SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 15 September 2025, Shift 3 · 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: It remains unclear whether the board intends to implement the proposal (1)/ or if the statement was merely a strategic ploy (2)/ aimed at appeasing shareholders (3)/ in light of the recent legal setbacks. (4)

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

Answer

Why

Correct — B. After It remains unclear, the sentence sets out two possibilities, and it opens the first with whether.

The pair is whether ... or. The second possibility opens with plain or, or repeats whether: or (whether) the statement was ... Part (2) switches to or if, and the two halves no longer match.

Corrected: "or whether the statement was merely a strategic ploy" — option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
(1) — Part (1) sets the pattern correctly. It remains unclear takes a whether-clause, and intends to implement is a sound verb + infinitive. The fault is where the second half switches to if.
(c)
(3) — aimed at appeasing is correct: aim at takes a gerund, and the phrase describes the ploy. Nothing here needs changing.
(d)
(4) — in light of is a standard phrase meaning 'considering', and the recent legal setbacks is a correct noun phrase after it. The sentence closes cleanly.

Concept

Paired connectors join matching halves. When a sentence lays out alternatives with whether ... or, the two alternatives should match.

Here the first opens with whether: whether the board intends to implement the proposal. The second opens with plain or, or repeats it as or whether: or (whether) the statement was merely a strategic ploy.

If can introduce a single yes/no question (It is unclear if he will come). What it should not do is take over the second half of a pair that whether began.

Read on its own, part (2) sounds natural, which is why it slips past. The error shows only when you read it against whether in part (1). There is no 'No error' choice, so one of the four parts has to be wrong.

Key facts

Alternatives opened by whether continue with plain or, or with or whether, not with or if.
Whether, not if, goes directly before or not: whether or not the board agrees.
In light of means 'considering': in light of the recent legal setbacks.

Study next

Whether versus if: after a preposition, before a to-infinitive and before or notParallel halves in correlative pairs: either ... or, neither ... nor, not only ... but alsoPlacing neither and not only so that the two halves match

Common traps

Judging part (2) on its own, where or if the statement was ... sounds fine
Suspecting aimed at appeasing, when aim at + gerund is standard

Matching the two halves of a pair also decides 12 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.11, keyed at part (2): not its proposed realignment is paired with but that it presumes, a noun phrase against a clause.

At 14 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.10, the neither ... nor pair is keyed at part (1), where neither stands before the verb penalise but nor stands before a noun phrase.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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