + V3'.

1. 'killed' here is V2 → simple past.
2. Object 'the lion' is singular → was + killed.
3. Passive: 'The lion was killed by the hunter.'

Trick: Match the tense: is (present), has been (present perfect), had been (past perfect) – only 'was' is simple past.

Answer: (B) The lion was killed by the hunter.

Concept: Main verb 'has promised' (present perfect) → passive 'has/have been + V3'; the person object can become the subject.

1. Person object 'the winning team' → subject.
2. 'has promised' → has been promised.
3. Doer goes last with 'by': '…by the committee'.
4. (C)/(D) change the tense to 'will', (B) has wrong 'have' with singular subject.

Trick: First fix the tense (has → has been); this alone leaves only (A).

Answer: (A) The winning team has been promised a gold trophy at the ceremony by the committee.

Concept: Going back to direct speech, every back-shifted verb moves one step forward and the speaker uses 'I'.

1. 'she would not approve' → 'I will not approve'.
2. 'was proposed' → 'is proposed'; 'had been overspending' → 'has been overspending'.
3. 'that' is dropped and the words go inside quotation marks.

Trick: Count the reversed verbs: only (C) changes all three (will, is, has been); (A) stops after one, (B)/(D) still read as indirect.

Answer: (C) 'I will not approve the budget which is proposed by the department that has been overspending for consecutive quarters," the CEO confirmed.

Concept: Identify voice and tense from the main verb.

1. Main clause: 'Numerous recycling centers adhere to rigorous standards'.
2. The subject does the action → active voice.
3. 'adhere' = base form with plural subject → simple present.
4. ('are not dumped' is a passive verb only in the subordinate clause.)

Trick: No 'has/have' → not perfect; no '-ing' → not continuous; plain V1 = simple present.

Answer: (C) Active voice, simple present

Concept: A word that tells 'how' an action is done is an adverb.

1. 'correctly' describes the manner of 'collected and processed' (verbs).
2. Adjective 'correct' + -ly → adverb of manner.
3. It does not describe a noun, link nouns or replace a noun.

Trick: Ask 'How?' – if the word answers it for a verb, it is an adverb.

Answer: (B) Adverb

Concept: Meaning of 'toxic' as used in the passage.

1. The passage links toxic gadgets with damage to health and the ecosystem.
2. Toxic = poisonous, harmful to living things.
3. 'Healthy and safe' is the opposite; the other two are unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: Toxin = poison; detox = removing poison.

Answer: (C) Poisonous or harmful

Concept: Meaning of 'severe' in 'severe damage'.

1. Severe = very serious, intense, harsh.
2. The passage stresses heavy harm to health and environment.
3. 'Mild and gentle' is the antonym; 'easily fixable' and 'beneficial' contradict the context.

Yaad rakhein: Common pairs: severe pain, severe weather, severe punishment – all mean 'very serious'.

Answer: (B) Serious and intense

Concept: A central theme should fit every paragraph, not a single point.

1. Para 1: discarded devices harm health and environment.
2. Para 2: proper recycling methods; Para 3: need for awareness, laws and responsibility.
3. Common thread → recycling e-waste is essential for health and environment.

Trick: Reject extremes ('never', 'only') and statements the passage contradicts (throwing phones in trash).

Answer: (B) E-waste recycling is essential to protect health and environment

Concept: Word for a detailed analysis plus judgement of a work or theory.

1. Critique = a careful evaluation of a literary, philosophical or political work.
2. Summary = brief restatement; Abstract = short overview of a paper; Excerpt = a quoted extract.

Trick: 'Assessment' in the definition = judging → critique (from 'critic').

Answer: (C) Critique

Concept: An imaginary/unreal 'if' condition uses 'were' for every subject.

1. The speaker is not actually the manager – the situation is hypothetical.
2. Pattern: If + subject + were …, subject + would + V1.
3. So 'was the manager' → 'were the manager'. The rest ('I would change the policy') is correct.

Trick: See 'would' in the main clause? Check the if-clause – it must have 'were' (If I were you, If he were rich).

Answer: (B) was the manager

Concept: 'Deny' = say something is untrue (takes noun/-ing); 'refuse' = say no to doing something (takes to + V1).

1. The cashier would not take the note – that is refusal, not denial.
2. 'Deny' is never followed by 'to + verb'.
3. Correct: The cashier refused to accept the damaged note. Error is in part (B).

Trick: Refuse to do; deny doing/deny a charge. 'Denied to' is always wrong.

Answer: (B) denied to

Concept: The blank must match the purpose 'to clear the confusion'.

1. Clear confusion + simple example ⇒ the professor made the theory easy to understand.
2. Clarified = made clear. Complicated/concealed would add confusion; ignored = did nothing.

Trick: Purpose clue words ('to clear…') decide the verb – pick the option meaning the same as the purpose.

Answer: (A) clarified

Concept: Insipid = lacking flavour; dull, uninteresting.

1. Bland = tasteless, mild, dull – same sense.
2. Tasty, Spicy, Interesting are all opposites in meaning.

Trick: Three options are 'full of flavour/interest' – the odd one out (Bland) is the synonym.

Answer: (B) Bland

Concept: Desultory = random, aimless, lacking a plan.

1. Haphazard = without order or plan – matches.
2. Methodical is the antonym; Intense (strong) and Integral (essential) are unrelated.

Trick: If an option is the clear antonym (Methodical), the synonym is usually its opposite – Haphazard.

Answer: (B) Haphazard