Study Material — 2 PYQs (2022–2022) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
NDA Sentence Improvement is a frequently tested subtopic — 2 previous year questions from 2022–2022 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
2 questions from actual NDA papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12022Previous Year Pattern
Identify the sentence with correct improvement:
Original: 'Despite of his talent, he could not succeed in the competition.'
Which of the following is the correct version?
Exam Q 22022Previous Year Pattern
Identify the sentence with correct improvement:
Original: 'The number of applicants have increased significantly over the last five years.'
Which of the following is the correct version?
Concept Notes
Sentence Improvement— Rules & Concept
Core ConceptRead this first — the foundation of the topic
Core Concept
You are given a sentence where one part is highlighted or underlined. Your job is to find the grammatically correct and meaningful replacement for that part. If the sentence is already correct, you select 'No improvement required'
Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs
2
Tense Consistency
All verbs in a sentence should follow logical time sequence
3
Preposition Usage
Each verb and adjective has specific prepositions
4
Article Usage
A/An for singular countable nouns, The for specific nouns
5
Pronoun Agreement
Pronouns must match their antecedents in number and gender
SUPER SHORTCUT FORMULA:
GSPT Method - Grammar + Sense + Precision + Tone
- Grammar: Is it grammatically correct?
- Sense: Does it make logical sense?
- Precision: Is it precise and clear?
- Tone: Does it fit the sentence tone?
Exam PatternsWhat examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs
SSC CGL typically tests these areas:
- Subject-Verb disagreement (40% questions)
- Wrong prepositions (25% questions)
- Tense errors (20% questions)
- Article mistakes (15% questions)
POWER TRICK - The 'NO CHANGE' Rule:
If you cannot find a clear grammatical error, the answer is often 'No improvement required'. SSC includes 30% questions where original sentence is correct.
Worked ExampleSolve this step-by-step before moving on
1
Step 1
Identify subject - 'The number' (singular)
2
Step 2
Identify verb - 'are' (plural)
3
Step 3
Apply rule - Singular subject needs singular verb
4
Step 4
Correction - 'The number of students is increasing every year.'
Answer: Replace 'are' with 'is'
Worked Example 2:
Question: 'She is superior than her sister in studies.'
1
Step 1
Identify comparison word - 'superior'
2
Step 2
Check preposition - 'than' is wrong
3
Step 3
Apply rule - Superior takes 'to', not 'than'
4
Step 4
Correction - 'She is superior to her sister in studies.'
Answer: Replace 'than' with 'to'
ShortcutsUse these to save 30–60 seconds per question
Remember
30% of SSC sentence improvement questions have 'No improvement required' as the correct answer. Don't change what's already correct just because other options exist
Time Management Trick
Spend maximum 45 seconds per question. If you can't spot an obvious error in 30 seconds, mark 'No improvement required' and move on. This saves time and has 30% success probability
Advanced Pattern Recognition
SSC often tests the same error types repeatedly
Master these high-frequency error patterns
subject-verb disagreement with collective nouns, wrong prepositions with comparative adjectives, and tense inconsistency in complex sentences.
Key Points to Remember
Use GSPT Method: Grammar + Sense + Precision + Tone to evaluate options quickly
30% of SSC sentence improvement questions have 'No improvement required' as correct answer
Collective nouns (team, family, group) take singular verbs in most cases
Formula: 'One of the + plural noun' ALWAYS takes singular verb
Shortcut: Different FROM, Superior TO, Good AT, Afraid OF - memorize these preposition pairs
Subject-verb disagreement appears in 40% of sentence improvement questions
Each, Every, Either, Neither are always followed by singular verbs
Formula: If no clear grammatical error visible in 30 seconds, choose 'No improvement required'
Tense consistency rule: All verbs in sentence must follow logical time sequence
Time limit trick: Maximum 45 seconds per sentence improvement question
Exam-Specific Tips
SSC CGL typically includes 2-3 sentence improvement questions per paper
Subject-verb disagreement constitutes 40% of sentence improvement questions in SSC
Wrong preposition usage appears in 25% of SSC sentence improvement questions
30% of sentence improvement questions have 'No improvement required' as the correct option
Collective nouns like 'team', 'family', 'group' take singular verbs in standard usage
'One of the students' type constructions always require singular verb form
Tense errors account for 20% of sentence improvement questions in SSC exams
Article mistakes represent 15% of sentence improvement questions in competitive exams
Practice MCQs
Sentence Improvement — Practice Questions
1graded MCQs · easy to hard · full solution & trap analysis
Identify the sentence with correct improvement:
Original: 'She is one of the few students who has submitted their assignment on time.'
Which of the following is the correct version?
60-Second Revision — Sentence Improvement
Remember: 30% questions have 'No improvement required' - don't over-correct
Formula: Collective nouns = singular verbs (team is, family has)
Trap: Don't choose different-looking option just because it exists
Shortcut: GSPT method - Grammar, Sense, Precision, Tone check
Rule: 'One of the + plural noun' always takes singular verb
Time limit: Maximum 45 seconds per sentence improvement question
Pattern: Subject-verb disagreement is most common error type tested