SSC CHSL English Questions with Answers: Quick Answer
This page gives 20 original SSC CHSL English questions with answers and full step-by-step explanations. Every question is written for the English Language section of SSC CHSL Tier 1: 25 questions, 50 marks, 2 marks per question, 0.50 deducted for each wrong answer, with a 15-minute sectional timer inside a 60-minute paper of 100 questions and 200 marks. The set covers what the section actually tests — error spotting, a cloze test, para jumbles, fillers, synonyms and antonyms, and one reading comprehension passage. The level is 10+2.
Key takeaway: These 20 questions are original practice questions written for this page. They are not previous-year questions and are not copied from any paper, book or website. Work them timed — 20 questions in about 12 minutes matches the Tier 1 sectional pace of 36 seconds per question — and read every explanation, including for the ones you got right.
How to Use This Set
The Tier 1 English section gives you 25 questions in 15 minutes, so speed is the skill being tested as much as grammar. Three habits pay off. First, in error spotting, read the sentence once for meaning and once for agreement — subject-verb agreement and pronoun errors hide in the middle of long sentences. Second, in cloze tests, read the whole passage before filling any blank; the tone of the passage usually eliminates two options at once. Third, in para jumbles, find the opening sentence first — it never starts with a pronoun like "his" or "this" referring to something not yet introduced. The answer key is spread across all four options, so no guessing pattern helps; only the explanations do.
SSC CHSL English Method Box
- Error spotting: check subject-verb agreement first, then pronouns, then prepositions. "Neither of the two sisters" takes a singular verb: "has", not "have".
- Cloze test: the blank must fit grammar and meaning and tone. A passage praising a change needs a positive word; a negative option is out before you read the rest.
- Para jumbles: the first sentence introduces the topic; the last sentence concludes it. Link sentences by pronouns and connectors — "his press" must come after the press is introduced.
- Fillers: read the sentence with each option inserted. The right word keeps both the grammar and the logic; a word that fits the grammar but breaks the meaning is wrong.
- Synonyms and antonyms: if you do not know the word, eliminate what you do know. In "meticulous", "careless", "hasty" and "sloppy" are all negative; the positive word left is the answer.
Question 1 — Error Spotting
Q1. Find the part with the error: (A) Neither of the two sisters / (B) have applied / (C) for the scholarship / (D) No error
(A) Neither of the two sisters (B) have applied (C) for the scholarship (D) No error
Answer: (B) have applied. "Neither" is singular, so the verb must be singular: "has applied", not "have applied". The phrase "of the two sisters" does not change the number of the subject — "neither" is the subject, and it is singular. This is one of the most repeated error-spotting patterns in SSC papers: a plural noun after "of" tempting you into a plural verb.
Question 2 — Synonym
Q2. Choose the word nearest in meaning to METICULOUS.
(A) Careless (B) Hasty (C) Sloppy (D) Thorough
Answer: (D) Thorough. Meticulous means showing great attention to detail and being very careful and precise — a meticulous worker checks everything twice. "Thorough" carries the same sense of completeness and care. The other three options are all opposites: careless, hasty and sloppy all describe a lack of attention.
Question 3 — Antonym
Q3. Choose the word opposite in meaning to OBSCURE.
(A) Clear (B) Vague (C) Hidden (D) Dim
Answer: (A) Clear. Obscure means not well known, or difficult to understand — an obscure poet, an obscure passage. Its opposite is "clear": well known or easy to understand. "Vague", "hidden" and "dim" are all close in meaning to obscure, not opposite to it.
Cloze Test (Questions 4–8)
Read the passage and fill in the blanks.
Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, has (4) ______ the way Indians pay for everyday things. In 2016, when it was (5) ______, few imagined that it would become the backbone of digital payments in the country. Today, even a street vendor (6) ______ QR codes, and a vegetable seller in a small town takes payments on a phone. The system works (7) ______ the clock, moving money from one bank account to another in seconds, without any fee for most users. Its success has (8) ______ other countries to build similar systems of their own.
Question 4 — Cloze Test
Q4. Blank (4)
(A) complicated (B) slowed (C) transformed (D) ignored
Answer: (C) transformed. The passage describes a complete change in how Indians pay, so the verb must mean "changed completely". "Transformed" fits the grammar — "has transformed the way" — and the positive tone of the passage. "Complicated" and "slowed" contradict the praise that follows, and "ignored" makes no sense with "the way Indians pay".
Question 5 — Cloze Test
Q5. Blank (5)
(A) abandoned (B) launched (C) banned (D) forgotten
Answer: (B) launched. The sentence gives the year 2016 and says few imagined what would follow — that is the language of a launch, not an abandonment or a ban. "When it was launched" is also the standard collocation for a new payment system. "Abandoned" and "banned" would make the rest of the passage, which describes UPI's success, impossible.
Question 6 — Cloze Test
Q6. Blank (6)
(A) accepts (B) refuses (C) hides (D) breaks
Answer: (A) accepts. The sentence says "even a street vendor ______ QR codes" — the point is that UPI has reached everyone, so the vendor takes QR payments. "Accepts" is the only verb that fits: a vendor accepts a payment method. "Refuses", "hides" and "breaks" all contradict the sentence's meaning.
Question 7 — Cloze Test
Q7. Blank (7)
(A) against (B) under (C) before (D) round
Answer: (D) round. "Round the clock" is a fixed phrase meaning all the time, day and night — exactly what the sentence claims about UPI, which moves money at any hour. None of the other prepositions forms a phrase with "the clock" that fits: "against the clock" means in a hurry, which is not the point here.
Question 8 — Cloze Test
Q8. Blank (8)
(A) discouraged (B) prevented (C) inspired (D) forbidden
Answer: (C) inspired. The sentence says other countries are building similar systems — they were encouraged by UPI's success, so "inspired" is the right verb. "Discouraged", "prevented" and "forbidden" all point the wrong way: countries do not copy a system that discouraged them.
Question 9 — Para Jumble
Q9. Rearrange these sentences into a coherent paragraph.
A. Before the printing press, books were copied by hand. B. In the 1440s, Johannes Gutenberg developed movable type in Germany. C. His press could produce hundreds of copies in the time a scribe needed for one. D. Within decades, printed books spread across Europe and changed how knowledge travelled.
(A) A-B-C-D (B) B-C-A-D (C) C-B-D-A (D) D-A-C-B
Answer: (A) A-B-C-D. Sentence A sets the scene — the world before printing. Sentence B introduces the invention. Sentence C explains what the invention could do ("his press" refers back to Gutenberg's press in B, so C must follow B). Sentence D concludes with the result. Any order that puts C before B fails, because "his" would have nothing to refer to.
Question 10 — Para Jumble
Q10. Rearrange these sentences into a coherent paragraph.
A. A forager bee that finds flowers returns to the hive and performs a waggle dance. B. The angle of the dance tells other bees the direction of the flowers relative to the sun. C. The length of the waggle run tells them how far away the food is. D. Following these instructions, the other bees fly straight to the source.
(A) B-A-D-C (B) A-B-C-D (C) C-D-A-B (D) D-C-B-A
Answer: (B) A-B-C-D. Sentence A introduces the dance. Sentences B and C explain the two pieces of information the dance carries — direction first, then distance. Sentence D is the conclusion: the other bees use the information and fly to the flowers. D cannot come before A, because "these instructions" needs the dance to have been described first.
Question 11 — Filler
Q11. Choose the word that best fills the blank: The new policy aims to ______ the gap between rural and urban schools.
(A) widen (B) ignore (C) measure (D) bridge
Answer: (D) bridge. "To bridge a gap" is the standard collocation — it means to reduce the difference between two things. A policy that aims to fix inequality between rural and urban schools wants to bridge the gap, not widen it. "Ignore" and "measure" do not fit the purpose of a policy at all.
Question 12 — Double Filler
Q12. Choose the pair that best fills the blanks: Despite the ______ weather, the match continued ______ interruption.
(A) pleasant, with (B) mild, after (C) harsh, without (D) fine, during
Answer: (C) harsh, without. The sentence sets up a contrast: the weather was bad, but the match went on anyway. "Harsh weather" creates that contrast, and "without interruption" completes it — the match continued without stopping. "Pleasant" or "fine" weather gives no reason for a "despite", and "with interruption" contradicts "continued".
Reading Comprehension (Questions 13–17)
Read the passage and answer the questions.
The Chipko movement began in 1973 in the Chamoli district of what is now Uttarakhand. When contractors arrived to cut down trees in the forests, villagers — led in many places by women — hugged the trees and refused to move. The word "chipko" itself means to hug or to cling. In March 1974, at Reni village, Gaura Devi led a group of women who stood between the trees and the axes for four days until the contractors left. The movement was popularised across India by Sunderlal Bahuguna, who walked through the Himalayan villages spreading its message. Its success inspired similar protests in other hill regions, and it forced the government to think again about who a forest belongs to — the people who live beside it, or the contractors who cut it.
Question 13 — Reading Comprehension
Q13. In which year did the Chipko movement begin?
(A) 1973 (B) 1974 (C) 1971 (D) 1975
Answer: (A) 1973. The first sentence of the passage states it directly: the movement began in 1973 in the Chamoli district. 1974 is the year of the Reni protest led by Gaura Devi — a different event in the same movement, and the passage's most likely trap.
Question 14 — Reading Comprehension
Q14. Who led the women at Reni village in 1974?
(A) Sunderlal Bahuguna (B) Gaura Devi (C) Chandi Prasad Bhatt (D) Medha Patkar
Answer: (B) Gaura Devi. The passage says: "In March 1974, at Reni village, Gaura Devi led a group of women who stood between the trees and the axes for four days." Sunderlal Bahuguna popularised the movement; he did not lead the Reni protest. Medha Patkar belongs to the Narmada Bachao Andolan, not Chipko.
Question 15 — Reading Comprehension
Q15. What did the villagers do to protect the trees?
(A) They cut them down first (B) They filed a case in court (C) They planted new trees (D) They hugged the trees
Answer: (D) They hugged the trees. The passage says the villagers "hugged the trees and refused to move" when the contractors arrived. That act of hugging is what gave the movement its name. No court case or replanting is mentioned in the passage.
Question 16 — Reading Comprehension
Q16. The word "chipko" means:
(A) to plant (B) to cut (C) to hug or to cling (D) to protest
Answer: (C) to hug or to cling. The passage states it in plain words: 'The word "chipko" itself means to hug or to cling.' "To protest" is what the movement did, not what the word means.
Question 17 — Reading Comprehension
Q17. According to the passage, the movement spread because:
(A) its success inspired similar protests in other hill villages (B) the government ordered it to spread (C) contractors invited villagers to join (D) it was shown on television every day
Answer: (A) its success inspired similar protests in other hill villages. The passage's last sentences say exactly this: "Its success inspired similar protests in other hill regions." The other options are not in the passage — the government was forced to rethink, not to spread the movement, and television plays no part in the story.
Question 18 — Error Spotting
Q18. Find the part with the error: (A) The quality of the mangoes / (B) from this orchard / (C) are excellent / (D) every year.
(A) The quality of the mangoes (B) from this orchard (C) are excellent (D) every year
Answer: (C) are excellent. The subject is "the quality", which is singular, so the verb must be "is excellent". The plural noun "mangoes" sits between the subject and the verb and tempts you into "are" — the same trap as Question 1. The rule is the same: find the real subject, ignore the words between it and the verb.
Question 19 — Synonym
Q19. Choose the word nearest in meaning to CANDID.
(A) Secretive (B) Frank (C) Deceitful (D) Reserved
Answer: (B) Frank. Candid means truthful and straightforward — a candid opinion is one given honestly, without hiding anything. "Frank" is the same idea. The other three options are opposites: secretive, deceitful and reserved all describe holding the truth back.
Question 20 — Antonym
Q20. Choose the word opposite in meaning to EXPAND.
(A) Extend (B) Enlarge (C) Widen (D) Contract
Answer: (D) Contract. Expand means to become larger; contract means to become smaller — a muscle contracts, a market contracts. "Extend", "enlarge" and "widen" are all synonyms of expand, not opposites.
Common Mistakes in CHSL English
- Trusting the noun nearest the verb. In "the quality of the mangoes are excellent", the verb belongs to "quality", not "mangoes". Find the subject before you judge the verb.
- Filling cloze blanks without reading the passage. A blank that looks right in isolation can break the passage's tone. Read the whole passage first, then fill.
- Starting a jumble from the middle. The opening sentence introduces the topic without pronouns pointing backwards. Find it first, then chain the rest.
- Treating "despite" as decoration. "Despite the pleasant weather" is nonsense — "despite" needs a contrast. If the first blank is positive, the sentence has no reason to exist.
- Answering RC questions from memory instead of the passage. The Chipko passage says 1973; general knowledge says the Reni protest was 1974. The passage is the only source that counts.
Memory Tricks for CHSL English
- "Neither" is always singular. Neither of the sisters has — never "have". The same goes for "either" and "each".
- Cloze: tone first, grammar second. Two options usually fail on tone alone; the remaining two are decided by grammar.
- Jumbles: pronouns point backwards. "His press", "these instructions", "this success" — the sentence with the pronoun comes after the sentence that introduces the thing.
- RC: the passage is the answer key. If an option is not stated or clearly implied in the passage, it is wrong, however true it is in real life.
SSC CHSL English FAQs
How many English questions are there in CHSL Tier 1?
25 questions for 50 marks, with a 15-minute sectional timer. Each question carries 2 marks and 0.50 is deducted for a wrong answer.
Are these CHSL English questions from previous year papers?
No. All 20 questions on this page are original practice questions written for this page. They are modelled on the Tier 1 English section's style and difficulty. For real previous year papers, see the CHSL previous year paper note linked below.
What is the best way to practise the cloze test?
Read the whole passage first, decide its tone, then fill the blanks in order. In this set, the UPI passage is positive throughout, which eliminates every negative option before grammar is even considered.
How much time should I spend on English in Tier 1?
15 minutes for 25 questions — 36 seconds per question. If a question takes more than a minute, mark it and move on; the timer closes the section automatically.
Does Tier 1 English count in the final merit?
No. Tier 1 is a screening test; its marks do not go into the final merit list. Final merit is made from Tier 2 Section I and Section II only: 360 marks.
Practice Next for SSC CHSL English
- Pattern: SSC CHSL exam pattern 2026
- Syllabus: SSC CHSL syllabus 2026
- Reasoning set: SSC CHSL reasoning questions
- Quant set: SSC CHSL quant questions
- Previous papers: SSC CHSL previous year question paper
- Cut-off: SSC CHSL cut off
- Salary: SSC CHSL salary 2026
- Practice: SSC CHSL English sectional mock test 10, SSC CHSL Tier 1 English paper 15 November Shift 1, SSC CHSL Tier 2 English sectional mock test 01
Sources: house SSC CHSL exam pattern note (Tier 1: 100 questions, 200 marks, 60 minutes, 15-minute sectional timers, 0.50 negative marking; Tier 2 merit 360 marks) and house SSC CHSL reasoning questions note for the question-set format. Chipko movement facts (1973, Chamoli; Gaura Devi at Reni, March 1974; Sunderlal Bahuguna) are standard historical facts. All 20 questions are original and were written for this page. As of 6 November 2026.