SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 21 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 23 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.

A sentence is provided in direct speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding indirect speech. He said, “It may rain today.”

(a)He said it might rain that day.
(b)He said it may rain that day.
(c)He said it can rain today.
(d)He said it might raining today.

Answer

Why

Correct — A. The reporting verb said is past, so the modal moves one step back: may → might.

The time word moves with it: today → that day, since the report is made from a later point.

'He said it might rain that day' makes both changes → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

(b)
He said it may rain that day. — May is left unshifted while today has become that day. Once the report places itself on a later day, the modal shifts too: might.
(c)
He said it can rain today. — Can is not the reported form of may — after a past reporting verb, may becomes might. Today is also left unchanged.
(d)
He said it might raining today. — Might raining is ungrammatical: a modal takes the bare infinitive, might rain. Today is also left unchanged.

Concept

In direct to indirect speech after a past reporting verb, modals and tenses move one step back: will → would, can → could, may → might.

Words of time shift with them: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day. The shifts belong together — a sentence that says 'that day' but keeps 'may' mixes two points in time.

Back-shift is not always required: reported on the same day, 'He said it may rain today' is also correct English.

But 'that day' places the report on a later day, and then the modal shifts as well: might.

Key facts

After a past reporting verb: will → would, can → could, may → might.
Time words shift in indirect speech: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before.
A modal is followed by the bare infinitive: might rain, not might raining.

Study next

Modal changes in reported speech: shall, will, can, may, mustTime and place words in reported speech: now → then, here → there, ago → beforeWhen back-shift is optional: reporting a statement that is still true

Common traps

Shifting the time word but not the modal, as in (b) — the two changes go together.
Treating can as the reported form of may — the past form of can is could, and may becomes might.

The same pair of shifts is keyed at 15 Sep 2025, 16:00, English Q.22: 'My parents will arrive today' → 'her parents would arrive that day'.

Its distractor 'will arrive that day' is the same trap as 'may rain that day' here.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Narration — all 65 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.