Question 1

Choose the correct conjunction to fill in the blank: She had barely sat down ______ the telephone rang and disturbed her concentration.

Accepted Answer

The correlative conjunction pair 'barely...when' is the grammatically correct structure in English. 'Barely' is a negative adverb that sets up a near-simultaneous action, and it must be followed by 'when' (not 'than' or 'that'). 'Hardly/Scarcely/Barely + had + subject + past participle + when' is the standard construction. 'Than' is used with comparative adverbs like 'sooner' (no sooner...than). 'That' and 'before' do not idiomatically pair with 'barely' in this construction.

Question 2

Identify the error in the following sentence:

He neither likes coffee (A) / nor does he enjoy (B) / tea in the morning, (C) / and he prefers water instead. (D) / No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). The correlative conjunction 'neither...nor' requires parallel structure. After 'nor does he enjoy,' the object should be 'tea' (noun), but the phrase 'tea in the morning' breaks parallelism because part (A) uses 'coffee' without a time modifier. The correct form should be: 'He neither likes coffee in the morning nor does he enjoy tea in the morning' OR 'He neither likes coffee nor tea in the morning.' The current structure creates unequal grammatical weight between the two clauses joined by 'neither...nor.'

Question 3

Identify the error in the following sentence:
The manager asked the employees (A) / whether they could complete (B) / the project on time, (C) / or they would need more resources. (D) / No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a conjunction error. In reported speech with 'whether', the second part of the alternative should use 'or' followed by the same structure. However, the error lies in the inconsistent structure: after 'whether they could complete', the parallel clause should be 'or whether they would need' (maintaining the same subject-verb inversion pattern). The current form 'or they would need' breaks the parallel structure required by the correlative conjunction 'whether...or'.

Question 4

Identify the error in the following sentence:
He wanted to study hard (A) / so that he could pass (B) / the examination, (C) / and he succeeded. (D) / No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The sentence is grammatically correct. The conjunction 'so that' properly introduces a purpose clause, 'could pass' is the correct conditional form, and the sentence structure maintains proper coordination with 'and'. All parts work together coherently.

Question 5

Identify the error in the following sentence:
He will attend the meeting (A) / if and only if (B) / the director approves his leave, (C) / and he confirms his attendance. (D) / No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a conjunction error. The phrase 'if and only if' (a biconditional conjunction) establishes a strict logical condition: attendance depends solely on the director's approval. However, the addition of 'and he confirms his attendance' introduces an additional independent condition, which contradicts the exclusivity implied by 'if and only if'. The sentence should either use 'if' alone or restructure to maintain logical consistency with the biconditional.

Question 6

Identify the error in the following sentence:

Because the weather was unfavourable, (A) the outdoor event was postponed, (B) however the organisers decided (C) to hold an indoor alternative. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). The conjunction 'however' is an adverbial conjunction (conjunctive adverb) that requires a semicolon or period before it when it joins two independent clauses, not a comma. The sentence uses a comma before 'however,' which creates a comma splice. The correct forms are: (1) 'the outdoor event was postponed; however, the organisers decided...' OR (2) 'the outdoor event was postponed. However, the organisers decided...' OR (3) restructure using 'but' instead: 'the outdoor event was postponed, but the organisers decided...'

Question 7

Identify the error in the following sentence:

Although he was tired, (A) yet he continued working (B) because he wanted to complete the project (C) and impress his manager. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (A). The conjunction 'although' is a subordinating conjunction that introduces a contrast. When 'although' is used, the coordinating conjunction 'yet' should NOT follow it in the same clause. The correct structure is either 'Although he was tired, he continued working' OR 'He was tired, yet he continued working.' Using both creates a redundant and grammatically incorrect construction.

Question 8

Identify the error in the following sentence:

The report suggests that either the sales team or the marketing department (A) are responsible for the decline in revenue, (B) and both teams must collaborate (C) to develop a recovery strategy. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When using the correlative conjunction 'either...or,' the verb must agree with the subject nearest to it. Here, 'department' (singular) is closest to the verb, so the verb should be 'is' (singular), not 'are' (plural). The correct form is 'either the sales team or the marketing department is responsible for the decline in revenue.'

Question 9

Identify the error in the following sentence:

Neither the manager nor the employees (A) was willing to compromise, (B) so they decided to seek (C) an external mediator for resolving the dispute. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When using the correlative conjunction 'neither...nor,' the verb must agree with the subject closest to it. Here, 'employees' (plural) is closest to the verb, so the verb should be 'were' (plural), not 'was' (singular). The correct form is 'Neither the manager nor the employees were willing to compromise.'

Question 10

Identify the error in the following sentence:

Neither the manager nor the employees (A) was willing to accept the new policy, (B) so they decided to protest (C) unless the management would reconsider their demands. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (D). The conjunction 'unless' is incorrectly used here. 'Unless' means 'except if' and is used for negative conditions. The sentence uses 'unless' when it should use 'until' or 'if'. The logical meaning requires 'until the management would reconsider' (meaning they will continue protesting up to that point) or 'if the management would reconsider' (conditional). 'Unless' reverses the intended meaning.

Question 11

Identify the error in the following sentence:

Although he was exhausted, (A) yet he continued working (B) because he wanted to complete the project (C) before the deadline arrived. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (A). When 'although' is used as a subordinating conjunction, it should NOT be followed by 'yet' in the main clause. 'Although' and 'yet' are both concessive conjunctions, and using both together is redundant and grammatically incorrect. The sentence should read: 'Although he was exhausted, he continued working...' OR 'He was exhausted, yet he continued working...' but not both.

Question 12

Identify the error in the following sentence:

The report states that (A) either the sales team or the marketing department (B) have failed to meet their targets, (C) and therefore the company will face financial difficulties. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). When using the correlative conjunction pair 'either...or', the verb must agree with the subject closest to it. Here, 'the marketing department' (singular) is closest to the verb, so the verb should be 'has' not 'have'. The correct form is: 'either the sales team or the marketing department has failed...'

Question 13

Identify the error in the following sentence:

The committee decided that (A) not only should the budget be increased (B) but also the staff strength must be enhanced (C) so that the organisation can achieve its goals. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). When using the correlative conjunction pair 'not only...but also', the structures following each conjunction must be parallel (parallel structure/parallelism). Part (B) uses inverted structure 'should the budget be increased' (auxiliary verb + subject + main verb), but part (C) uses normal structure 'the staff strength must be enhanced'. For parallelism, both should follow the same grammatical pattern. Correct form: 'not only should the budget be increased but also should the staff strength be enhanced.'

Question 14

Identify the error in the sentence:

Although (A) / he was exhausted, yet (B) / he continued to work (C) / until the project was completed. (D) / No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). The conjunction 'although' is a subordinating conjunction that introduces a concessive clause. When 'although' is used, the coordinating conjunction 'yet' should NOT be used in the main clause. The correct structure is: 'Although he was exhausted, he continued to work...' OR 'He was exhausted, yet he continued to work...' but not both together.

Question 15

Identify the error in the sentence:

While the government has announced new reforms, (A) / yet the citizens remain skeptical (B) / because the previous promises were never fulfilled, (C) / and they doubt whether the current measures will succeed. (D) / No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). The conjunction 'while' is a subordinating conjunction that introduces a concessive or temporal clause. When 'while' is used to show contrast (concession), the coordinating conjunction 'yet' should NOT follow in the main clause. The correct structure is: 'While the government has announced new reforms, the citizens remain skeptical...' OR 'The government has announced new reforms, yet the citizens remain skeptical...' but not both together. The use of both 'while' and 'yet' creates a redundant conjunction error.

Question 16

Identify the error in the sentence:

Neither the manager nor (A) / the employees was (B) / willing to accept the terms, (C) / because they feared the consequences. (D) / No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When a compound subject is joined by 'neither...nor', the verb must agree with the nearest noun. Here, 'employees' (plural) is nearest to the verb, so the verb should be 'were' (plural), not 'was' (singular). Correct: 'Neither the manager nor the employees were willing...'

SSC CHSL Conjunctions

SSC CHSL Conjunctions — Past Exam Questions

Conjunctions— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

Exam-Specific Tips

Conjunctions — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Conjunctions