SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 10 September 2024, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 19 of 100

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 6 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined words in the given sentence. Rare species of frogs were very quicker identified by Stella.

(a)of frogs were very quickly
(b)to frogs were very quickly
(c)of frogs were very quicklier
(d)in frogs were very quicker

Answer

Why

Correct — A. The word being modified is the verb identified, so the modifier must be the adverb quickly, not the comparative 'quicker'.

Very is the second trigger. It goes with a plain form — 'very quickly' — while a comparative takes 'much' or 'far'. 'Very quicker' is impossible whatever else the sentence does.

The preposition is fixed too: a species of frogs. Option (a) is the only choice that repairs the adverb and keeps that preposition.

Why the others are wrong

(b)
to frogs were very quickly — The adverb is repaired here, but to frogs is not English. A species is named with 'of' — species of frogs — so this option trades one error for another.
(c)
of frogs were very quicklier — Quicklier is not a word. The comparative of 'quickly' is 'more quickly', and the sentence sets up no comparison that would call for one.
(d)
in frogs were very quicker — This keeps the original fault. Very quicker is still ungrammatical, and 'species in frogs' adds a wrong preposition on top of it.

Concept

Two rules meet in this sentence, and SSC likes stacking them.

First, adverbs modify verbs. 'Identified' is a verb, so it takes 'quickly'; 'quicker' is the comparative of the adjective 'quick'.

Second, 'very' does not modify a comparative. Degree words split into two families: very, quite and extremely go with the plain form, while much, far and a lot go with the comparative.

The second rule alone kills 'very quicker', without needing any judgement about adverbs.

The response sheet does not carry the underlining, but the four options differ only in the preposition and in the form of 'quick', which fixes what was underlined.

Key facts

Adverbs, not adjectives, modify verbs: 'identified quickly', not 'identified quicker'.
Very modifies a plain form only, while a comparative takes much, far or a lot.
The comparative of the adverb quickly is 'more quickly'.
The noun species takes the preposition of: a species of frog.

Study next

Adjective against adverb after action verbs and after linking verbsDegree words that pair with comparatives: much, far, a lot, even, stillFixed prepositions after nouns such as species, kind, type and variety

Common traps

Accepting 'very quicker' because 'quicker' passes for an adverb in speech.
Checking only the adverb and missing that option (b) has swapped the preposition.

This is SSC's substitute-the-underlined-words frame, used again in this shift's English Q.8, where the repair is the preposition in 'in the matter of taking up'. Expect at least one option that fixes the visible error and breaks something else.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.