SSC CHSL English Language Syllabus

What does the idiom 'to let the cat out of the bag' mean?

To reveal a secret, usually unintentionally.

What does the idiom 'a blessing in disguise' mean?

Something that seems bad at first but results in something good.

What does the phrasal verb 'put off' mean?

To postpone or delay (They put off the meeting until Monday).

What does the idiom 'once in a blue moon' mean?

Something that happens very rarely.

What is the meaning of the prefix 'mis-' and give an example?

'mis-' means wrongly or badly, e.g., misunderstand, misuse, mislead.

What is the noun form of the adjective 'wise'?

Wisdom.

In Reading Comprehension, what is the difference between the 'main idea' and a 'supporting detail'?

The main idea is the central point the whole passage conveys; supporting details are facts, examples, or reasons that explain or back up that main idea.

In comprehension questions, what is an 'inference'?

A conclusion drawn from evidence and reasoning in the passage rather than from an explicitly stated fact.

What is the recommended strategy for solving Reading Comprehension efficiently?

Skim the passage for the gist, read the questions, then scan for keywords to locate answers; avoid relying on outside knowledge, and base answers only on the passage.

What does it mean to identify the 'tone' of a passage?

Identifying the author's attitude or emotion toward the subject, e.g., critical, optimistic, sarcastic, neutral, or persuasive.

What is a 'para jumble' question?

A set of jumbled sentences that must be rearranged into a logical, coherent paragraph in the correct order.

What is the first step to solve a para jumble?

Identify the opening sentence (the independent one that introduces the topic and does not begin with pronouns or connectors).

In para jumbles, what role do pronouns and connectors like 'however', 'therefore', 'this' play?

They are linking clues: a pronoun must follow the noun it refers to, and connectors signal the relationship/order between sentences, helping fix the sequence.

What is the 'mandatory pair' technique in para jumbles?

Finding two sentences that must come together (cause-effect, noun-then-pronoun, question-then-answer) and using that fixed pair to eliminate wrong options.

What is a 'cloze test'?

A passage with several blanks where the candidate selects the most appropriate word for each blank based on grammar, vocabulary, and context.

What should you check to choose the correct word in a cloze test blank?

Grammar (part of speech, tense, agreement), collocation/usage, and the overall context/meaning of the passage.

In a cloze test, what is a 'collocation' and why does it matter?

A collocation is a natural word combination (e.g., 'make a decision', 'heavy rain'); choosing the collocating word ensures the blank sounds idiomatically correct.

What is 'Error Spotting' in English exams?

A question type where a sentence is split into parts and the candidate must identify the part containing a grammatical error (or mark 'No error').

State the common error rule for the words 'each', 'every', 'everyone', 'either', 'neither'.

They are singular and take a singular verb and singular pronoun (Each of the boys was present; Everyone has his book).

What is the common error rule for 'one of the' constructions?

'One of the' is followed by a plural noun but a singular verb (One of the students is absent).

What error involves the words 'less' and 'fewer'?

'Fewer' is used with countable nouns (fewer books); 'less' is used with uncountable nouns (less water).

What is the rule for using the article with abstract and material nouns in error spotting?

Abstract and material nouns are generally used without an article (Honesty is the best policy; Gold is precious), so adding 'the/a' is often an error.

What is a 'fill in the blanks' question and how does it differ from a cloze test?

Fill in the blanks tests a single sentence (or independent blanks) with options; a cloze test has multiple interrelated blanks in a connected passage.

Which preposition is correct: 'good at', 'good in', or 'good for'? Explain.

'Good at' is used for skills (good at maths); 'good for' means beneficial (milk is good for health); 'good in' is generally incorrect for skills.

Fill in the correct preposition: 'He is married ___ a doctor.' Why?

'to' — 'married to' is the correct collocation (not 'married with').

What is 'Sentence Improvement'?

A question type where a part of a sentence is underlined and the candidate selects the option that best corrects or improves it grammatically and stylistically (or 'No improvement').

Improve: 'He is senior than me.' What is correct and why?

'He is senior to me.' Latin-origin comparatives like senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior take 'to', not 'than'.

What is the correct form: 'I have been knowing him for years' — improve it.

'I have known him for years.' Stative verbs like 'know' are not used in continuous tenses.

Improve: 'Hardly had I reached the station than the train left.' What is correct?

'Hardly had I reached the station when the train left.' 'Hardly...when' and 'Scarcely...when' are the correct correlatives; 'No sooner...than' uses 'than'.

What is the rule for using 'since' versus 'for' with the present perfect tense?

'Since' is used with a point of time (since 2010, since Monday); 'for' is used with a period/duration (for five years, for two hours).