SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 12 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 21 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 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.

Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: The manager asked to the clerk to submit the report.

(a)asked the clerk that submit the report
(b)requested the clerk to submit report
(c)asked the clerk to submit the report
(d)told to the clerk submit report

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The trigger is the verb asked. Ask takes the person as a direct object, with no preposition: asked the clerk, not asked to the clerk.

The action then follows as a to-infinitive: ask + person + to + verb, so asked the clerk to submit the report.

Option (c) removes the stray to and keeps everything else, including the article in the report.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
asked the clerk that submit the report — That must open a full clause with its own subject, as in asked that the clerk submit the report. Here submit is left with no subject.
(b)
requested the clerk to submit report — Request + person + to-infinitive is sound, but submit report drops the article. Report is a singular countable noun, and a particular report here, so it needs the.
(d)
told to the clerk submit report — Repeats the fault with a new verb: told to the clerk. Tell also takes the person directly, and this version drops to before submit and the before report as well.

Concept

Verbs of asking and ordering take the listener as a direct object, then a to-infinitive for the action: ask someone to do, tell someone to do, request someone to do.

The to belongs before the verb (to submit), not before the person. Compare say, which does need to before a listener: she said to the clerk.

Once the verb pattern is fixed, check the rest of the phrase: a singular countable noun such as report needs an article.

Key facts

Ask, tell and request take the person directly: asked the clerk, told me, requested him.
The action follows as a to-infinitive: asked the clerk to submit the report.
Say takes to before the listener: she said to me, not she said me.
A singular countable noun such as report needs an article or another determiner.

Study next

Verb + person + to-infinitive: ask, tell, advise, request, orderSay versus tell with a listenerArticles with singular countable nouns

Common traps

Copying the to from said to onto ask or tell
Accepting requested the clerk to submit report because the verb pattern is right, and missing the dropped article

The same stray preposition is corrected at 16 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.16, where She told to me the news is fixed to told me.

At 14 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.22 the pattern appears in reported speech: She told me to open the window is keyed, and She said me to open the window is a wrong option.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Sentence improvement — all 133 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.