SSC CHSL 2025 PYQs

Concept: 'It is/was believed that…' has no doer; in active we add a general subject such as 'People'.

1. was believed → People believed (past kept).
2. had been built by a civilization → a civilization had built the monuments.
3. (B) changes tense to 'believe'; (A) 'They' has no reference; (D) is still passive.

Trick: Impersonal passive → 'People/We' + same tense of the main verb.

Answer: (C) People widely believed that a previously unknown civilization had built the ancient monuments.

Concept: Nouns from adjectives ending in '-cient' end in '-ciency'.

1. proficient → proficiency, so 'Proficiancy' is wrong.
2. Acknowledgment (accepted US/alternative spelling), Perseverance, Reputable — all correct.

Trick: efficient → efficiency, sufficient → sufficiency, proficient → proficiency: '-cient' always gives '-ciency'.

Answer: (B) Proficiancy

Concept: Past continuous active (was/were + V-ing) → passive was/were + being + V3.

1. 'was painting' → 'was being painted'.
2. Object 'the mural' becomes subject; add 'by Amit'.
3. (A) is present, (C) present perfect, (D) simple past — tense changed.

Trick: Continuous tense in active = 'being' in passive. Only (A) and (B) have 'being'; past needs 'was' → (B).

Answer: (B) The mural was being painted by Amit.

Concept: A word working as the object of a verb and naming an idea is a noun.

1. In 'value sustainability', 'value' is the verb; value what? → sustainability (object).
2. 'Sustainability' names a quality/idea → abstract noun (from adjective 'sustainable').
3. It neither shows action, nor describes a noun or a verb.

Trick: Suffix '-ity' (ability, purity, sustainability) almost always makes a noun.

Answer: (C) Noun

Concept: In simple present, a singular subject takes the verb with -s/-es.

1. Subject = 'The Swedish government' — one body, singular.
2. Singular subject → invests.
3. 'resources' is inside 'in …' phrase; 'heavily' is an adverb — neither decides the verb; the sentence is present tense.

Trick: Find the subject by asking 'who invests?' — ignore nouns that come after the verb.

Answer: (B) Because "government" is a singular subject

Concept: 'Influence' = the power to affect people or events.

1. In the passage, Sweden has gained leadership and influence — i.e. power to shape others.
2. Impact = a strong effect → closest meaning.
3. Weakness, silence and confusion do not match.

Trick: Replace the word in the sentence: 'a status of leadership and impact' still makes sense — the others don't.

Answer: (B) Impact

Concept: 'Dedication' = devoting oneself wholly to a purpose.

1. The passage shows Swedes value nature above convenience from childhood — steady devotion.
2. So dedication = devoted commitment.
3. Dislike and indifference are opposites; lack of knowledge is unrelated.

Trick: Tone check: the passage praises Sweden, so the word must be positive — only (C) is positive.

Answer: (C) Devoted commitment

Concept: The main idea must sum up all paragraphs, not a single detail.

1. Para 1: nature-love is part of Swedish upbringing. Para 2: shown in daily habits and government spending. Para 3: brings success and global standing.
2. Common thread: environmental care is rooted in culture and benefits society → (B).
3. (A) and (D) contradict the text; (C) is opposite to 'enjoy the outdoors'.

Trick: Eliminate options that are false per the passage first; the broad, positive summary left is the main idea.

Answer: (B) Environmental care is deeply rooted in Swedish culture and benefits their society

Concept: Overt = open, done publicly.

1. Opposite = secret, done stealthily → surreptitious.
2. Evident and palpable = clearly seen/felt (similar to overt).
3. Broad = wide — unrelated.

Trick: Overt ↔ Covert. 'Surreptitious' is a synonym of covert, hence the antonym of overt.

Answer: (C) Surreptitious

Concept: Fragrant = having a sweet, pleasant smell.

1. Opposite = foul-smelling → noisome (offensive, stinking).
2. Alluring (attractive), pleasant, luscious (rich, tasty) are all positive.

Trick: Only one option is negative in sense — the antonym of a positive word must be negative.

Answer: (A) Noisome

Concept: Pick the single word that covers BOTH parts of the definition: no marriage + no sexual relations.

Solution:

1. Celibate = one who stays unmarried and avoids sexual relations (often for religious reasons).
2. Bachelor = simply an unmarried man; says nothing about relations.
3. Misogamist = one who hates marriage; Divorced = marriage legally ended.

Yaad rakhein: Celibate → 'celibacy' (brahmacharya). Hater of marriage = misogamist; hater of women = misogynist.

Answer: (B) Celibate

Concept: Idioms carry a fixed figurative meaning; read the tone of the sentence.

Solution:

1. 'A pain in the neck' = a person or thing that keeps irritating or troubling you.
2. The sentence complains that cheque payment is a hassle for people without a cheque book → negative tone.
3. Options A, B, C are all positive, so they are ruled out.

Trick: Negative context → pick the only negative option. Similar idiom: 'a thorn in one's side'.

Answer: (D) someone/something that is very annoying

Concept: Adjectives ending in -ed describe how a person feels; -ful/-ing describe what causes the feeling.

Solution:

1. 'It' = the traffic; traffic cannot feel stress, it creates stress.
2. So 'very stressed' must be 'very stressful'.
3. So the last part should read: '… it is very stressful'.

Trick: Person → -ed (bored, tired, stressed); thing/situation → -ing/-ful (boring, tiring, stressful).

Answer: (C) it is very stressed

Concept: Use 'at' for a point of time or an event; 'on' for days and dates.

Solution:

1. 'The time of the inauguration ceremony' is a point of time, not a day/date.
2. So 'On the time' → 'At the time'.
3. Fixed phrase: 'at the time of' + event.

Trick: At = clock time/event (at noon, at the party); On = day/date (on Monday); In = month/year (in 2025).

Answer: (D) On the time

Concept: Choose the preposition that shows a higher level.

Solution:

1. Water level rose → it went higher than the bridge.
2. Above = at a higher level than; fits perfectly.
3. Beneath = below (opposite), through = from one side to the other, among = in the middle of many.

Trick: Verb 'rise' signals upward position → 'above'.

Answer: (B) above

Concept: Confusing pair: salon (hair/beauty shop) vs saloon (bar or large public hall).

Solution:

1. Shaving a beard is done at a barber's shop = salon.
2. Saloon means a bar/public room; 'salonn' and 'sallon' are wrong spellings.

Trick: Salon has one 'o' – one chair, one barber; saloon has 'oo' – bar.

Answer: (B) salon

Concept: Find the misspelt word.

Solution:

1. Correct spelling: cigarette (double 't' + final 'e').
2. 'Cigarete' drops one 't'.
3. Tobacco, Cigar, Cannabis are correct.

Trick: Cigar + ette (French 'small') = cigarette → the -ette ending always has 'tt'.

Answer: (A) Cigarete

Concept: With road/street (surface along which people are spread), use 'on'.

Solution:

1. Protestors were spread along the streets → 'on the streets'.
2. 'At' is for a precise spot (at the gate); 'into' shows entering; 'about' = around/roughly.

Trick: On the road / on the street / on the highway – fixed usage.

Answer: (A) on the streets

Concept: 'Prefer' takes 'to' (not 'than'), and both items must be in the same form.

Solution:

1. 'prefer reading … than watching' is wrong because of 'than'.
2. Replace 'than' with to; keep both actions as -ing forms (reading … watching).
3. Option C breaks the gerund form; B uses 'over', which the exam rule does not accept here.

Trick: Prefer, superior, inferior, senior, junior, prior → always 'to', never 'than'.

Answer: (A) prefer reading books to watching movies

Concept: Keep the tense; in active voice 'make' is followed by a bare infinitive (no 'to').

Solution:

1. 'were made' = simple past → active verb 'made'.
2. Doer not given, so a suitable subject (the manager) is supplied.
3. Make + object + V1: 'The manager made the employees attend the training session.'

Trick: Passive 'made to attend' → active 'made … attend' ('to' drops). B, C, D change the tense.

Answer: (A) The manager made the employees attend the training session.