SSC verbal ability questions and answers

10 years ago

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SSC verbal ability questions and answers,SSC,UPSC previous years questions with answers,SSC,UPSC English language questions for practice Tips and Tricks.UPSC,SSC,Common errors,Sentence completion,Verb, Infinitive, Verbal noun, Gerund, Participle,some important rules,excercise to practice

Common Errors

Exercise for Practice

1. Many a man / have / been working / under me. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘have’ to ‘has’ to make the verb singular. ‘Many a’ is always followed by a singular noun and a singular verb.

2. Cattles / were grazing / in the meadows / near our farm. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Change ‘cattles’ to ‘cattle’. ‘Cattle’ is one of those collective nouns which though singular in form are always used as plurals.

3. I told him / the story / in details / to make him understand it fully. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : C – Change ‘details’ to ‘detail’.

4. I have / two sister-in-laws / whose husands / are all well settled in Delhi. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘sister-in-laws’ to ‘sister-in-law’. Plural of such compound words is formed by adding ‘s’ in the first constituent of the compound word.

5. Many a person / have lost / their life / and property in the riots. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘have’ to ‘has’. Refer to answer to Q.No. 1

6. As he stood / below the shower / the sharp jets of / ice cold water revived his spirit. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Change ‘spirit’ to ‘spirits’, as it is always used in plural form.

7. The man / who I have / often mentioned is one whose friendship / I could wish to acquire, because he is a respectable man. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘who’ to ‘whom’. Subjective form should not be used for the word functioning as object.

8. In my youth / I used to / visit / Sharma’s and Chawla’s company. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Delete ‘s from Sharma’s. When two nouns are closely connected the apostrophe’s is added only to the second.

9. The doctor said / the patient / should not have wasted / a whole week before coming for help. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Insert ‘the’ before ‘patient’ since there is emphasis on the word ‘patient’.

10. This girl / wrote an essay / so well that / her teacher was exceedingly pleased with her. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Substitute ‘an’ by ‘the’ before ‘essay’. The sentence lays emphasis on ‘essay’.

11. The old man told / his son that / there was no such thing / for luck. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Substitute ‘for’ by ‘as’. ‘Such’ is generally followed by ‘as’.

12. Bacteria is / probably the most / common form / of life on earth. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Change ‘Bacteria’ to ‘Bacterium’, since the singular form of ‘Bacteria’ is ‘Bacterium’.

13. Different / authorities defines / intelligence in / different ways. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘defines’ to define’ to make it plural in order to get it to agree with the plural subject ‘authorities’.

14. The classical / systems of dance has / many features / in common. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘has’ to ‘have’ to make it plural in order to get it to agree with the plural subject ‘systems’.

15. Everyone of the students / has brought / his / identity card. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Where the number is limited or is implied to be limited ‘each one’ will be a better usage than ‘everyone’.

16. On Friday evening / Mamta and me / took a coach / for Patna and arrived at Jamal’s house. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Substitute ‘me’ by ‘I’. Objective form of pronoun should not be used for one functioning as subject.

17. The conference was / attended / by more than / one hundred delegates. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

18. There are / no conducted tours / for tourist to visit all the / important places. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Change ‘tourist’ to ‘tourists’.

19. He neglects / attending lecutres / regularly / though college is only a few yards away from his house. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Put ‘the’ before ‘college’, since ‘college’ here has been particularized.

20. If you saw / the amount of Samosas / he consumed at breakfast this morning, / you would understand why he is so over-weight / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Replace ‘amount’ by ‘unmber’.

21. In my opinion / the balance sheet exhibits / a true and fair / view of the state of affairs of the bank. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

22. Everyman, woman and child / is now aware / of the terrible consequences of / habit of smoking. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Put ‘the’ before ‘habit’ since ‘habit’ here has been particularized, the habit of smoking.

23. The crowd at the stadium / clapped jubilantly / when the champion / received his trophy. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

24. Our state will / not be divided / into two parts / at any cost. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

25. This is one of / the most interesting book / I have / ever read. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘book’ to ‘books’.

(Verb, Infinitive, Verbal noun, Gerund, Participle)

Some Important Rules

Exercise for Practice

1. In her hour of distress / she requested Mohan to lend / her some money / but he refused to do so. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

2. Since the day the strike was declared / by the factory employees / over 20 workers have been / dismissed and 10 resigned. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Insert ‘have’ before ‘resigned’ to make it present perfect tense in sequence to the preceding clause.

3. The students were officially / told that they / are not to cross / the road against the red light. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : C – Change ‘are’ to ‘were’. The verb in the reported part must agree in tense with the verb of the reporting verb.

4. On my way to office, I shall / generally come across / many children / wearing blue uniforms. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Delete ‘shall’ before ‘generally come across’ . The sentence speaks of a present activity, hence ‘shall’ is redundant.

5. The well clad servant lays / the table / while the lady of the house was busy / with her guests. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Change ‘lays’ to ‘laid’ to make it past indefinite tense to agree with the tense of the clause following.

6. The tutor cautioned/the girl’s guardian / that she would not / be able to get through the examination until she did not work hard. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Change ‘did not work hard’ to ‘worked hard’. ‘Until’ itself is negative, hence double negative is not required.

7. She said / that / she will help me / whenver I was in difficulty. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : C – Change ‘will’ to ‘would’ in order to get it to agree with the past tense of the reporting verb.

8. Being a / fine day / we went out for / picnic at Okhla. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Put ‘It’ before ‘being’. The participle should not be left without agreement or with no agreement at all.

9. My friend being unwilling to attend /the court at an early hour of the morning, / sent a letter / explaining why could he not obey. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Change ‘could he’ to ‘he could’. The interrogative becomes assertive on the statement being converted from direct into indirect form.

10. Being a hot day / I shall not be able to / do any / more work. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Add ‘It’ before ‘being’. Refer to rule mentioned in answer to question no. 8 above.

11. The apples / he gave me are / too expensive / to be bad. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

12. We have been learning / our lessons regularly / since / the beginning of the term. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

13. I have been knowing / him for the last / four years, yet I haven’t been able / to establish friendship with him. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Change ‘had been knowing’, to ‘have known’. Verbs of perception are not normally used in continuous or perfect continuous tense.

14. We must not complain / that roses have thorns / but rather grateful / that thorns bear flowers. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : C – put ‘be’ before ‘grateful’, the verb which is missing.

15. Did I not told / you that it was quite / necessary / to be in time ? / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Change ‘told’ to ‘tell’. The verb is used in first form with the helping verb ‘did’.

16. Day in and day out / he keep telling / his friends that / he wants to go abroad. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Chang ‘keep’ to ‘keeps on’.

17. He found the house / without any difficulty / and knocked / at the door. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

18. The fact is / that Mr. Joshi did fell / and was / injured. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Remove ‘did’ which is redundant here.

19. As he stood / under the shower / the sharp jet of ice cold water / revived his spirits. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

20. It is in 1929 / that we first flew / to / the United States. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : C – Change ‘is’ to ‘was’.

21. The gentleman together with his fife / and daughter / were / drowned. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : C – Substitute ‘were’ by ‘was’ to get it to agree with its singular subject ‘the gentleman’.

22. People have / ideas about / aeroplanes in / ancient times. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : A – Change ‘have’ to ‘had’ to make it a past tense.

23. My elder brother and sister / helps me / in / my home work. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : B – Change ‘helps’ to ‘help’. The two separate nouns joned by ‘and’ take plural verb.

24. He was looking for / an opportunity to / come out of / the meeting room. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : E – The sentence is correct.

25. Jagan said / that he was sorry / for having / keep me waiting for sometime. / No error
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

Ans : D – Change ‘keep’ to ‘kept’. In perfect participle the verb has third form.

Chapter 4

Sentence Completion

(Effective words, Phrases, Prepositions, Conjuctions etc.)

Direction – Each of the following questions has a word or group of words missing. Four or five alternative words are given. You have to find out which one of them would make the sentence grammatically correct and meaningful.

1. Some of the luggage ………. not yet arrived.

(A) has (Ans)

(B) have

(D) are

2. One of the ……… injured.

(A) player was

(B) players were

(D) players are

3. We should always be careful in the choice of ………

(A) our friend

(B) our friends (Ans)

(D) ours friends

4. He talks as if he ……. a fool.

(A) is

(B) was

(D) has been

5. He …….. since morning.

(A) is playing

(B) has been playing (Ans)

(D) will be playing

6. When the meeting began, everybody took …….

(A) his seat (Ans)

(B) their seat

(D) one’s seat

7. I wonder whether I …….. ever see him again.

(A) shall

(B) will

(D) would (Ans)

8. I …… sing well when I was younger.

(A) could (Ans)

(B) might

(D) did

9. No sooner …… than the police handcuffed him.

(A) he came

(B) did he came

(D) had he come

10. We …… some friends in for dinner tomorrow night.

(A) have

(B) are having (Ans)

(D) will have

11. “What exactly does he want?”

“He would like to see you ……. a good job on the project.”

(A) got (Ans)

(B) get

(D) will get

12. “She was sorry she didn’t attend her friend’s wedding.”

“Yes, she ……. “

(A) regretted she can’t have gone

(B) was regretting she does not go

(D) was regretting that she couldn’t go (Ans)

13. “Sujata is late in he office”.

“She rarely comes in time ……?”

(A) don’t she

(B) does she (Ans)

(D) won’t she

14. “There is a visitor here”

“All right man I …….”

(A) shall be expecting this man

(B) am expecting this man (Ans)

(D) had to expect this man

15. “Can we start our match?

“No, we can’t unless the referee ……..”

(A) will not give the signal

(B) gives the signal (Ans)

(D) does not give the signal

16. “Why is he breathing so fast”?

“The teacher made him ….. a ;mile as measure of punishment for his coming late”.

(A) running

(B) to run

(D) run (Ans)

17. He behaves as if he ……. a king.

(A) was

(B) were (Ans)

(D) had

18. Do not look ……. the poor.

(A) down

(B) up

(D) down upon (Ans)

19. The dog has been ….. by the car.

(A) run out

(B) run over (Ans)

(D) run for

20. …… you apologize I shall punish you.

(A) until

(B) unless (Ans)

(D) none of these

21. I spoke to the chairman …………. he was sitting alone in the cabin.

(A) where

(B) when (Ans)

(D) whenever

22. I went directly to my boss to …….. his approval.

(A) order

(B) restore

(D) collect

(E) gain

23. It was an unhappy life …….. I lived, full of many anxieties.

(A) that (Ans)

(B) which

(D) where

(E) though

24. My concern for Jugal’s future was very ….. as he was not in job then.

(A) strong (Ans)

(B) big

(D) powerful

(E) much

25. She remained there for hours after Jayant ……….. gone.

(A) had (Ans)

(B) did

(D) has

(E) was