SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 15 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 presumption, not that the policies themselves were ill-conceived but rather that their rhetorical framing—laden with abstractions alien to grassroots discourse— (1)/ have contributed more to civic apathy (2)/ than implementation failures per se, reflects a deeper institutional detachment (3)/ than previously acknowledged. (4)

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

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Strip the clause that part (2) belongs to down to its core: their rhetorical framing ... have contributed.

The head of that subject is framing, a singular noun. The dashes fence off an aside, laden with abstractions alien to grassroots discourse, and the plural abstractions inside it does not change the head.

A singular subject takes has contributed, not have contributed — option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
(1) — not that ... but rather that is a matched pair: each half opens a that-clause. Were agrees with the plural policies, and alien to is the correct preposition.
(c)
(3) — reflects is singular and correct: its subject is The presumption, the head of the whole sentence. Per se means 'in themselves' and needs no change.
(d)
(4) — than previously acknowledged completes the comparison set up by deeper. It is the shortened form of than was previously acknowledged, and it is standard.

Concept

A verb agrees with the head of its own subject, however far away the verb stands.

This sentence nests one clause inside another. The main clause is The presumption ... reflects a deeper institutional detachment. Inside it, the that-clause has its own subject and verb: their rhetorical framing ... has contributed more to civic apathy.

Find each verb's subject before judging it. Here the head is framing, so the verb must be singular, whatever plurals stand nearby.

The plurals earlier in the sentence — policies, their, abstractions — make have sound right on a quick read. Lift out the aside between the dashes and read the clause bare: that their rhetorical framing has contributed more to civic apathy than implementation failures per se.

Key facts

A verb agrees with the head noun of its subject: their framing has contributed, their frames have contributed.
An aside set off by dashes does not change the number of the subject around it.
Per se means 'in itself' or 'as such': implementation failures per se.

Study next

Nested clauses: finding the subject of each verb in a long sentenceAgreement when a relative pronoun stands for a singular noun: the issue which has been ignoredAgreement across along with, as well as and together with

Common traps

Matching the verb to policies or abstractions instead of framing
Marking part (3) because reflects stands far from its subject, The presumption

Agreement across an aside also decides 15 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.12, keyed at part (4): community exclusion which, according to activists, have been systematically ignored needs has been, because the plural activists sits inside the aside.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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