⚡ Quick quiz

Test yourself in under a minute: SSC CGL English Language Practice Test

A short set testing grammar precision and reading comprehension together, since SSC CGL English rewards catching the one wrong word as much as understanding the passage.

1. 1. Read the passage: 'The startup's revenue tripled within a year, yet the founders continued to operate out of a modest rented office and avoided unnecessary hires.' What does this suggest about the founders' approach to running their business?

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   A) They were struggling financially despite the revenue growthB) They had lost interest in expanding the businessC) They were fiscally prudent and cautious despite rapid growthD) They were planning to shut down the business soon

2. 2. Identify the grammatical error: 'The manager, along with his entire team, have decided to launch the new product next month.' What is the correct verb form?

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   A) has decidedB) had decidedC) will have decidedD) have decided

3. 3. Choose the word closest in meaning to METICULOUS:

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   A) carelessB) painstakingC) hastyD) indifferent

4. 4. Choose the correct meaning of the idiom: 'to spill the beans'

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5. 5. Change into passive voice: 'The chef is preparing a special dessert for the guests.'

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   A) A special dessert has been prepared for the guests by the chefB) A special dessert is being prepared for the guests by the chefC) A special dessert was prepared for the guests by the chefD) A special dessert is prepared for the guests by the chef

Reading Comprehension & Cloze Test

Questions 1-5 test passage comprehension and inference from a short passage, plus a three-blank cloze passage that checks contextual vocabulary and collocation.

1. 1. Read the following passage and answer the question: 'Urban bees are increasingly foraging in city gardens rather than the countryside, as green spaces in cities now offer greater floral diversity than intensively farmed rural land. Researchers note that this shift may actually improve the survival rates of certain pollinator species.' According to the passage, why are urban bees thriving in cities?

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   ▶Reveal answer

   Because city gardens offer greater floral diversity than intensively farmed rural land.🔊

   The answer is a direct restatement of the passage's stated reason. RC detail questions at this level test whether students can locate the exact supporting clause rather than paraphrase or guess from general knowledge.

2. 2. Based on the same passage above ('Urban bees are increasingly foraging in city gardens...'), what can be inferred about intensively farmed rural land?

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   ▶Reveal answer

   It offers less floral diversity than city green spaces, making it less favorable for pollinators.🔊

   This is an inference question, so the answer is not stated word-for-word but follows logically from the contrast drawn in the passage between rural farmland and city gardens.

3. 3. Cloze Test: read the passage: 'Many small businesses struggled to stay ___(1)___ during the pandemic, yet a few adapted quickly by moving their entire operations online. This shift, once seen as a temporary measure, has now become a permanent part of how they reach customers.' Choose the best word for blank (1): (afloat / sinking / closed / famous)

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   ▶Reveal answer

   afloat🔊

   'Stay afloat' is the fixed idiomatic phrase meaning to survive financially. The other options either contradict the passage's 'struggled... yet adapted' framing or don't fit the context of business survival.

4. 4. In the same passage, choose the best word for blank (2): 'This shift, once seen as a temporary ___(2)___, has now become a permanent part of how they reach customers.' (measure / mistake / necessity / delay)

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   measure🔊

   'Temporary measure' is the standard collocation for a short-term action taken to address a situation. 'Mistake' and 'delay' carry negative connotations the passage doesn't support, and 'necessity' doesn't fit as naturally with 'temporary'.

5. 5. In the same passage, choose the best word for blank (3): 'This shift... has now become a permanent part of how they ___(3)___ customers.' (reach / avoid / ignore / replace)

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   ▶Reveal answer

   reach🔊

   The sentence describes how businesses connect with customers through their new online operations, which is exactly what 'reach' means here; the other options are unrelated to or contradict that idea.

Grammar & Sentence Mechanics: Error Spotting, Fill in the Blanks, Sentence Improvement

Questions 6-12 cover error-spotting on comparison and tense, fill-in-the-blank questions on prepositions, tenses and articles, and sentence-improvement questions on indefinite-pronoun agreement and inversion.

1. 1. Identify the grammatical error and give the correction: 'She is more taller than any other girl in her class.'

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   ▶Reveal answer

   'more taller' should be 'taller'🔊

   'Taller' already carries the comparative '-er' suffix, so adding 'more' before it is redundant and grammatically incorrect; only one comparative marker is used at a time in standard English.

2. 2. Identify the grammatical error and give the correction: 'I have completed my project report yesterday evening.'

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   ▶Reveal answer

   'have completed' should be 'completed'🔊

   Definite past time expressions such as 'yesterday evening' require the simple past tense; the present perfect is reserved for actions without a specified past time or with continuing present relevance.

3. 3. Fill in the blank with the correct preposition: 'The new regulations will come ___ effect from the first of next month.'

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   ▶Reveal answer

   into🔊

   'Come into effect' is a fixed idiomatic collocation meaning to become operative or legally binding; 'into' expresses the change of state from inactive to active, which is the standard preposition paired with 'effect' here.

4. 4. Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb: 'By the time the chief guest arrives, the students ___ (decorate) the entire auditorium.'

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   will have decorated🔊

   When one future action is completed before another future event, the future perfect ('will have + past participle') is used; here the decorating finishes before the guest's arrival, so 'will have decorated' is correct.

5. 5. Fill in the blanks with suitable articles: 'She needed ___ hour to finish ___ unique handmade gift for her friend.'

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   an; a🔊

   Article choice depends on sound, not spelling: 'hour' begins with a silent 'h' and thus a vowel sound, taking 'an,' while 'unique' begins with a consonant 'y' sound ('yoo-neek'), taking 'a'.

6. 6. Improve the underlined part of the sentence, if required: 'Each of the candidates have submitted their application forms on time.'

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   ▶Reveal answer

   has submitted🔊

   'Each' is a singular indefinite pronoun and always takes a singular verb, regardless of the plural noun in the following 'of' phrase; therefore 'have submitted' must be corrected to 'has submitted.'

7. 7. Improve the sentence, if required: 'Scarcely he had reached the station when the train left.'

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   Scarcely had he reached the station when the train left.🔊

   When a sentence opens with the negative adverb 'scarcely,' the auxiliary verb must be inverted before the subject; the same inversion rule applies to 'hardly' and 'no sooner' in similar constructions.

Vocabulary & Word Power: Synonyms, Antonyms, One-Word Substitution & Spelling

Questions 13-19 cover synonym and antonym recognition, precise one-word substitutes, and commonly misspelled words.

1. 1. Choose the word opposite in meaning to FRUGAL: (thrifty / extravagant / modest / prudent)

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   extravagant🔊

   'Frugal' means economical and avoiding waste, so its true opposite is 'extravagant,' meaning to spend lavishly; the other options are near-synonyms of frugal rather than opposites.

2. 2. Choose the word closest in meaning to OBSTINATE: (flexible / stubborn / agreeable / hesitant)

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   stubborn🔊

   'Obstinate' describes refusing to change one's opinion or course of action despite persuasion; 'stubborn' conveys the same fixed, unyielding quality.

3. 3. Give one word for: 'A person who is unable to speak'

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   Mute🔊

   'Mute' specifically denotes a person who cannot speak, whether from a physical condition or choice; it must not be confused with 'deaf,' which refers to hearing loss.

4. 4. Give one word for: 'A place where birds are kept and displayed'

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   Aviary🔊

   An 'aviary' is a large enclosure specifically built to house and display birds, distinct from a general 'zoo' housing many species or a small 'cage' for one bird.

5. 5. Choose the correctly spelled word: (A) Recieve (B) Receive (C) Receeve (D) Receve

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   ▶Reveal answer

   Receive (B)🔊

   The correct spelling is R-E-C-E-I-V-E. This 'e before i' after 'c' is the reverse of the usual 'i before e' pattern, which is exactly the trap this question tests.

Idioms & Contextual Usage: Idioms, Phrases & Phrasal Verbs

Questions 20-21 cover idiomatic expression meanings and a phrasal-verb meaning question, both testing figurative rather than literal interpretation.

1. 1. Choose the correct meaning of the idiom: 'a blessing in disguise'

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   something that seems bad at first but turns out to be beneficial🔊

   The phrase captures the gap between an event's unfavorable initial appearance and its ultimately positive outcome, a common theme tested in SSC idiom questions.

2. 2. Choose the correct meaning of the phrasal verb 'to look into something'

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   to investigate or examine something carefully🔊

   'Look into' means to investigate a matter, distinct from the literal sense of looking inside a container; SSC phrasal-verb questions test this idiomatic, non-literal meaning.

Sentence Structure & Voice: Active/Passive, Direct/Indirect Speech & Para Jumbles

Questions 22-25 cover active-to-passive voice conversion, direct-to-indirect speech conversion, and a sentence-rearrangement (para jumble) question.

1. 1. Change into passive voice: 'You must complete this assignment before the deadline.'

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   ▶Reveal answer

   This assignment must be completed before the deadline.🔊

   Passive voice with modal verbs follows the pattern 'modal + be + past participle'; since the original subject 'you' is a generic, unspecified agent, it is naturally dropped in the passive version.

2. 2. Change into indirect speech: She said, 'I am travelling to Jaipur tomorrow.'

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   She said that she was travelling to Jaipur the next day.🔊

   Present continuous ('am travelling') shifts to past continuous ('was travelling') in indirect speech, the pronoun 'I' becomes 'she,' and the time expression 'tomorrow' shifts back to 'the next day.'

3. 3. Change into indirect speech: He asked, 'Where do you live?'

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   He asked where I lived.🔊

   For questions with a question word, the same word introduces the indirect clause without 'if/whether'; word order becomes statement-like (subject before verb), and the tense shifts back from present to past.

4. 4. Rearrange the parts P, Q, R, S to form a meaningful sentence: (P) and decided to pursue a career in journalism (Q) after finishing her degree (R) she moved to a bigger city (S) in search of better opportunities

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   Q R S P🔊

   The logical order begins with the time clause 'after finishing her degree' (Q), followed by the main action 'she moved to a bigger city' (R), its purpose 'in search of better opportunities' (S), and finally the resulting decision (P), forming a coherent chronological sentence.