SSC CPO Paper II 2021, 2025 PYQs

Concept: 'Hold your horses' is said to someone who is rushing – it means wait, slow down, be patient.

1. Example: Hold your horses! Let me finish first.
2. It has nothing to do with responsibility, inferiority or indifference.
3. So the meaning is 'Be patient'.

Yaad rakhein: Picture a rider pulling the reins to stop horses from rushing ahead.

Answer: (B) Be patient

Concept: 'Latest' is already a superlative (late – later – latest); adding 'most' makes a double superlative.

1. the most latest → wrong; correct: the latest one.
2. Other parts (which she presented, on the matter, under discussion) are correct.
3. Correct sentence: The data which she presented was the latest one on the matter under discussion.

Trick: Never use 'more/most' with a word already ending in -er/-est.

Answer: (B) was the most latest one

Concept: Present perfect passive 'has/have been + V3' becomes active 'has/have + V3'.

1. Agent the government (singular) → subject; 'have been brought' → has brought.
2. Object many Indians follows the verb with 'back'.
3. Active: The government has brought back many Indians from foreign countries.
4. (A) past perfect, (B) present continuous, (D) present perfect continuous – tense changed.

Trick: have/has been + V3 → have/has + V3 (choose has/have by the new subject).

Answer: (C) The government has brought back many Indians from foreign countries.

Concept: A sentence needs a finite verb; 'being recognised' is only a participle. 'Play' is recognised by people, so the passive 'is recognised' is required.

1. Play being recognised … has no main verb – incomplete sentence.
2. Play is recognised as an important factor … – complete, passive, correct meaning.
3. 'Play is recognising' (B) is active – play cannot recognise anything; (C) still lacks a finite verb.

Trick: If a sentence has only '-ing' after the subject and no is/are/was, it is incomplete.

Answer: (A) Play is recognised

Concept: A doctor who treats bones, joints and muscles is an orthopaedist (orthopaedic surgeon).

1. Orthopaedist – bone and joint specialist.
2. Pathologist – studies diseases through lab tests; Paediatrician – children's doctor.
3. Cardiologist – heart specialist.

Yaad rakhein: Ortho = straight/correct (bones); Cardio = heart; Paed = child.

Answer: (C) orthopaedist

Concept: Statement with a past reporting verb: 'said to' → 'told', present perfect → past perfect, 'this' → 'that', and first-person pronouns change to match the speaker (Cornelius → him/his).

1. said to Pauline → told Pauline that.
2. has been → had been; this house → that house.
3. me → him, my wife → his wife.
4. (A) and (C) keep 'me/my'; (D) uses 'asked … if' for a statement.

Trick: Pronoun rule SON: 1st person → like the Subject (speaker); 2nd → Object; 3rd → No change.

Answer: (B) Cornelius told Pauline that that house had been far too large for him since the death of his wife.

Concept: A and F are fixed; link the middle sentences by meaning and connectors (But, However).

1. After A (crowds in the streets), D says their son would be somewhere among those people.
2. E: But they did not know how to find him – the problem.
3. C gives the reason it was hard: they might not even recognise him.
4. B: However, they visited every street – they tried anyway; F: they hoped for a chance meeting.

Trick: 'those people' in D points back to 'the crowds' in A, so D comes right after A.

Answer: (A) ADECBF

Concept: A person skilled in cutting, dressing and laying stone in buildings is a mason.

1. Mason – builder who works with stone or brick.
2. Architect – designs buildings; Carpenter – works with wood.
3. Artisan – any skilled craftsperson (too general).

Yaad rakhein: Mason → masonry (stone/brick work); Carpenter → wood.

Answer: (D) mason

Concept: A and F are fixed; group what the doctor said, then what the narrator did.

1. A: the doctor left medicines. C: He seemed to know all about influenza – comment on the doctor.
2. E: He said there was nothing to worry … – first thing he said.
3. D: He also said … – 'also' shows it follows E.
4. B: Back in the room, I wrote the temperature down; F: I also made a note … follows B.

Trick: Use the two 'also's: E → D (He also said) and B → F (I also made).

Answer: (B) ACEDBF

Concept: The correlative pattern 'so + adjective + that + result' expresses cause and result.

1. so funny that everybody burst out laughing – result clause.
2. 'because', 'but' and 'when' do not pair with 'so … ' to show a result.
3. Correct: The clown was so funny that everybody burst out laughing.

Trick: so … that / such … that – always together.

Answer: (B) that

Concept: Check each word's standard spelling.

1. attain, attempt, attend – all correct.
2. 'attrect' is wrong; the correct spelling is attract (to pull towards).

Trick: attr-a-ct → attraction: the vowel is 'a', not 'e'.

Answer: (B) attrect

Concept: 'What' is not a relative pronoun for a noun already mentioned; after 'the large sum of money' we use 'which' or 'that'.

1. Antecedent: the large sum of money (a thing).
2. Correct: … the large sum of money which/that they gave me …
3. 'indebted to my friends', 'for the large sum', 'during my days of need' are correct.

Trick: 'what' = 'the thing which' – it already contains the noun, so it cannot follow a noun.

Answer: (A) what they gave me

Concept: After a modal ('should') we use the base verb; 'expect' takes 'to + V1'.

1. Nobody should expect to become successful … – modal + V1 (expect) + to-infinitive (to become).
2. (B) 'to becoming', (C) 'should be expect', (D) 'should expecting' all break this rule.
3. So the sentence is already correct.

Trick: Modal + V1; expect + to + V1.

Answer: (A) No substitution required

Concept: Past reporting verb: present → past ('am' → 'was', 'would' stays), 'I' → 'he', 'your father' → 'his father', 'me' → 'him'.

1. I'm not sure → he was not sure.
2. your father would consider → his father would consider.
3. to have me → to have him (Albert).
4. (A) keeps 'me'; (B) is unchanged direct speech; (C) keeps 'is', 'your', 'will'.

Trick: Change every pronoun – one missed 'me' makes an option wrong.

Answer: (D) Albert said to Tim that he was not sure his father would consider it a good idea to have him on the board of his company.

Concept: Check each word's standard spelling.

1. caravan, carriage, camera – correct.
2. 'clocke' is wrong; the correct spelling is clock.

Trick: clock ends in -ck; no silent 'e' (compare 'block', 'lock').

Answer: (B) clocke

Concept: Statement: 'said to' → 'told … that', present perfect → past perfect, 'you' → 'he' (Mohit).

1. You have always been → he had always been.
2. said to Mohit → told Mohit that.
3. (B) turns it into a question; (C) and (D) keep 'you' and present tense.

Trick: have/has → had in indirect speech when the reporting verb is past.

Answer: (A) Sushma told Mohit that he had always been the cleverest in the family.

Concept: Past reporting verb: 'can' → 'could', 'will' → 'would', 'I' → 'she' (Anjali), 'you' → 'him' (Rahul).

1. I can give you a lift → she could give him a lift.
2. if that will help → if that would help.
3. (A) keeps 'is'/'will', (B) keeps 'can'/'you', (C) is unchanged.

Trick: Modals shift back: can → could, will → would, may → might, shall → should.

Answer: (D) Anjali said to Rahul that she could give him a lift into town if that would help.

Concept: The illness was the reason she could not attend, so a cause expression is needed, not a contrast.

1. 'in spite of' shows contrast (something happened despite a hurdle) – illogical here.
2. She could not attend … because of her illness. – cause and effect.
3. 'but for' = without; 'instead of' = in place of – both wrong meaning.

Trick: Negative result + problem → 'because of'; positive result + problem → 'in spite of'.

Answer: (A) because of

Concept: A bunch of flowers arranged and given as a gift is a bouquet.

1. Bouquet – an attractively arranged bunch of flowers, usually a present.
2. Wreath – circular arrangement (often for funerals); 'wreathe' is a verb.
3. Garland – flowers strung together to wear; Blossom – a flower of a tree.

Yaad rakhein: Gift in the hand = bouquet; around the neck = garland.

Answer: (C) bouquet

Concept: 'Often' is itself an adverb; 'oftenly' is not a standard English word.

1. Correct: flights are often cancelled due to heavy fog.
2. 'During winters', 'flights are', 'due to heavy fog' are correct.

Trick: Words like often, fast, hard, late are adverbs already – don't add -ly.

Answer: (B) oftenly cancelled