SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 26 September 2024, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 2 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 10 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.

Identify the error in the given sentence. My colleague always works latest than me.

(a)My colleague
(b)latest
(c)than me.
(d)always works

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The trigger is than. A comparison built on than needs the comparative degree, but option (b) prints latest, which is the superlative of late.

The word modifies the verb works, so the sentence needs later: 'My colleague always works later than me.' A superlative pairs with the and a group — 'works the latest of all' — and cannot stand in a than-clause.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
My colleague — My colleague is a well-formed singular subject and it agrees with the singular verb works. Nothing in this segment touches the comparison.
(c)
than me. — than me is standard modern English, with than working as a preposition before an object pronoun. The formal 'than I' is an alternative, not a correction — this segment is not the error.
(d)
always works — always works puts the frequency adverb before the main verb, which is where it belongs, and the simple present is right for a habitual action.

Concept

English grades adjectives and adverbs in three degrees — positive (late), comparative (later), superlative (latest). Which one you need is decided by the structure of the sentence, not by how emphatic it feels.

than is the signature of a comparative: two things are ranked against each other. the … of or the … in is the signature of a superlative: one thing is ranked against a whole group.

Error-spotting items exploit the mismatch by dropping a superlative into a than-clause. Find the connector first, then check the degree sitting beside it.

The item asks which labelled segment carries the error, so your answer is a segment, not a repaired sentence. You still have to know the repair — later — to be sure you have picked the right segment.

Key facts

A comparison using than requires the comparative degree: later, faster, more careful.
The superlative takes the and a group: 'the latest train of the day'.
Late has two comparison sets — later and latest for time, latter and last for order.
An adverb of frequency such as always stands before the main verb in the simple present.

Study next

Degrees of comparison and the words that signal eachDouble comparatives such as 'more better' in error-spotting itemsPlacement of always, often and never around main and auxiliary verbs

Common traps

Marking 'than me' as the error — it is accepted standard usage.
Reading latest as 'most recent' and letting it pass unchallenged.
Changing works to worked when the sentence describes a habit.

The sentence arrives split into four labelled segments, one of which is faulty. The comparison word is where to look first, because it fixes the degree the sentence is allowed to use.

A rewriting cousin turns up at 10 Sep 2024, 12:30, EC Q19, where 'were very quicker identified' has to become 'were very quickly identified'.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.