SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 14 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 20 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.

Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: I was discussing about the issue with him.

(a)discussed regarding the issue
(b)had discussion on issue
(c)discussing the issue with him
(d)had been discussing about issue

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The trigger is discuss about. Discuss is a transitive verb: it takes its object directly, with no preposition — you discuss the issue.

Delete about and keep everything else: 'I was discussing the issue with him.' The past continuous was discussing and 'with him' stay as they were → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
discussed regarding the issue — Swaps about for regarding — the same preposition error in another word. After 'I was', discussed also makes the sentence passive, as if the speaker were the thing discussed.
(b)
had discussion on issue — Had discussion on issue leaves discussion and issue without an article: it would need 'a discussion on the issue'. And after 'I was', had cannot follow.
(d)
had been discussing about issue — Keeps the very error, discussing about, and drops the before issue. 'I was had been discussing' also stacks auxiliaries that cannot combine.

Concept

Some verbs take their object directly, and adding a preposition is an error. Discuss is one: discuss the plan, discuss the problem.

The noun behaves differently. A discussion about or on the issue is correct, so the preposition belongs with the noun, not the verb.

Emphasize, describe and resemble work like discuss: emphasize the point, not emphasize on it; describe the scene, not describe about it.

The printed sentence marks the part to replace. Read from the key, it runs from discussing to him: option (c) starts at discussing and ends with 'with him', so 'I was' stays in the sentence.

Key facts

Discuss takes a direct object: discuss the issue, not discuss about the issue.
The noun discussion takes a preposition: a discussion on or about the issue.
Emphasize, describe and resemble also take a direct object: emphasize the point, describe the scene, resemble his father.

Study next

Verbs that take no preposition before their object: discuss, describe, emphasize, resembleVerb and noun pairs with different patterns: emphasize the point, emphasis on the pointArticles with singular countable nouns: a discussion, the issue

Common traps

Carrying the noun's preposition over to the verb — a discussion about is right, discussing about is wrong.
Picking regarding because it sounds formal — any preposition between discuss and its object is the same error.

The instruction is Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part, and here the fix is deleting a preposition.

A preposition is also deleted at 15 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.16, where He is going to abroad becomes is going abroad: abroad is an adverb and takes no to.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Sentence improvement — all 98 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.