Question 1

Select the grammatically correct sentence.

A) The news are very shocking and disturbing.
B) The news is very shocking and disturbing.
C) The news are shocking and disturb.
D) The news is shocking but disturbing are.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B. 'News' is an uncountable noun that always takes a singular verb, even though it ends in 's'. The correct structure is 'The news is + adjective'. Option A incorrectly uses the plural verb 'are'. Options C and D contain additional grammatical errors in verb conjugation and sentence structure.

Question 2

Choose the option that best improves the sentence: 'She has been working here since five years.'

Accepted Answer

The sentence tests the correct use of 'since' vs 'for' with present perfect continuous tense.

Question 3

Choose the option that correctly improves the sentence: 'The manager asked the employee that he should complete the report.'

Accepted Answer

The sentence tests the correct use of reported speech and the appropriate reporting verb construction.

Question 4

Identify the sentence that is grammatically correct and requires no improvement.

Accepted Answer

The sentence tests subject-verb agreement with collective nouns. 'The team' is a singular collective noun and requires a singular verb form.

Question 5

Identify the sentence with correct grammar and no improvement needed.

Accepted Answer

The sentence tests the correct use of comparative adjectives and the structure of comparative sentences.

Question 6

Choose the sentence with correct use of prepositions.

A) She is not interested in playing cricket.
B) She is not interested on playing cricket.
C) She is not interested for playing cricket.
D) She is not interested at playing cricket.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A. The verb 'interested' is followed by the preposition 'in' when expressing lack of interest in an activity. The structure is 'interested in + gerund (verb-ing form)'. Options B, C, and D use incorrect prepositions ('on', 'for', and 'at' respectively), which are not idiomatic with 'interested'.

Question 7

Choose the sentence with the correct verb form.

A) If I was you, I would accept the job offer immediately.
B) If I were you, I would accept the job offer immediately.
C) If I am you, I would accept the job offer immediately.
D) If I had been you, I would accept the job offer immediately.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B. In conditional sentences expressing hypothetical situations (contrary to fact), the subjunctive form 'were' is used with all subjects, including 'I'. The structure is 'If + subject + were + object, subject + would + base verb'. Option A incorrectly uses 'was' (indicative mood). Options C and D use incorrect verb forms for this conditional structure.

Question 8

Identify the sentence with correct article usage.

A) The honesty is the best policy in life.
B) Honesty is the best policy in life.
C) An honesty is the best policy in life.
D) A honesty is the best policy in life.

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B. 'Honesty' is an abstract uncountable noun and should not be preceded by an article when used in a general sense. The correct form is simply 'Honesty is the best policy.' Option A incorrectly uses the definite article 'the' with an abstract noun. Options C and D incorrectly use indefinite articles 'an' and 'a' with an uncountable noun.

Question 9

Select the grammatically correct sentence.

Accepted Answer

The sentence tests the correct use of articles with countable and uncountable nouns.

Question 10

She is one of the few students who has completed the project on time. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The relative pronoun 'who' refers to 'students' (plural), not 'one', so the verb should be plural 'have' not singular 'has'.

Question 11

The principal along with the teachers are planning to organise a cultural programme next month.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. When a singular subject is followed by a prepositional phrase (along with, as well as, in addition to), the verb must agree with the main subject, not the object of the preposition. 'Principal' is singular, so the verb should be 'is', not 'are'.

Question 12

The manager insisted that all employees should attend the training session. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

The sentence is grammatically correct but can be improved. After 'insisted that', the subjunctive mood is preferred in formal English, using the base form of the verb without 'should'.

Question 13

The government has announced new policies aimed at reducing poverty and to improve healthcare facilities. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a parallelism error. The two gerunds 'reducing' and 'to improve' are not in the same grammatical form. Both should be gerunds (verb + -ing) for parallel structure.

Question 14

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting because of the bad weather conditions.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in British English when treated as a single unit. The correct form is 'has decided' not 'have decided'.

Question 15

She has been working in this organisation since five years and has gained considerable experience.

Accepted Answer

The sentence uses incorrect preposition with 'since'. 'Since' is used with a point in time (year, date, event), not with a duration. The correct preposition is 'for' when expressing duration of time.

Question 16

The report suggests that the government should take immediate steps to curb the rising inflation and to provide relief to the common people.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is grammatically correct and uses proper parallel structure with infinitives. However, if we examine the options, we need to identify if there is any improvement possible. The sentence effectively uses parallel infinitive phrases ('to curb' and 'to provide') and maintains clarity.

Question 17

Despite of his illness, he attended the meeting and participated actively in the discussions.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a preposition error. 'Despite' is a preposition that does not require 'of' after it. The correct form is 'Despite his illness' not 'Despite of his illness'. The phrase 'in spite of' uses 'of', but 'despite' stands alone.

Question 18

Select the option that corrects the underlined part of the sentence, or choose 'No improvement' if the sentence is already correct.

The committee has been discussing the matter since three hours.

Accepted Answer

The preposition 'since' is used with a specific point in time (e.g., since morning, since 2019), whereas 'for' is used with a duration or period of time (e.g., for three hours, for two years). Since 'three hours' denotes a duration, 'for' is the correct preposition here. The rule: 'since' = point in time; 'for' = period of time.

Question 19

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting because of the bad weather conditions. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in British English when treated as a single unit. The correct form is 'has decided' not 'have decided'.

Question 20

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting, and they is planning to reschedule it for next month.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a plural verb in British English when the members are acting individually. However, the second clause incorrectly uses 'is' (singular) instead of 'are' (plural) to match the plural verb 'have' used earlier. The corrected sentence should read: 'The committee have decided to postpone the meeting, and they are planning to reschedule it for next month.'

Question 21

The manager recommended that the team should focus on increasing productivity, reducing costs, and to improve customer satisfaction simultaneously.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a parallelism error. The list of actions uses two gerunds ('increasing', 'reducing') but shifts to an infinitive ('to improve'). All items in a parallel list must use the same grammatical form.

Question 22

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting, but they was unable to inform all members in time.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a plural verb in British English when the members are acting individually. However, the second clause incorrectly uses 'was' (singular) instead of 'were' (plural) to match the plural verb 'have' used earlier.

Question 23

The report suggests that the company's financial performance have improved significantly over the last quarter, which indicates that the management's strategies are working effectively.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The subject 'performance' is singular, but the verb 'have' is plural. The correct verb should be 'has'.

Question 24

The principal insisted that every student should wear their uniform properly, and they must arrive at school by 8 a.m. every day.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a parallelism error. The first clause uses the subjunctive mood ('should wear'), but the second clause shifts to the indicative mood ('must arrive'). For consistency, both clauses should maintain the same mood structure.

Question 25

Despite of his extensive experience in the field, he was not selected for the senior position because of his poor communication skills.

Accepted Answer

The phrase 'despite of' is grammatically incorrect. The correct preposition is 'despite' (without 'of'), or alternatively 'in spite of' (with 'of'). The sentence incorrectly combines both forms.

Question 26

Despite of his extensive experience in the field, he was unable to solve the complex problem that had been puzzling the team for weeks.

Accepted Answer

The phrase 'despite of' is grammatically incorrect. The correct preposition is either 'despite' (followed by a noun/noun phrase) or 'in spite of' (followed by a noun/noun phrase). The word 'of' should not follow 'despite'. The corrected sentence should read: 'Despite his extensive experience in the field, he was unable to solve the complex problem that had been puzzling the team for weeks.'

Question 27

The government's decision to raise taxes have been criticised by economists, who argue that such measures will adversely affect the economy and discourage investments.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The subject 'decision' is singular, but the verb 'have' is plural. The correct verb should be 'has'. The phrase 'to raise taxes' is an infinitive phrase modifying 'decision', not the subject itself.

Question 28

The report suggests that the new policy will be implemented next quarter, but the management is still undecided whether to proceed with the plan or not.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a negation redundancy error. The phrase 'whether to proceed with the plan or not' is unnecessarily negative. In modern English, especially in formal writing, the construction 'whether to proceed with the plan' is sufficient; adding 'or not' is redundant when the choice is already implicit. The corrected sentence should read: 'The report suggests that the new policy will be implemented next quarter, but the management is still undecided whether to proceed with the plan.' Alternatively, if 'or not' is retained for emphasis, it should be: 'whether or not to proceed with the plan.'

Question 29

The data shows that the number of students enrolling in STEM courses have increased significantly over the past five years, and this trend is expected to continue.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The subject is 'the number of students' (singular), not 'students' (plural). The phrase 'of students' is a prepositional phrase that modifies 'number' but does not change its number. Therefore, the verb should be singular 'has' instead of plural 'have'. The corrected sentence should read: 'The data shows that the number of students enrolling in STEM courses has increased significantly over the past five years, and this trend is expected to continue.'

Question 30

The manager recommended that the team members should focus on improving their communication skills rather than wasting time on unnecessary meetings.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is grammatically correct. It uses the subjunctive mood properly with 'recommended that' (which requires subjunctive in formal English, though 'should' is also acceptable). The structure 'focus on improving' is correct, and the comparison 'rather than wasting' maintains parallel structure with the gerund form.

Question 31

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting, but they are yet to inform the members about the same.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb when treated as a single unit. The correct form is 'The committee has decided' (not 'have decided'). The rest of the sentence is grammatically correct.

SSC CHSL Sentence Improvement

SSC CHSL Sentence Improvement — Past Exam Questions

Sentence Improvement— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

Exam-Specific Tips

Sentence Improvement — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Sentence Improvement