SSC CPO Paper II 2021, 2025 PYQs

Concept: Find the pronoun links: each sentence must point back to something already mentioned.

1. A introduces the reindeer barn. C says 'He had to clean it' – 'it' = the barn, so C follows A.
2. E ('such a dirty job to mop, slop, scour…') describes that cleaning, so C → E.
3. B adds a second duty with 'also' – keep the reindeer groomed; D explains how ('bath and brush their fur').
4. F ends the story: he worked hard but no one cared. Order: A-C-E-B-D-F.

Trick: 'Also' always introduces the second task, so B can never come before the first task (C).

Answer: (B) ACEBDF

Concept: Aggravate means to make a problem, pain or situation worse or more serious.

1. 'The noise aggravated his headache' = made it stronger/worse.
2. Intensify = make more intense or severe – same meaning.
3. Influence = affect; illustrate = explain with examples; illuminate = light up – none means 'make worse'.

Yaad rakhein: aggr-avate ~ 'make grave (heavier)' → intensify.

Answer: (C) intensify

Concept: After 'has/have', the verb takes the past participle (V3); 'plan' must become 'planned'. Also, the reported clause after 'asked' (past) goes into the past tense.

1. 'when he has plan' is wrong – 'has' cannot be followed by the base form 'plan'.
2. Correct: 'I asked Dhruv when he had planned (or planned) to settle the dues.'
3. Other segments are fine: 'to settle' is an infinitive, 'the dues' is the object.

Trick: has/have/had + V3 always: has plan ✗ → had planned ✓.

Answer: (C) when he has plan

Concept: When the object is a that-clause, the passive is made with the impersonal 'It' + passive verb + that-clause; the tense of the main verb is kept.

1. Main verb 'agreed' is simple past → passive 'was agreed'.
2. Pattern: It + was agreed + by them + that the elections should be postponed.
3. 'has been agreed' (present perfect), 'had been agreed' (past perfect) and 'is agreed' (present) change the tense, so they are wrong.

Trick: Simple past active → was/were + V3 in passive; the that-clause stays unchanged.

Answer: (C) It was agreed by them that the elections should be postponed.

Concept: The verb 'reply' (intransitive) takes the preposition 'to' before its object, and before a noun we use the possessive adjective 'my', not the pronoun 'mine'.

1. 'replied mine letter' has two errors: missing 'to' and 'mine' used before a noun.
2. Correct: 'He replied to my letter after a month.'
3. 'replied to mine letter' keeps 'mine'; 'reply my letter' has wrong tense and no 'to'.

Yaad rakhein: my + noun (my letter); mine stands alone (the letter is mine). Reply to someone/something.

Answer: (B) replied to my letter

Concept: The ins and outs of something means all its details and facts, including the complicated ones.

1. He knows every detail of the case, so he has been chosen to defend the accused.
2. So the idiom means 'complete details'.
3. Cost, time or high stakes have nothing to do with 'ins and outs'.

Yaad rakhein: Ins and outs = every way in and every way out = the whole picture.

Answer: (D) complete details

Concept: The fixed expression is above suspicion (noun) = so honest that no one can doubt him. 'Suspect' is a verb/adjective/noun meaning a person suspected.

1. After the preposition 'above' we need the abstract noun 'suspicion'.
2. Correct: 'His loyalty and honesty are above suspicion.'
3. 'are' is correct because the subject 'loyalty and honesty' is plural.

Yaad rakhein: Above suspicion, above board, above reproach – all take a noun.

Answer: (C) suspect

Concept: Start with the sentence that introduces the person and setting, then follow the time order of events.

1. B introduces Prashant and Ersama – the opening.
2. A: 'Suddenly in the evening' a storm gathered – the next event.
3. D describes the storm's fury; C says the destruction continued for the next hours – the later stage.
4. Order: B-A-D-C.

Trick: Intro → trigger ('suddenly') → action → aftermath.

Answer: (C) BADC

Concept: Follow the natural sequence of a fire: smoke noticed → room fills → escape → seeing the roof burn → calling for help.

1. A: smoke pouring in; C: the smoke filled the room so fast they could barely see.
2. B: 'Groping our way' (because they could not see) they ran out to the yard.
3. E: by the time they were outside the roof was in flames; D: so he ran to the neighbours to call the fire department.
4. F follows. Order: A-C-B-E-D-F.

Trick: 'Groping' links to 'could barely see' – a ready-made C → B pair.

Answer: (B) ACBEDF

Concept: Present perfect active (has/have + V3) becomes has/have + been + V3 in the passive.

1. Object 'the matter' (singular) becomes the subject → 'has'.
2. Verb: has discussed → has been discussed.
3. 'is being discussed' (continuous), 'was discussed' (past) change the tense; 'has discussed' lacks 'been'.

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

Answer: (D) The matter has been discussed by the committee for several days.

Concept: The correct spelling is discrete (separate, distinct), not 'descrete'.

1. ascertain, inherit, glorify are all correctly spelt.
2. 'descrete' wrongly uses 'de-'; the word begins with 'dis-': d-i-s-c-r-e-t-e.
3. Do not confuse discrete (separate) with discreet (careful in speech).

Yaad rakhein: dis-crete: 'dis' = apart → discrete = apart/separate.

Answer: (D) descrete

Concept: A relative pronoun for a person that is the object of a preposition ('confide in ___') is whom.

1. The clause is 'I can confide in him/her' → object form → whom.
2. 'which' is for things; 'whose' needs a noun after it; 'whoever' is not used after 'nobody' here.
3. Correct: 'I have nobody whom I can confide in.'

Trick: Replace with him → whom; with he → who.

Answer: (D) whom

Concept: To change indirect to direct speech, reverse the rules: past perfect → simple past (or present perfect), and pronouns change according to the speaker and listener.

1. Speaker = she, listener = me: 'She said to me, "…"'.
2. 'she had given' → 'I gave' (she speaks of herself).
3. 'my message to my mother' (from my point of view) → from her point of view to me: 'your message to your mother'.

Trick: In direct speech, 'my' of the reporter = 'your' when the speaker addresses him.

Answer: (C) She said to me, “I gave your message to your mother.”

Concept: 'Accordingly' is an adverb meaning 'therefore'; the phrase needed is 'according to'. Also 'according to my opinion' is a redundant form – the idiomatic choices are 'In my opinion' or 'According to me'.

1. 'Accordingly to my opinion' is wrong.
2. Options with 'mine opinion' are wrong because 'mine' cannot come before a noun.
3. Best available: 'According to me, your essay is the best.'

Yaad rakhein: Use either 'In my opinion' or 'According to me' – never mix them.

Answer: (C) According to me

Concept: Follow the sequence of the airport check-in story.

1. B sets the scene: flying to England.
2. D: while checking in, he remembered his frequent flyer membership.
3. C: he 'also remembered' the card was in the carry-on bag; A: the zip of that bag got jammed.
4. Order: B-D-C-A.

Trick: 'also remembered' (C) must follow the first 'remembered' (D).

Answer: (A) BDCA

Concept: Passive 'was being + V3' is past continuous; the active is was/were + V-ing. 'Nobody … by me' becomes 'I … not … anybody'.

1. Subject 'me' → 'I'; was being ridiculed → was ridiculing.
2. 'Nobody' → 'not … anybody': 'I was not ridiculing anybody.'
3. 'am not' is present; 'did not ridicule' is simple past; 'were … nobody' has wrong agreement and a double negative.

Yaad rakhein: was/were being + V3 (passive) ⇄ was/were + V-ing (active).

Answer: (A) I was not ridiculing anybody.

Concept: Indirect → direct: past tense in the reported clause returns to present; 'she' (Anu) becomes 'I'.

1. wanted → want; could → can.
2. she → I (Anu speaks about herself); 'if' stays because it means 'whether'.
3. Direct: Anu said, "I want to see if I can do a back-flip." Other options change the meaning or keep past tense.

Trick: Back-shifted past returns to present in direct speech.

Answer: (B) Anu said, “I want to see if I can do a back-flip.”

Concept: Simple present passive (is/are + V3) → simple present active. The prepositional verb 'object to' keeps its preposition.

1. 'by us' → subject 'We'.
2. is objected to → object to: 'We object to this unfair proposal.'
3. 'are objecting' and 'have objected' change the tense; 'object this' drops the essential 'to'.

Yaad rakhein: Phrasal/prepositional verbs carry their preposition into both voices.

Answer: (B) We object to this unfair proposal.

Concept: Indirect question 'asked … if' → direct yes/no question with 'said to'; could → can; they → you; 'the following week' → 'next week'.

1. Reporting verb: 'asked' → 'said to'.
2. 'if they could prepare' → "Can you prepare …?"
3. 'the following week' → 'next week'. Option C has all these changes.
4. A uses 'asked to' and keeps 'following week'; B changes 'can' to 'will'; D changes the meaning.

Trick: following week ⇄ next week; could ⇄ can.

Answer: (C) The teacher said to the students, “Can you prepare for the debate by next week?”

Concept: The correct idiom is set free (= release) or 'set at liberty'; 'set at freedom' is not used.

1. 'The prisoner was set free early.'
2. 'sent for freedom' and 'set to being free' are not English idioms.
3. So substitution is needed.

Yaad rakhein: set free = set at liberty = release.

Answer: (C) set free