SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 14 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 10 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 perception that the guidelines are optional (1)/ rather than compulsory have led (2)/ to widespread inconsistencies in compliance (3)/ across state-level implementations. (4)

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

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The subject is The perception, a singular noun. The clause that the guidelines are optional rather than compulsory only says what the perception is.

The verb have led has been matched to guidelines, the plural noun just before it. It must agree with perception: has led.

The fault is in part (2) → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
(1) — guidelines are is correct inside its own clause: a plural subject with a plural verb. That agreement is separate from the main verb, which belongs to perception.
(c)
(3) — to widespread inconsistencies in compliance correctly completes led to. Inconsistencies is the object of the preposition to, not a subject, so it has no verb to agree with.
(d)
(4) — across state-level implementations closes the sentence correctly. The hyphen makes state-level one adjective before the noun, and nothing here carries a verb.

Concept

Subject-verb agreement is decided by the head noun of the subject, not by whichever noun sits nearest the verb.

A that-clause after a noun (the perception that..., the fact that..., the belief that...) tells you what the noun is. It adds words, not number: the head noun is still perception.

Strip the clause out to test it: The perception has led to widespread inconsistencies.

The trap is proximity. Guidelines is the last noun before the verb, so have led sounds natural when you read straight through. Read the sentence without the that-clause and the mismatch is plain.

Key facts

A verb agrees with the head noun of its subject: The perception ... has led.
A that-clause after a noun does not change the noun's number: The perception that the guidelines are optional is singular.
Present perfect: has + past participle after a singular subject, have + past participle after a plural one.

Study next

Agreement across a prepositional phrase: The quality of the answers is poorAgreement after along with and as well as: The CEO along with his deputies was presentA whole clause as subject: That the report failed was surprising

Common traps

Making the verb agree with guidelines, the nearest noun, instead of perception
Hunting for the error inside the that-clause, where guidelines are is correct

15 Sep 2025, 16:00, English Q.11 hides the same kind of fault behind a longer interruption: their rhetorical framing ... have contributed is keyed at part (2), because framing is singular.

18 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.10 tests it with along with: The CEO along with his deputies were present is keyed at part (2).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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