SSC CGL Noun Questions with Detailed Solutions

Option (b) correctly identifies the erroneous sentences — A and B.
Sentence A contains two faults. The collective noun committee, when acting as a single body, takes a singular verb, and the possessive its in the same sentence confirms that it is being treated as singular; “have submitted” must therefore be has submitted. Moreover, the adverb yesterday indicates finished past time and cannot stand with the Present Perfect at all. The corrected sentence reads: “The committee submitted its report to the Speaker yesterday.”
Sentence B violates the rule that each / every / either / neither, when used as the subject, is always singular, irrespective of the plural noun that follows of. The correct form is: “Each of the candidates was asked…”.
Sentence C is correct. Parenthetical phrases introduced by along with, as well as, together with, in addition to, besides do not affect the number of the subject; the verb agrees with the original subject the principal, which is singular, so was is right.
Grammatical rule used: i) Collective noun + singular verb when acting as one unit; (ii) Each/Every + singular verb; (iii) the verb ignores the parenthetical phrase.
Example: Every one of the files has been digitised; the registrar, as well as his assistants, was present.
Information Booster: Had the words its been replaced by their in Sentence A, the plural verb would have become defensible, since committee can be treated as plural when its members are thought of as acting individually. Always let the pronoun inside the sentence guide the choice of verb.

Option (a) contains an error.
“Britains” is a plural form, but here the sense is possessive — the towns belonging to Britain. A proper noun showing possession must take an apostrophe + s. Hence “Britains” must be replaced with “ Britain’s”. The correct sentence is: “ Britain’s towns were given a new and an elegant appearance between 1700 and 1830.”
Grammatical rule used: Possessive case of singular nouns (including proper nouns) is formed by adding ‘s.
Example: India’s economy, Ram’s book, the teacher’s desk.
�� Information Booster: For plural nouns already ending in -s, only an apostrophe is added — “the boys’ hostel”, “the students’ union”.

Option (b) contains an error.
The head noun of the subject is ‘ The paradigm’, a singular noun; ‘of rational choice theory’ is only a qualifying phrase. A singular subject requires a singular verb, so ‘postulate’ must be corrected to ‘ postulates’ — “The paradigm of rational choice theory postulates that agents act consistently…”. Segments (1), (3) and (4) are free of error: the participial phrase ‘often ignoring…’ correctly modifies the subject and ‘imposed by’ is the right passive participle.
Grammatical rule used: The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, never with a noun inside the intervening prepositional phrase.
Example: The cost of these services has risen sharply this year.
�� Information booster: The rule reverses for ‘a number of’ — “A number of students are absent” takes a plural verb, while “ The number of students is falling” takes a singular one.

Option (b) contains an error.
When a plural-looking expression of distance, weight, time, money or measurement is treated as a single unit or amount, it takes a singular verb. Here ‘Ten miles’ is not ten separate miles but one single stretch of distance, and the complement ‘a long distance’ is itself singular. Hence ‘are’ must be replaced by ‘ is’: “Ten miles is a long distance to walk.”
Grammatical rule used: Nouns of measurement used as one whole quantity take a singular verb, even when plural in form.
Example: Twenty thousand rupees is a big amount for him; five years is a long wait.
�� Information booster: The verb turns plural only when the units are viewed separately — “Ten miles of this road are still unpaved.” The same logic governs ‘Mathematics is’, ‘The news is’, and ‘Two-thirds of the land is’.

Option (a) contains an error.
The article ‘a’ and the adjective ‘rapid’ both demand a noun after them, but ‘recover’ is a verb. The correct noun form is ‘ recovery’, so the sentence must read ‘We are hopeful for a rapid recovery.’ The other segments are flawless — ‘are’ agrees with the plural subject ‘We’, ‘hopeful’ is correctly followed by the preposition ‘for’, and ‘rapid’ correctly modifies the noun.
Grammatical rule used: An article (a/an/the) and a descriptive adjective are always followed by a noun, never by a verb; the appropriate noun form of the verb must be used in such a position.
Example: The doctor expects a quick recovery (not ‘recover’) after the operation.
Information booster: Learn such verb–noun pairs that are frequently tested — recover → recovery, arrive → arrival, succeed → success, prefer → preference, advise (v.) → advice (n.), practise (v.) → practice (n.).

Option (b) contains an error.
The structure "one of the + superlative" must be completed by a plural noun, because the phrase picks out a single member from a group of several. To write "one of the finest scholar" implies that only one fine scholar exists, which destroys the sense of selection. The correct part is "one of the finest scholars of his generation". The rest of the sentence - the non-defining relative clause and the present perfect has declined - is flawless.
Grammatical rule used: One of / Each of / Either of / Neither of / None of + plural noun, while the verb of the main clause stays singular ("One of the boys is absent").
Example: She is one of the most accomplished dancers the academy has produced.
�� Information booster: Watch the relative clause after this structure - "He is one of those men who are never satisfied" takes a plural verb because who refers to men, but "He is the only one of those men who is never satisfied" takes a singular verb because who now refers to the only one.

Option (a) contains an error.
The noun "jewellery" is an uncountable noun, so it does not take a plural form. Therefore, "jewelleries" is incorrect. The correct sentence should be:
"These pieces of jewellery are designed by a highly acclaimed expert."
Grammatical rule used:
Uncountable nouns (information, furniture, luggage, jewellery, advice, equipment, etc.) do not generally have plural forms.
Example:
She bought some beautiful jewellery yesterday.
She bought many jewelleries yesterday.
Information Booster:
Words like advice, furniture, luggage, machinery, and jewellery are uncountable and require expressions such as pieces of, items of, etc., when counting.

Option (d) contains an error.
The subject "committee" is a collective noun and is treated as singular when acting as a single unit. Therefore, the singular pronoun "its" should be used instead of "their".
Correct sentence:
"The academic committee was undivided in its decision to hire the new staff."
Grammatical rule used:
A collective noun takes a singular verb and singular pronoun when the group acts as one unit.
Example:
The jury delivered its verdict.
The team celebrated its victory.
Information Booster:
In British English, collective nouns may sometimes take plural pronouns when individual members are emphasized. In SSC examinations, singular agreement is generally preferred unless the context clearly indicates individuals.

Option (a) contains an error. The phrase “professors recommendation” requires a possessive apostrophe because the recommendation belongs to one professor. Therefore, it should be “professor's recommendation.”
Grammatical rule used: A singular noun showing possession takes 's. Since the recommendation is made by/belongs to one professor, professor's is correct.
Example: The professor's recommendation helped the student secure the scholarship.
Information Booster:
· Professor's = belonging to one professor.
· Professors' = belonging to two or more professors.
· Professors = plural form without possession.

Option (c) contains an error.
The phrase “this years” is incorrect because year is being used to show possession in relation to the marketing campaign. The correct form is “this year's”, where the apostrophe indicates possession.
The corrected sentence is: “A bigger budget has been set aside for this year's marketing campaign in Asia.”
Grammatical rule used:
A singular noun showing possession generally takes 's. Since year is singular, we write year's, not years.
Example:
The company's annual meeting will be held next week.
Information Booster: For plural nouns ending in -s, possession is generally shown by placing only an apostrophe after the s: students' books. For a singular noun, use 's: student's book.

The correct substitution of the highlighted words is (c) "Three hours is the duration of the exam."
Explanation:
The noun hour should be in the plural form because it is preceded by the numeral three. Moreover, when a period of time, distance, weight, or amount is considered as one unit, it takes a singular verb. Therefore, Three hours is is grammatically correct.
Grammatical Rule Used:
· Number + Plural Noun → three hours, five kilometres, ten rupees.
· When the phrase expresses one measurement or one unit, it takes a singular verb.
Example:
· Five kilometres is a long walk.
· Ten thousand rupees is a large amount for this work.
Information Booster: Expressions of time, money, distance, weight, and measurement often take a singular verb when viewed as a single quantity.
· Two weeks is enough.
· Fifty kilos is too heavy.

The correct substitution of the highlighted words is (d) "All of the water in the bottles is over and you have to refill them."
Explanation:
The subject water is an uncountable noun, so it correctly takes the singular verb is. The pronoun them correctly refers to bottles, which is plural. Option (d) is the best replacement because "All of the water" is a grammatically complete and natural expression while preserving the correct subject-verb agreement.
Grammatical Rule Used:
· Uncountable nouns take singular verbs.
· Pronouns must agree with the noun they replace.
· Them refers to bottles, not water.
Example:
· All of the milk is finished, so wash the bottles.
· All of the juice is gone; please refill the bottles.
Information Booster: Words like water, milk, furniture, advice, luggage, information, equipment, bread are uncountable nouns and always take singular verbs. Even when followed by a plural noun in a prepositional phrase, the verb agrees with the main subject, not the noun in the phrase.

Option (d) No improvement is the correct answer.
Explanation:
The sentence is grammatically correct as written:
I have published a set of guiding principles that specifies what rewilding should involve and how it should be done.
The relative pronoun that refers to a set, which is a singular noun. Therefore, the singular verb specifies is correct.
The phrase should involve is also grammatically appropriate because should + base form of the verb is used to express what is advisable, expected, or appropriate. The structure how it should be done is also correct.
Grammatical Rule Used:
When a relative clause begins with that, the verb agrees with the noun or antecedent to which that refers.
Structure:
Singular noun + that + singular verb
Example:
· The set of rules that governs the competition is strict.
· A collection of essays that explores environmental issues has been published.
Here:
· Antecedent: a set of guiding principles
· Relative pronoun: that
· Verb: specifies
Therefore, that specifies is correct.
Why other options are incorrect:
· (a) which specify: The verb specify is plural, whereas a set is singular. Therefore, subject–verb agreement is violated.
· (b) which specifies what rewilding shall involve: Although shall is grammatically possible in certain contexts, it changes the original meaning and is less appropriate here. Moreover, the original sentence is already grammatically correct.
· (c) that specify what rewilding is involving: Specify incorrectly disagrees with the singular antecedent set, and is involving is awkward and inappropriate in this context.
Information Booster:
The noun set is singular even when it contains many items.
· A set of rules is provided.
· A set of principles specifies the procedure.
However, when the main noun is plural, the verb becomes plural:
· Sets of rules specify the procedure.
Thus, in the given sentence, a set ... specifies is the correct construction.

Option (A) contains an error.

The phrase 'one of the' must always be followed by a plural noun because you are selecting one item from a group of multiple items. Therefore, 'gift' should be changed to 'gifts'.

Grammatical rule used: $One + of + the + Superlative Adjective + Plural Noun$.
Example: He is one of the most intelligent students in the class.

Information Booster: Although the noun is plural, the verb that follows the phrase 'one of the...' is singular because the subject is 'one'. So the correct answer is (a)