SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 12 September 2025, Shift 3 · English Comprehension · Question 11 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 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.

Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: The report’s emphasis on techno-optimism, while commendable, (1)/ overlook the structural inequities (2)/ that persist in data accessibility and digital literacy (3)/ across demographic and regional divides. (4)

(a)(1)
(b)(2)
(c)(3)
(d)(4)

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Strip the subject to its head: The report's emphasis on techno-optimism, while commendable ...

The head is emphasis, a singular noun. The phrase on techno-optimism and the aside while commendable stand between it and the verb, but neither changes its number.

A singular subject needs a singular verb: "overlooks the structural inequities". The error is in part (2), option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
(1) — The report's emphasis on techno-optimism is a sound subject, and while commendable is a correctly punctuated aside. The number clash surfaces only at the verb in part (2).
(c)
(3) — that persist is plural because that stands for inequities, a plural noun. This verb agrees. The main verb in part (2) is the one that does not.
(d)
(4) — across demographic and regional divides is a correct prepositional phrase: across takes the plural noun divides, and both adjectives describe it.

Concept

Subject–verb agreement follows the head noun of the subject, the word the rest of the subject hangs on.

In The report's emphasis on techno-optimism, the head is emphasis: report's is a possessive in front of it, on techno-optimism a phrase after it.

An aside set off by commas, such as while commendable, adds comment but not number. Read the sentence without it: The report's emphasis ... overlooks the structural inequities.

The sentence has two finite verbs. Persist in part (3) agrees with inequities, and overlook in part (2) does not agree with emphasis, so checking each verb against its own subject settles the item.

Key facts

The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, not with nouns in the phrases around it.
An aside set off by commas does not change the number of the subject.
The relative that takes the number of the noun it refers to: inequities that persist.

Study next

Agreement across of-phrases: The quality of the mangoes is poorAdditions that leave number unchanged: as well as, along with, together withPossessive-led subjects, where the head follows the possessive: The students' attendance is low

Common traps

Losing the subject across the aside while commendable, so overlook sounds acceptable
Checking persist in part (3), finding it agrees, and passing over the main verb

Agreement across an interrupting aside also decides 15 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.12, where which refers to the singular issue of community exclusion and so needs has been, not have been, after according to activists.

A plural head decides the reverse case at 23 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.11: Two of the world's best forwards needs have played.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Error spotting — all 86 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.