Spot the Error Tests — Pick a Level and Start
Tap a level to see every test in it. Level 1 is set at real SSC CGL difficulty — start there the day you finish the concept. Level 2 is pitched above the exam, to push accuracy under pressure.
Level 1 SSC CGL Level Checking… View tests
Same difficulty as the real SSC CGL paper. Sentences of ten to twenty-four words split into four parts, plus three-part sentences with a No error option. Each error breaks one clear rule — a plural verb after ‘each’, ‘senior than’, ‘did not knew’, ‘an advice’, ‘more better’, ‘discuss about’. A steady score here means the chapter is exam-ready.
Level 2 Above SSC CGL Level Checking… View tests
Harder than the exam asks. Longer sentences with clauses, where the wrong part hides among parts that look wrong but are correct — ‘The news is’, ‘had better go’, ‘one of the boys was’. Subtler rules: inversion after ‘Never’ and ‘Not only’, third conditionals, ‘than any other’, ‘that of’, ‘who’ and ‘whom’, and more No-error sentences to test whether you trust the rules.
Every spot the error question asks one thing: which part of this sentence breaks a grammar rule? The sentence is split into parts, and exactly one part is wrong — or none is, when a No error option is given. The fastest route is a fixed checking order: find the subject and its verb, check the tense, then the pronouns, articles and prepositions, and only then the smaller points of comparison and word order.
Marks are lost in three places. The first is letting a nearby noun decide the verb — “The quality of the mangoes are” sounds right because “mangoes” sits next to the verb. The second is trusting the ear: “discuss about”, “senior than” and “I wish I was” sound normal in speech but are wrong in exam English. The third is marking a correct part out of suspicion — “The news is” and “A number of students are” look wrong and are right.
How Many Spot the Error Questions Are Asked in SSC CGL?
Spot the error is a fixed part of the English Language section — usually two or three questions in a Tier I shift, more in the Tier II English paper, and the same type turns up in CHSL, MTS and CPO. The grammar areas behind those questions are listed below, most common first.
| Grammar area tested | How often |
|---|---|
| Subject-verb agreement (each, one of, along with, neither…nor, the number of) | The most common area |
| Tense and verb forms (since/for, had + V3, did + base form, conditionals) | Very common |
| Prepositions after particular words (married to, comply with, senior to) | Very common |
| Pronouns, articles and nouns (between you and me, an hour, informations) | Common |
| Comparison, adjectives and adverbs (more better, elder than, very careless) | Common |
| Conjunctions and structure (no sooner…than, not only…but also, inversion) | Regular |
| No error — every part correct | Occasional, mostly in CHSL-style sets |
Questions that ask you to replace an underlined part with a better one are practised in the separate Sentence Improvement chapter.
What You Will Practice in the Spot the Error Chapter
Question forms
- Four-part sentences — find the part with the error
- Three-part sentences with ‘No error’ as the fourth option
- No-error sentences that carry a tempting but correct construction
- Longer, two-clause sentences where the error is far from the subject (Level 2)
The rules behind most errors
| Rule area | Typical error → correction |
|---|---|
| Subject-verb agreement | Each of the players have → has; The number of cars are → is |
| Tense | I am living here since childhood → have been living |
| Verb forms | She did not knew → know; He has wrote → written |
| Gerund and infinitive | I look forward to meet you → meeting |
| Pronouns | between you and I → me; Myself and Ravi → Ravi and I |
| Articles | a hour → an hour; an advice → a piece of advice |
| Nouns | informations → information; a five-days trip → day |
| Comparison | more better → better; senior than → to |
| Adverbs | He drives careful → carefully; can’t hardly → can hardly |
| Prepositions | discuss about → discuss; married with → to |
| Conjunctions | No sooner … when → than; Though … but → yet |
| Structure | Never I have seen → have I; asked where was he going → he was |
Check the subject and its verb first — that one step catches the largest share of errors.
The three mistakes that cost the most marks
- Agreeing with the wrong noun. In “One of my cousins live in Pune”, the subject is “One”, so the verb is “lives”.
- Trusting what sounds normal. “He insisted for a receipt” is common in speech; the exam wants “insisted on”.
- Distrusting a correct part. “Mathematics is my favourite subject” has no error — the -s does not make it plural.
Solved Examples — SSC CGL Spot the Error
(A) Each of the boys (B) have submitted (C) his project (D) on time
(A) The branch manager (B) is senior than (C) all the other clerks (D) in the office
(A) No sooner did the bell ring (B) when the students (C) rushed out of the classroom (D) No error
(A) Neither the captain nor the players (B) were happy (C) with the umpire’s decision (D) No error
How the Spot the Error Tests Work
- 25 questions per test, with a full question palette — answered, skipped, marked for review, not visited.
- Every rule area in every level — agreement, tense, pronouns, articles, prepositions, comparison and structure are mixed in each test, with some No-error sentences.
- Optional 15-minute timer — with the clock to build exam speed, without it while you are still learning the rules.
- Marking: +2 correct, −0.5 wrong, 0 unattempted — the same scheme as the real paper.
- Step-by-step solutions open after you submit — the rule in plain words, the exact part that breaks it and its correction, why each other part is right, the corrected sentence, and the trap to avoid.
- Free with a TrickySSC account — sign in once with Google or your mobile number, and every test is open to you.
How to Prepare Spot the Error for SSC CGL
- Find the subject and the verb first. Strike out phrases such as ‘of the mangoes’ or ‘along with his friends’ and match the verb to what is left.
- Check the tense against the time words. Since, for, yesterday, ago, before, by the time — each one fixes a tense.
- Learn the fixed pairs as pairs. Senior to, comply with, insist on, no sooner…than, not only…but also, both…and.
- Test every part, not just the suspicious one. Choose No error only when all parts have passed a rule.
- Write the corrected sentence in your head. If the fix needs words from two parts, look again — the error usually sits in one.
- Do Level 1 untimed first, then with the 15-minute clock. Move to Level 2 once Level 1 is steady, and then check yourself on an SSC CGL English previous year paper.
All SSC CGL Chapter Wise Tests
Every chapter below has its own free Level 1 and Level 2 tests with full solutions.
Browse all 64 chapter tests — Maths (35) · Reasoning (28) · English (1)
- Spot the Error
- All English chapters →
- Word Analogy
- Letter Analogy
- Number Analogy
- Number-Set & Triad Analogy
- Mixed Analogy
- Word Classification
- Letter Classification
- Number Classification
- Number-Pair & Triad Classification
- Word-Pair & Mixed Classification
- Series (Number, Letter & Alphanumeric)
- Alphabet Test
- Coding-Decoding
- Blood Relations
- Direction & Distance
- Time Sequence, Number & Ranking
- Seating Arrangement
- Syllogism
- Statement & Conclusion
- Venn Diagram
- Mathematical Operations
- Missing Number
- Puzzle / Data Arrangement
- Calendar & Clock
- Mirror & Water Image
- Paper Folding, Embedded & Figure Completion
- Figure Series, Classification, Analogy & Counting
- Dice, Cube, Cuboid & Dot Situation
- All Reasoning chapters →
- Number System
- Rule of Divisibility
- Remainder Theorem
- Decimal & Fraction
- LCM & HCF
- Square & Cube Root
- Number Series (AP & GP)
- Power, Indices & Surds
- Algebraic Formula
- Algebraic Result
- Algebraic Expression & Identities
- Percentage
- Profit & Loss
- Discount & Marked Price
- Simple Interest
- Compound Interest
- Ratio & Proportion
- Partnership
- Average
- Problems on Ages
- Mixture & Alligation
- Time & Work
- Pipe and Cistern
- Time, Speed and Distance
- Quadratic Equation
- Boat and Stream
- Races
- Trigonometry
- Heights & Distances
- Geometry
- Mensuration
- Coordinate Geometry
- Probability
- Statistics
- Data Interpretation
- All Maths chapters →
SSC CGL त्रुटि पहचान (Spot the Error) चैप्टर टेस्ट — हिंदी में जानकारी
इस अध्याय में एक अंग्रेज़ी वाक्य को कुछ भागों में बाँटा जाता है और आपको वह भाग पहचानना होता है जिसमें व्याकरण की त्रुटि है — या ‘No error’ चुनना होता है जब सभी भाग सही हों। सबसे पहले कर्ता और क्रिया का मेल (subject-verb agreement) जाँचें, फिर काल (tense), फिर सर्वनाम, आर्टिकल और प्रीपोज़िशन।
सबसे आम गलतियाँ: पास में आई संज्ञा को देखकर क्रिया तय कर लेना, बोलचाल में सही लगने वाले रूपों (‘discuss about’, ‘senior than’) को सही मान लेना, और ‘The news is’ जैसे सही भाग को शक के कारण गलत चुन लेना।
यह अंग्रेज़ी भाषा का अध्याय है, इसलिए TrickySSC पर इसके प्रश्न, विकल्प और हल अंग्रेज़ी में हैं — ठीक वैसे ही जैसे परीक्षा में आते हैं। हर हल छोटे और सरल वाक्यों में है। दो स्तर हैं: लेवल 1 (SSC CGL के स्तर का) और लेवल 2 (SSC CGL से कठिन)। प्रत्येक टेस्ट में 25 प्रश्न, वैकल्पिक 15 मिनट का टाइमर और +2 / −0.5 की वही मार्किंग जो असली परीक्षा में होती है।