SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 12 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 9 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 11 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Select the correct option: While the proposal appeared pragmatic on paper, its implementation proved ___ complicated than expected.

(a)less
(b)more
(c)much
(d)rather

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Two triggers decide the blank.

Than expected needs a comparative in front of it. Complicated is a long adjective, so its comparative is built with more or less, never with -er.

While sets up a contrast: the proposal looked pragmatic on paper, so the implementation must turn out harder, not easier. That gives more complicated than expected → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
less — Less is a comparative, so the grammar works, but the logic does not. 'Less complicated than expected' would agree with the pragmatic look, leaving While nothing to contrast.
(c)
much — Much is not a comparative, so 'much complicated than' gives than no comparative to follow. Much can strengthen a comparative, as in much more complicated, but cannot stand in for one.
(d)
rather — Rather before an adjective means 'fairly', as in rather complicated, and is not a comparative either. 'Rather more complicated than expected' would work, because the more does the comparing.

Concept

In a comparison, than needs a comparative in front of it. Short adjectives add -er (faster, cheaper). Adjectives of three or more syllables, like complicated, use more and less instead.

Grammar narrows the options to less and more. Meaning picks between them. While here is contrastive: it sets one clause against the other.

'Appeared pragmatic on paper' is the favourable half, so the second half must go against it: the implementation proved more complicated than expected.

Pragmatic here means practical and realistic, the kind of plan that should be straightforward to carry out. That expectation is exactly what the second clause overturns.

Key facts

Than in a comparison needs a comparative: more complicated than, cheaper than.
Adjectives of three or more syllables form comparatives with more and less, not -er.
Much and far can strengthen a comparative: much more complicated, far cheaper.
While can introduce a contrast, meaning although or whereas.

Study next

Intensifiers before comparatives, such as much, far, even and ratherContrastive conjunctions such as while, whereas, although and even thoughTwo-syllable adjectives where -er and more both occur, such as narrower and more narrow

Common traps

Choosing less on grammar alone without checking what While sets up
Choosing much because 'much more' is familiar, forgetting that the more is missing from the option

Than needing a real comparative is tested as error-spotting at 24 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.9, where 'move slowly than' is keyed as the error (it needs more slowly).

The same rule is tested as a substitution at 26 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.20, where 'is costly than' is replaced by the keyed 'is costlier'.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Fill in the blank — all 40 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.