SSC CPO Paper II 2021, 2025 PYQs

Concept: Passive 'Was/Were + subject + V3 + by…?' is simple past, so the active is 'Did + subject + V1 + object?'.

1. Agent 'her' → subject 'she'.
2. 'Was … read' (simple past passive) → 'Did … read' (simple past active).
3. Subject 'the novel' → object: 'Did she read the novel?'
4. 'Does' is present, 'Has' present perfect, 'Had' past perfect — wrong tenses.

Trick: Was/Were + V3 ↔ Did + V1.

Answer: (B) Did she read the novel?

Concept: General habit first, then one particular occasion, what happened after it, and the writer's response.

1. A states the general fact: 'I was often invited… to deliver lectures.'
2. C narrows to one instance: 'Once, I went to a university…'.
3. B: 'After it was over, students gathered…' — 'it' = the lecture in C.
4. D: he stayed back answering their questions.

Trick: General (often) → Specific (once) → After it → Result.

Answer: (A) ACBD

Concept: When the reporting verb is past, a simple-past statement in direct speech is shifted to past perfect in indirect speech. So 'had converted' (indirect) comes from 'converted' (direct).

1. Change 'said that' to 'said,' with inverted commas.
2. Reverse the backshift: 'had converted' → 'converted'.
3. The reporting verb stays 'said' — so (C) with 'says' is wrong.
4. (A) keeps the past perfect; (D) changes the verb into passive 'was converted'.

Trick: Indirect had + V3 → Direct V2 (when the original was simple past).

Answer: (B) The teacher said, “Ashoka converted to Buddhism after the Kalinga War.”

Concept: 'asked if' shows a yes/no question; in direct speech start with the auxiliary (Do/Does), use the second person for the listener and the first person for the speaker.

1. 'asked Rajesh if he wanted' → 'said to Rajesh, “Do you want…?”' (wanted → want).
2. 'his company' (Mr. Prakash's) → 'my company'.
3. End with a question mark.
4. (B) adds 'Would'; (C) keeps 'he… his'; (D) turns it into a suggestion.

Trick: asked if + he wanted → “Do you want…?”

Answer: (A) Mr. Prakash said to Rajesh, “Do you want to work as an accountant for my company?”

Concept: 'Bio' = life and '-logy' = study/science; other options are sciences of different subjects.

1. Biology = the science of living organisms (life).
2. Phytology = study of plants (botany).
3. Phonology = study of speech sounds.
4. Philology = study of language in historical texts.

Yaad rakhein: bio = life, phyto = plant, phono = sound, philo = love (of words).

Answer: (D) Biology

Concept: Statement with a past reporting verb: will → would, pronouns change, and 'next month' → 'the next month / the following month'.

1. 'I will give' → 'he would give' (I = the manager → he).
2. 'you' (the listener, here the narrator) → 'me'.
3. 'next month' → 'the next month'.
4. (B) and (D) change the subject and meaning; (C) 'would have given' is a wrong tense.

Trick: will → would; next month → the next/following month.

Answer: (A) The manager said that he would give me a raise the next month.

Concept: Distance is measured 'from' a place (five km from our house); means of transport takes 'by' without an article (by car, by bus).

1. 'about five kilometres from our house' — the starting point takes 'from'.
2. 'we go there by car' — 'by' + vehicle shows the mode of travel.
3. 'in' is used only with an article/possessive: 'in a car', 'in our car'.

Trick: Distance → from; mode of travel → by + vehicle.

Answer: (C) from; by

Concept: Track the entry of the dog and the stages of the meeting: arrival → stopping → child's call → dog's hesitation → coming close.

1. A: the child is gazing → B: 'a little dark-brown dog came trotting down the sidewalk.'
2. D: 'He stopped opposite the child, and the two regarded each other.'
3. E: 'The dog hesitated… made little advances with his tail.'
4. C: the child puts out his hand and calls him → F: the dog comes close and they pat and wag.

Trick: The child's call (C) must come just before the dog 'came close' (F).

Answer: (A) BDEC

Concept: 'Evidence' is an uncountable noun; it takes 'a lot of / much / some', not a bare 'lot'.

1. 'lot' cannot directly modify a noun: we need 'a lot of evidence'.
2. 'evidence' is uncountable — never 'evidences' or 'an evidence'.
3. Correct: 'The police had a lot of evidence against him to take him into their custody.'

Yaad rakhein: a lot of + noun; uncountable: evidence, advice, information, furniture.

Answer: (D) The police had lot evidence

Concept: The instrument or means used to do something takes 'with' (or 'by using'); 'from' shows the source or the thing removed from.

1. The stain is removed from your shirt, but with lime juice.
2. Lime juice is the agent/tool → 'with lime juice'.
3. So the error is in 'from lime juice'.
4. Correct: 'The stain on your shirt can be removed with lime juice.'

Trick: Remove something FROM a place WITH a tool/substance.

Answer: (B) from lime juice

Concept: Statement with a past reporting verb: simple past → past perfect; the first person changes according to the subject of the reporting verb.

1. 'I finished' → 'she had finished' (past → past perfect).
2. 'I/my' → 'she/her' because the speaker is 'she'.
3. 'happily' stays with 'said'.
4. (A) and (C) keep 'I'; (B) uses present perfect 'has finished'.

Trick: V2 → had + V3 when the reporting verb is past.

Answer: (D) She said happily that she had finished her homework early.

Concept: Days of the week take the preposition 'on' (on Monday); 'at' is for clock times.

1. 'Monday' is a day → on Monday.
2. 'at Monday' is wrong, so the error is in 'holiday at Monday'.
3. Correct: 'The government has declared a public holiday on Monday.'

Trick: AT time, ON day/date, IN month/year.

Answer: (A) holiday at Monday

Concept: Relative pronoun: 'who' for persons, 'which/that' for things and places.

1. The antecedent is 'a new restaurant' — a thing, not a person.
2. So 'who' must become 'which' (or 'that').
3. 'restaurant' is singular → 'sells'.
4. (A) and (C) keep 'who'; (C) also has the wrong verb 'sell'.

Trick: Person → who; thing/animal → which; both → that.

Answer: (D) which sells exotic Chinese cuisine

Concept: Branches of medicine are named from Greek roots for the organ: neuro = nerve, derma = skin, cardio = heart, uro = urinary tract.

1. Neurology deals with disorders of the brain, spinal cord and nerves (nervous system).
2. Dermatology — skin; Cardiology — heart.
3. Urology — urinary tract.

Trick: Neuro = nerve → Neurology / Neurologist.

Answer: (A) Neurology

Concept: 'Discernible' means able to be seen, noticed or recognised.

1. Its opposite is Imperceptible — so slight that it cannot be noticed.
2. Noticeable and Apparent are synonyms of 'discernible'.
3. Sensational means causing great excitement — unrelated.

Trick: discern = perceive → discernible ↔ imperceptible.

Answer: (B) Imperceptible

Concept: 'requested… to let her rest' → a polite imperative with 'Please'; the reason clause 'as she was very tired' returns to the present 'I am very tired'.

1. 'requested her mother' → 'said to her mother, “Please let me rest.”' (her → me).
2. 'she was very tired' → 'I am very tired.' (past → present).
3. (A) is a question; (B) keeps 'was'; (D) keeps 'her' and uses 'told'.

Trick: requested → Please + V1; was → am in the reason clause.

Answer: (C) Neha said to her mother, “Please let me rest. I am very tired.”

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

1. Agent 'the Public Works Department' becomes the subject.
2. 'has been completed' → 'has completed'.
3. Subject 'the construction of the tunnel' becomes the object.
4. (A) mixes subject and object; (C) is present continuous; (D) is simple past.

Trick: has been + V3 ↔ has + V3.

Answer: (B) The Public Works Department has completed the construction of the tunnel.

Concept: Conjunctions must show the correct logical relation. Two contrasting ideas need 'but/though', not 'because' (which shows cause).

1. Being an authority on income tax is not the reason why he cannot control his family.
2. The two clauses contrast with each other → 'on income tax, but he cannot exercise…'.
3. So the error is in the segment 'on income tax because'.
4. The play on the word 'authority' (expert vs power) makes the contrast clear.

Trick: Contrast → but/though/yet; Cause → because/since/as.

Answer: (C) on income tax because

Concept: In 'told… that she needed', the past 'needed' is only a backshift; a general present advice in direct speech uses the present tense.

1. 'told the patient' → 'said to the patient,' with inverted commas.
2. 'she needed' → 'You need' (the patient is addressed; past → present).
3. 'to rest and avoid stress' stays the same.
4. (A) 'would have needed', (C) 'needed' and (D) 'will need' are wrong tenses.

Trick: Indirect V2 → Direct V1 (present) when it was a present fact/advice.

Answer: (B) The doctor said to the patient, “You need to rest and avoid stress.”

Concept: In a compound subject, the nominative 'I' (not 'me') is used and placed last out of courtesy; a present continuous plan needs 'are + V-ing'.

1. 'Me and my friends' is the subject → use 'I' → 'My friends and I'.
2. The sentence has no helping verb; a plan for this weekend → present continuous 'are planning'.
3. (A) 'have plan' is ungrammatical; (C) 'are planned' is passive and keeps 'I' first.

Yaad rakhein: Courtesy order 231: second person, third person, then first person (I) last.

Answer: (D) My friends and I are planning