Word Swap Questions for Bank Exams with Answers and Tricks

What Are Word Swap Questions in Bank Exams? (Quick Answer)

Word swap questions for bank exams give you one sentence with four (sometimes five) highlighted words. Two of those words have been put in each other's places. Your job is to find the pair that must be interchanged to make the sentence grammatically correct and meaningful, or to mark "No interchange required" if the sentence is already right.

The fastest way to solve them is to check two things for every highlighted word: does it fit its grammatical slot (noun, verb, adjective, verb form), and does it make logical sense in its place? The pair that fails is almost always the pair to swap.

🔥 Key Exam Takeaway: Words of the same part of speech usually swap with each other (noun with noun, verb with verb). Check the slot first, then the meaning. If no pair fixes the sentence and every word already fits, the answer is No interchange required.

This note covers the question format seen in IBPS Clerk, IBPS PO, SBI Clerk and SBI PO prelims, six rules for spotting the pair, a five-step method, 16 solved examples, 8 practice questions with explanations, and a quick revision table.

Word Swap Question Format in IBPS and SBI Exams

A typical question reads like this:

In the sentence given below, four words are highlighted. Which of the following pairs of words should be interchanged to make the sentence grammatically and contextually correct? If no interchange is required, mark "No interchange required" as your answer.

The answer options list pairs such as A-B, A-C, B-D, C-D and "No interchange required". Some papers also use a harder version where two pairs must be swapped (for example "A-C and B-D"), or where the sentence has five highlighted words.

Feature	What to expect
Highlighted words	Usually 4, sometimes 5
Words to swap	Usually 1 pair; sometimes 2 pairs
Special option	"No interchange required"
Time to aim for	About 20 to 30 seconds per question
Main skill tested	Parts of speech, verb forms, agreement, collocation and logic

Word Swap Rules: 6 Ways to Spot the Swapped Pair

#	Rule	Ask yourself	Quick example of a wrong slot
1	Part of speech	Does a noun sit where a verb is needed, or an adjective where a noun is needed?	"The surprised fall... rates sudden..."
2	Verb form	Does the form match what comes before it (to + base, has + V3, preposition + -ing, modal + base)?	"has comparing", "after decided"
3	Roles and logic	Is the doer doing something it can really do?	"The patient examined the doctor"
4	Number agreement	Do singular/plural nouns match their verb, a/an, each of, many/much?	"an original applicants"
5	Collocations and prepositions	Is it a fixed pair like "interested in", "pay attention", "take notes"?	"interested at"
6	Double swap / no swap	Does one swap fix everything? If not, try two swaps. If nothing is wrong, choose no interchange.	"The crossed road old..."

Rule 1: Match the part of speech

Every highlighted word must fit its slot. A slot after "the" or "a" usually needs a noun or an adjective + noun. A slot right after the subject usually needs a verb. When you see an adjective sitting where a verb should be, look for the verb sitting somewhere else. That is your pair.

Rule 2: Check the verb form after its trigger

These triggers fix the form of the next verb:

Trigger	Form needed	Example
to (infinitive)	base form	to open, to reduce
has / have / had	past participle (V3)	has decided
is / was / were + (passive)	past participle (V3)	were introduced
can / could / will / must (modals)	base form	can withdraw
preposition (after, before, of, without, instead of)	-ing form	after comparing, without visiting

If one verb form appears at the wrong trigger and the matching form appears at another trigger, swap them.

Rule 3: Check who does what

Sometimes every word fits its slot and the sentence still makes no sense: "The patient examined the doctor." Grammar cannot catch this; logic can. Ask who can really do the action: doctors examine, police arrest, banks charge fees.

Rule 4: Check number agreement

"Each of the / one of the / many / several" + plural noun
"a / an / every / each" + singular noun
"much" + uncountable noun (time, money, interest); "many" + countable plural (questions, people)
The verb agrees with its own subject: "There are many reasons" but "the project was delayed"

Rule 5: Respect fixed collocations and prepositions

English pairs some words in fixed ways. Learn the common ones; they decide many swaps.

Fixed pair	Wrong form you may see
interested in	interested at
fond of	fond on
keen on	keen of
pay attention	take attention
take notes	pay notes
make a mistake	do a mistake
do homework	make homework
depend on	depend of

Rule 6: Try a double swap, and trust "No interchange"

If one swap fixes half the sentence but leaves another error, the question may need two swaps. If every word passes Rules 1 to 5, mark "No interchange required". Do not force a swap just because the option exists.

Word Swap Tricks: 5-Step Method (20 Seconds per Question)

Read the whole sentence once for its meaning. Do not look at the options yet.
Label each highlighted word: noun, verb (and its form), adjective, adverb.
Pair same-type words. Two nouns, two verbs or two adjectives are the likely pair. Ignore pairs of different types unless their slots clearly need each other.
Swap mentally and reread. The right swap fixes the grammar and the meaning together.
Check the options. If your pair is there, mark it. If one swap leaves an error, look for a two-pair option. If nothing was wrong, mark "No interchange required".

💡 Pro Tip: Start from the most obvious error, such as "to + -ed" or "a + plural noun". The word that causes it is one half of the pair. The other half is usually the one word of the same type that would fit there.

Word Swap Questions with Answers (IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk and SBI PO Style)

Each example shows the question, the options, the answer and why it works. All sentences are original and written in the current bank exam style.

Word Swap Examples: Part of Speech

Example 1

The surprised (A) fall in interest (B) rates sudden (C) most investors (D).

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. The slot after "rates" needs the main verb, but it holds the adjective "sudden". An adjective cannot do a verb's job. Swap them: the adjective "sudden" describes "fall", and "surprised" becomes the main verb.

Correct sentence: The sudden fall in interest rates surprised most investors.

Example 2

Regular exercise (A) physical (B) both improves (C) and mental health (D).

(a) A-D
(b) B-C
(c) B-D
(d) A-C
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) B-C. After the subject "exercise" we need a verb, not the adjective "physical". And "both ___ and mental" needs an adjective to pair with "mental". Swapping B and C fixes both slots at once.

Correct sentence: Regular exercise improves both physical and mental health.

Example 3

The slowed (A) driver careful (B) down near (C) the school (D).

(a) A-B
(b) A-D
(c) B-C
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (a) A-B. "The slowed driver" uses a past-tense verb as an adjective, and "careful down" has no verb at all. "Slowed down" is the phrasal verb, so "slowed" goes to B and "careful" goes before "driver".

Correct sentence: The careful driver slowed down near the school.

Word Swap Examples: Verb Forms

Example 4

He has comparing (A) to open (B) a savings account after decided (C) the interest rates (D) of three banks.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-C
(d) B-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. "Has comparing" is not a tense, and "after decided" is wrong because a preposition ("after") takes an -ing form. Put the past participle after "has" and the -ing form after "after".

Correct sentence: He has decided to open a savings account after comparing the interest rates of three banks.

Example 5

Instead of walk (A) for the bus, Riya chose (B) to waiting (C) to the office (D).

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. "Instead of" is a preposition, so it needs an -ing form: "instead of waiting". "Chose to" needs the base form: "chose to walk".

Correct sentence: Instead of waiting for the bus, Riya chose to walk to the office.

Example 6

The new rules were reduce (A) to introduced (B) delays (C) in processing (D) loan applications.

(a) A-B
(b) A-D
(c) B-C
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (a) A-B. "Were reduce" is not a passive form; passive needs "were + past participle" ("were introduced"). "To introduced" is also wrong: "to" + base form gives "to reduce".

Correct sentence: The new rules were introduced to reduce delays in processing loan applications.

Word Swap Examples: Roles and Logic

Example 7

The patient (A) examined (B) the doctor (C) carefully before prescribing (D) the medicine.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. The grammar is fine, so check roles. A patient does not examine a doctor and then prescribe medicine. Swap the two nouns so the doctor does the examining and prescribing.

Correct sentence: The doctor examined the patient carefully before prescribing the medicine.

Example 8

The police (A) was caught (B) by the thief (C) while trying to escape (D).

(a) A-C
(b) A-D
(c) B-D
(d) B-C
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (a) A-C. Two clues point to the same pair. Police are the ones who catch, and "police" takes a plural verb ("the police were"), so "the police was" is itself a warning sign. With "thief" as the subject, "was" is correct.

Correct sentence: The thief was caught by the police while trying to escape.

Example 9

She completed the deadline (A) well ahead (B) of the project (C) set by her manager (D).

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) A-D
(d) B-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. You complete a project, not a deadline, and you finish ahead of a deadline. Swap the two nouns. "Manager" is right where it is, since a manager sets deadlines.

Correct sentence: She completed the project well ahead of the deadline set by her manager.

Word Swap Examples: Number Agreement

Example 10

Each of the certificate (A) was (B) asked to bring an original (C) applicants (D).

(a) A-B
(b) A-D
(c) B-C
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-D. "Each of the" must be followed by a plural noun ("each of the applicants"). "An original applicants" breaks the a/an + singular rule. Swapping A and D fixes both.

Correct sentence: Each of the applicants was asked to bring an original certificate.

Example 11

There was (A) many reasons (B) why the project (C) are (D) delayed.

(a) A-B
(b) A-D
(c) B-C
(d) B-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-D. "There ___ many reasons": the verb agrees with the plural "reasons", so "are". "The project ___ delayed": singular subject, past event, so "was".

Correct sentence: There are many reasons why the project was delayed.

Example 12

He did not have many (A) time (B) to answer much (C) questions (D) in the test.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. "Time" is uncountable and takes "much"; "questions" is countable plural and takes "many".

Correct sentence: He did not have much time to answer many questions in the test.

Word Swap Examples: Collocations and Prepositions

Example 13

Ravi is good (A) in finance and interested (B) at solving (C) numerical (D) problems.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (a) A-B. The fixed pairs are "interested in" and "good at". "Interested at" is never correct, so the two adjectives swap.

Correct sentence: Ravi is interested in finance and good at solving numerical problems.

Example 14

He took (A) attention (B) to the lecture and paid (C) notes (D) carefully.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. The collocations are "pay attention" and "take notes". "Took attention" and "paid notes" are not English. Swap the verbs; both stay in the past tense, so nothing else changes.

Correct sentence: He paid attention to the lecture and took notes carefully.

Word Swap Examples: Double Swap and No Interchange

Example 15

The crossed (A) road (B) old (C) the busy man (D) slowly.

(a) A-C
(b) B-D
(c) A-C and B-D
(d) A-D and B-C
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (c) A-C and B-D. No single swap works. A-C alone gives "The old road crossed the busy man", which is grammatical but makes no sense, and B-D alone leaves "the crossed man old". You need both swaps.

Correct sentence: The old man crossed the busy road slowly.

Example 16

The clerk (A) verified (B) the signature (C) before releasing (D) the payment.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (e) No interchange required. Every word fits its slot: noun, past-tense verb, noun, -ing after "before". The roles make sense, since a clerk verifies a signature. Any swap would break the sentence, so the answer is no interchange.

Common Mistakes in Word Swap Questions

Trap	Why it catches students	How to avoid it
Picking a swap that is grammatical but illogical	"The old road crossed the busy man" has correct grammar	Always reread for meaning after the swap
Swapping words of different parts of speech	It feels like it fixes one error	Two different types rarely fit each other's slots
Ignoring the "No interchange" option	Students assume one pair must be wrong	If every word passes all checks, trust it
Stopping at one swap in a two-pair question	Half the sentence looks fixed	Reread the whole sentence after every swap
Missing small agreement clues	"a", "each of", "much", "was/were" are short words	Circle them; they often point straight to the pair
Changing words that are not highlighted	Only highlighted words can move	Never edit the rest of the sentence

Word Swap Rules: Quick Revision Table

Clue you see	Likely problem	Look for
Adjective in a verb slot	Part of speech	A verb elsewhere in a noun or adjective slot
to + V2/V3, has + -ing, modal + -ing	Verb form	Another verb with the matching form
Preposition + base verb	Verb form	An -ing word in a "to" slot
Doer cannot do the action	Roles and logic	The other noun that can
a/an + plural, each of + singular	Number	The plural/singular noun elsewhere
much + plural, many + uncountable	Countable vs uncountable	The other quantifier
interested at, fond on, took attention	Collocation	The word that belongs in that fixed pair
One swap leaves an error	Double swap	A two-pair option
Nothing is wrong	No swap	"No interchange required"

Word Swap Practice Questions for Bank Exams with Answers

Try each question first, then read the answer and explanation below it. In each question, choose the pair of highlighted words that should be interchanged to make the sentence correct.

Q1. The houses (A) damaged (B) several storm (C) in the village (D).

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. A storm damages houses, not the other way round. "Several storm" is also wrong, because "several" needs a plural noun.

Correct sentence: The storm damaged several houses in the village.

Q2. The meal (A) cooked (B) a delicious (C) chef (D) for the guests.

(a) A-B
(b) A-D
(c) B-C
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-D. A chef cooks a meal. As written, "a delicious chef" is cooked by a meal. Swap the two nouns.

Correct sentence: The chef cooked a delicious meal for the guests.

Q3. Customers can (A) now visiting (B) cash (C) without withdraw (D) a branch.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (c) B-D. "Can visiting" is wrong because a modal (can) takes the base form. "Without withdraw" is wrong because a preposition takes -ing. Swap B and D.

Correct sentence: Customers can now withdraw cash without visiting a branch.

Q4. The robber (A) arrested (B) the police (C) who had looted (D) the bank.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. The police arrest robbers, and robbers loot banks. Swap the two nouns.

Correct sentence: The police arrested the robber who had looted the bank.

Q5. Only a much (A) people (B) showed few (C) interest (D) in the offer.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (b) A-C. "A few" goes with countable "people"; "much" goes with uncountable "interest". "A much" is never correct.

Correct sentence: Only a few people showed much interest in the offer.

Q6. He is keen (A) of music and fond (B) on learning (C) the guitar (D).

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (a) A-B. The fixed pairs are "fond of" and "keen on". "Keen of" and "fond on" are wrong, so swap the adjectives.

Correct sentence: He is fond of music and keen on learning the guitar.

Q7. The bank (A) charged (B) a small fee (C) for issuing (D) the new cheque book.

(a) A-B
(b) A-C
(c) B-D
(d) C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (e) No interchange required. A bank charges a fee; "for issuing" correctly uses -ing after a preposition. Every word is in place.

Q8. The painted (A) picture (B) young (C) a beautiful girl (D).

(a) A-C
(b) B-D
(c) A-C and B-D
(d) A-B and C-D
(e) No interchange required

Answer: (c) A-C and B-D. "The painted picture young" has no main verb in the right place. Swap A-C to get "The young ... painted" and B-D to get "girl ... picture". Doing only one of the two swaps gives nonsense ("The young picture painted a beautiful girl").

Correct sentence: The young girl painted a beautiful picture.

Word Swap Questions FAQs

What are word swap questions in bank exams?

They are English questions where a sentence has four or five highlighted words and two of them are in each other's places. You choose the pair to interchange, or "No interchange required" if the sentence is already correct.

Which bank exams ask word swap questions?

The format appears in the English section of bank exams such as IBPS Clerk, IBPS PO, SBI Clerk and SBI PO, usually in the prelims. The number of questions changes from year to year, so practise the format along with other sentence-based questions.

What is the fastest trick to solve word swap questions?

Label each highlighted word by its part of speech, pair words of the same type, and swap the pair whose slots are wrong. Then reread once for meaning. Most questions take 20 to 30 seconds this way.

Can two pairs be swapped in a word swap question?

Yes. Some questions need two swaps, and the options say so, for example "A-C and B-D". If one swap leaves the sentence half correct, look for a two-pair option.

When should I choose "No interchange required"?

Choose it only when every highlighted word fits its grammatical slot and the sentence makes sense. Test the likely pairs first; if every swap makes the sentence worse, the sentence is already correct.

How can I improve accuracy in word swap questions?

Revise verb forms (to + base form, has + V3, preposition + -ing), number agreement and common collocations like "interested in" and "pay attention". Then practise timed sets so the five steps become automatic.

Practice Next: IBPS and SBI English Mock Tests

Put these rules to work in full-length sections:

IBPS Clerk English Language Sectional Mock Test 01
SBI Clerk English Language Sectional Mock Test 01
SBI PO and Clerk Error Spotting Mock Test
Applying now? Read the SBI Clerk Recruitment 2026 notification.
Building vocabulary for SSC too? See Phrasal Verbs for SSC CGL.
More study material: all BookOfExams notes.

🚀 Final Exam Tip: Slot first, meaning second. If a swap fixes the grammar but the sentence still sounds strange, keep looking.

Best of luck with your preparation!