SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 21 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 18 of 99

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.

Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: The protest, though peaceful in nature, (1)/ were portrayed by official channels (2)/ as instigated by external forces (3)/ and ideologically driven groups. (4)

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

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The subject is The protest, a singular noun.

'Though peaceful in nature', set off by commas, is an aside, short for 'though it was peaceful in nature'. It does not change the subject's number.

A singular subject takes a singular verb: were portrayed should be was portrayed. The error sits in part (2) → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
(1) — The protest, though peaceful in nature, is the subject with its aside correctly set off by commas. Nothing in part (1) needs changing — the fault is in the verb that follows it.
(c)
(3) — Portray X as Y is the standard pattern: official channels portrayed the protest as instigated by external forces. Part (3) follows it correctly.
(d)
(4) — External forces and ideologically driven groups are two parallel noun phrases after 'by'. Part (4) completes the pair correctly and needs no change.

Concept

Subject–verb agreement: the verb agrees with the head of its subject, not with words that stand between them.

Here the aside 'though peaceful in nature' separates The protest from its verb. Cover the aside and read what remains: 'The protest … were portrayed'. The mismatch is then plain — a singular subject with a plural verb.

The sentence is passive. Official channels did the portraying, and they are plural, but an agent in a 'by' phrase does not control the verb.

The auxiliary agrees with the grammatical subject: the protest was portrayed.

Key facts

A verb agrees with the head noun of its subject: The protest … was portrayed.
An aside between subject and verb, such as 'though peaceful in nature', does not change the subject's number.
In the passive, the auxiliary agrees with the grammatical subject, not with the agent in the 'by' phrase.
Portray takes the pattern portray X as Y.

Study next

Agreement across intervening phrases: along with, as well as, together withAgreement in passive sentences that have a plural agentShortened concessive clauses: though peaceful, although tired

Common traps

Letting the plural agent 'official channels', right after the verb, pull it to were — the 'by' phrase has no say in agreement.
Losing track of the subject across the comma-bound aside, so 'were portrayed' sounds natural after the pause.

The same intervening-phrase trap is keyed at 18 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.10: 'The CEO along with his deputies (1)/ were present…', where the error again sits in part (2) and the singular subject needs was.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Error spotting — all 121 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.