SSC CGL 2025 Tier-II · Paper-I, 19 January 2026 · English Language and Comprehension · Question 23 of 150

We transcribed this text from the pictures of a candidate's response sheet for this paper; the answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick 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. This paper reaches us as a candidate's response sheet saved as pictures, so we transcribed the text from those pictures, and a second reader checked every question against them; where the layout carries meaning, we show the picture too. Each answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick 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. UnlockIAS wrote the solutions.

Select the most appropriate option to substitute the highlighted segment in the given sentence. If there is no need to substitute it, select ‘No improvement’. Tom was standing besides the schoolhouse poster, when the ball rolled towards him.

(a)standing beside the schoolhouse poster
(b)No improvement
(c)stood beside the schoolhouse poster
(d)stand beside the schoolhouse poster

Answer

Why

Correct — A. The trigger is besides. Beside means 'next to, at the side of'; besides means 'in addition to' or 'moreover'. Tom's place by the poster needs beside.

The verb stays was standing: the past continuous sets the action in progress when the ball rolled towards him. 'Tom was standing beside the schoolhouse poster' → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

(b)
No improvement — Keeps besides, which means 'in addition to'. Tom is not standing in addition to the poster; he is next to it, which is beside.
(c)
stood beside the schoolhouse poster — Fixes the preposition but breaks the verb: was stood is not standard English for an action in progress. With was, the past continuous needs standing.
(d)
stand beside the schoolhouse poster — Was stand is not a verb form: after was, the past continuous needs the -ing form, was standing. The preposition is fixed, the verb is not.

Concept

Beside is a preposition of place: sit beside me, a house beside the river.

Besides means 'in addition to' as a preposition ('Besides English, she speaks Tamil') and 'moreover' as an adverb ('Besides, it is too late'). The extra s changes the meaning, not just the spelling.

The tense pair was standing ... rolled shows a background action in progress and the event that happened during it.

Key facts

Beside means next to or at the side of.
Besides means in addition to, or moreover.
Past continuous + simple past shows an action in progress when an event happened: was standing when the ball rolled.
Beside the mark means irrelevant or off target.

Study next

Confusable prepositions: beside and besides, between and amongPast continuous with a when-clauseIdioms with beside: beside the point, beside oneself

Common traps

Treating besides as a formal beside — the s turns 'next to' into 'in addition to'
Choosing 'stood beside' because stood is the plain past — with was in front, the verb must be standing

Besides in its 'in addition to' sense sits in sentence B of 25 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.9: 'besides just textbook teaching and learning'.

Beside, with no s, is keyed in the idiom 'beside the mark' at 12 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.12, and Besides as 'moreover' fills blank 4 at 9 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.24.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Sentence improvement — all 100 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.