SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 14 September 2025, Shift 3 · English Comprehension · Question 20 of 95

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: I am confident to pass the examination.

(a)in passing the exam
(b)to passing the exam
(c)of passing the examination
(d)for passing examination

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The trigger is the adjective confident. When it means sure that something will happen, it takes of + an -ing form or a noun: confident of winning, confident of success.

It can also take a that-clause: I am confident that I will pass.

So 'confident to pass' becomes confident of passing the examination → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
in passing the exam — Confident in expresses trust in someone or something — confident in her ability, confident in the team. It does not express certainty about an outcome such as passing.
(b)
to passing the exam — To + -ing belongs to phrases like look forward to and be committed to, where 'to' is a preposition. Confident is not followed by 'to' in that way.
(d)
for passing examination — For is not the preposition confident takes for an expected result; that is of. The option also drops the before examination, a singular countable noun that needs a determiner.

Concept

Many adjectives fix the preposition after them. Confident takes of or about before what you are sure of, and in before whom or what you trust.

After a preposition, a verb takes the -ing form: of passing, about winning. That is why all four options here put 'passing' after their preposition.

Two checks decide the item: the right preposition for the meaning, then a complete noun phrase after it — 'the examination', not bare 'examination'.

'Confident enough to + verb' is standard for self-assurance: confident enough to speak up. This sentence is about an expected result, and that sense takes 'of' + -ing or a that-clause.

Key facts

Confident of (or about) + noun or -ing: sure that something will happen — confident of passing, confident of success.
Confident + that-clause: I am confident that I will pass.
Confident in + person or thing: trust — confident in her ability.
After a preposition, a verb takes the -ing form.

Study next

Adjective + preposition pairs: sure of, capable of, afraid of, keen onPreposition + -ing form: insist on going, fond of reading'To' as a preposition before -ing: look forward to, be used to, be committed to

Common traps

Choosing 'confident in' because it sounds familiar — it expresses trust in someone, not certainty about a result.
Fixing the preposition but accepting 'passing examination' with no article before a singular countable noun.

The same fault, 'She is confident to win the match', is keyed 'of winning the match' at 17 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.15.

The correct pattern also sits in the sentence of a spelling item at 12 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.16: 'One must be confident of winning'.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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