SSC CPO Paper I 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 PYQs

Concept: ‘Lonely’ is an adjective describing a feeling (sad because alone); to say someone lives without company we use alone.

1. ‘Live lonely’ is wrong – ‘lonely’ cannot be used as an adverb after ‘live’.
2. Correct: Ms. Malathi is living alone in an apartment.
3. So the error lies in the part ‘lonely in’.

Yaad rakhein: Alone = without others (fact); lonely = sad about being alone (feeling): ‘She lives alone but is not lonely.’

Answer: (B) lonely in

Concept: ‘His heart is in the right place’ = he is basically kind and well-meaning, even if his behaviour seems strict.

1. The sentence contrasts ‘very strict’ with ‘good-natured’ (but).
2. His heart is in the right place expresses exactly this good nature.
3. ‘Eyes bigger than stomach’ = greedy; ‘big mouth’ = talks too much; ‘heart misses a beat’ = sudden shock/excitement.

Yaad rakhein: Heart in the right place = good intentions.

Answer: (B) his heart is in the right place

Concept: The dried fruit made from grapes is spelt raisins.

1. ‘Raisons’ is a misspelling (raison is a French word meaning ‘reason’).
2. Correct: The dried raisins …
3. Other segments – intoxicating, effect, flora, fauna – are spelt correctly.

Yaad rakhein: Raisin = dried grape (-in); raison d’être = reason for existence.

Answer: (B) The dried raisons

Concept: The past participle of ‘grow’ is grown.

1. ‘Gruwn’ is wrong: grow → grew → grown.
2. Season, overflows and silt are spelt correctly.
3. Correct sentence: … leaves silt for crops to be grown.

Yaad rakhein: grow – grew – grown (o-w-n, like show – shown).

Answer: (A) Gruwn

Concept: Something that is very expensive is said to cost an arm and a leg.

1. The underlined words ‘very expensive’ = cost an arm and a leg.
2. ‘Up in arms’ = angry and protesting; ‘flog a dead horse’ = waste effort on a settled matter; ‘take with a pinch of salt’ = not fully believe.
3. Grammatically: ‘brands … cost an arm and a leg’ fits.

Yaad rakhein: Paying with your arm and leg = paying a huge price.

Answer: (D) cost an arm and a leg

Concept: Of two past actions, the one that happened first takes the past perfect (had + V3); the later one takes simple past.

1. He left first; then ‘we discussed’ (simple past).
2. So the earlier action: After he had left, we discussed his suggestion.
3. ‘he leave’ lacks a proper verb form; ‘will be leaving’ is future; ‘has left’ is present perfect – does not match a past narrative.

Yaad rakhein: Earlier past → had + V3; later past → V2.

Answer: (C) he had left

Concept: ‘Confound’ = to confuse, perplex, throw someone into doubt. The opposite is to remove doubt and give certainty – assure.

1. A confounded person is uncertain and puzzled; an assured person is confident and certain.
2. Expire (end), suppress (hold down) are unrelated.
3. ‘Discern’ (perceive clearly) contrasts with confusing things, but it is about perception; ‘assure’ directly reverses the doubt caused by confounding.

Yaad rakhein: Confound → doubt and confusion; assure → certainty and confidence.

Answer: (C) Assure

Concept: Pusillanimous = lacking courage; weak and cowardly.

1. Latin pusillus (very small) + animus (spirit) = ‘small-spirited’.
2. Meek = quiet, gentle, submissive; timid = shy, easily frightened – neither means ‘cowardly’ fully.
3. Anxious = worried.

Yaad rakhein: Pusill-animous = puny spirit → coward.

Answer: (A) Pusillanimous

Concept: The two-wheeled vehicle is spelt bicycle (bi = two).

1. ‘Bycycle’ wrongly uses y in the first syllable.
2. Academy, Mystery and Justice are correct.
3. Correct: b-i-c-y-c-l-e.

Yaad rakhein: Bi = two (bicycle, biweekly, bilingual).

Answer: (A) Bycycle

Concept: The correct spelling is necessity – one c, double s.

1. ‘Neccessity’ wrongly doubles the c.
2. Perseverance, Hierarchy and Knowledgeable are correctly spelt.
3. Correct: n-e-c-e-s-s-i-t-y.

Yaad rakhein: Necessity: one Collar, two Sleeves (1 c, 2 s).

Answer: (A) Neccessity

Concept: A lover of mankind who works for the welfare of people is a philanthropist.

1. Greek philos (loving) + anthropos (human being).
2. Recluse = one who lives alone away from society; cynic = one who distrusts people’s motives.
3. Psychiatrist = doctor for mental illness.

Yaad rakhein: Phil = love, anthrop = man; misanthrope = hater of mankind.

Answer: (D) Philanthropist

Concept: In the passive voice the doer (agent) is introduced by the preposition by.

1. ‘The article was rejected by the editor’ – the editor is the doer.
2. ‘of’, ‘on’ and ‘each’ cannot introduce the agent of a passive verb.
3. Hence ‘was mercilessly rejected by’.

Yaad rakhein: Passive: be + V3 + by + doer.

Answer: (D) was mercilessly rejected by

Concept: ‘To leave no stone unturned’ = to try every possible way to find or achieve something.

1. Picture searching for something by turning over every stone.
2. So it means doing everything possible to achieve a goal.
3. Other options describe winning everything, controlling someone or ignoring something – not this idiom.

Yaad rakhein: No stone unturned = no effort spared.

Answer: (C) To do everything possible to achieve something

Concept: ‘Condemn’ = to express strong disapproval of something. Its synonym is censure.

1. Censure = criticise severely, formally disapprove.
2. The organisation strongly disapproved of the deforestation – censure fits.
3. Persuade (convince), foster (encourage) and compel (force) have different meanings.

Yaad rakhein: Condemn = censure = denounce = criticise.

Answer: (A) Censure

Concept: Careful and persistent hard work is called diligence.

1. Diligence = careful, steady effort in one’s work.
2. It explains the quick promotion: ‘due to his diligence’.
3. Business-mindedness (commercial sense), extraordinary (adjective, unusual) and elegance (grace) do not mean careful hard work.

Yaad rakhein: Diligent student = careful + hard-working.

Answer: (D) diligence

Concept: In reported speech after a past reporting verb (argued), the tense moves back: present perfect → past perfect.

1. Reporting verb ‘argued’ is in the past; the other verb ‘deserved’ is also past.
2. So ‘has been greatly underestimated’ should be ‘had been greatly underestimated’.
3. The other underlined parts are correct.

Yaad rakhein: Past reporting verb → shift tenses back (has been → had been).

Answer: (B) has been greatly underestimated

Concept: ‘Mourn’ = to feel or show deep sorrow, especially for someone’s death. Synonym: grieve.

1. People mourn/grieve for a loved one.
2. Dread = great fear; amuse = entertain; approve = agree with.
3. Only ‘grieve’ carries the sense of sorrow.

Yaad rakhein: Mourn = grieve = lament = sorrow.

Answer: (C) Grieve

Concept: ‘Up a creek without a paddle’ = in a difficult situation with no means of getting out of it.

1. Losing wallet and passport in a foreign country is a helpless situation.
2. Hence ‘I was up (in) a creek without a paddle’.
3. ‘Roll up sleeves’, ‘nose to the grindstone’ and ‘work fingers to the bone’ all mean working very hard – not trouble.

Yaad rakhein: A boat in a stream without a paddle = stuck, helpless.

Answer: (D) up in a creek without a paddle

Concept: ‘Oral’ = spoken, not written. Its opposite is ‘written’ – inscribed (written or carved on a surface).

1. Oral test (spoken) vs written test.
2. Inscribed = written/engraved – the opposite of spoken.
3. ‘Verbal’ is close to oral (synonym); obligatory (compulsory) and dejected (sad) are unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: Oral ↔ written/inscribed.

Answer: (B) Inscribed

Concept: Article ‘an’ is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound.

1. ‘Igloo’ begins with the vowel sound /ɪ/.
2. So ‘a igloo’ should be ‘an igloo’.
3. The other parts are correct.

Yaad rakhein: Vowel sound → an (an igloo, an hour); consonant sound → a (a university).

Answer: (B) a igloo