CDS English · Cloze Test
Collocations, Fixed Phrases and the Precise Word
Some blanks have several options with the right grammar. The answer is the word its neighbour naturally goes with, or the one with the exact meaning.
Why this matters
These blanks test vocabulary inside a passage. The wrong options are real words of the right class, often close in meaning, so the slot alone cannot decide. The right word is the one English speakers put next to the neighbour by habit, which is why the pairs and phrases tested before are worth learning as units.
Concept 1 of 3: Collocations tested: the word its neighbour accepts
English words have favourite partners. We do business and combat a disease. A word that means nearly the same can still sound wrong next to the partner, and the examiner builds the wrong options from exactly such words.
Definition
The terms:
- Collocation: two words that English speakers put together by habit: do business, undergo change, ethical questions.
How to handle them:
- Read the word next to the blank: the verb before a noun, or the noun after an adjective.
- Ask which option that word naturally goes with. Say each pair in your head.
- An option can have the right class and a close meaning and still be wrong, because it does not partner the neighbour.
- Learn the pairs below as units.
| Collocation | In the passage | Wrong options offered | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| do business | when I try to do any business there (at a bank) | service, deed, act | 2017 (II) |
| undergo change | Ideology also undergoes change. | went, proceeds | 2023 (II) |
| combat diseases | evolved antibodies to combat autoimmune diseases | support, observe, invite | 2019 (I) |
| ethical questions | as in all ethical questions | answers, statements, experiences | 2019 (I) |
| numeracy skills | the distribution of numeracy skills among adults | number, proficiency, calculation | 2025 (II) |
| the amount of light | the temperatures and the amount of light which suit them | focus, share, quality | 2019 (II) |
| the first instance | when the first instance for this art form was seen | incident, accident, events | 2018 (II) |
| an agricultural breakthrough | an early industrial and agricultural breakthrough | breakout, breaking, investment | 2019 (II) |
| driven by cravings | each person's habits are driven by different cravings | broken, given, prescribed | 2020 (II) |
Every wrong option has the right word class. Only the partner word decides.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (II) 2017 — English · Q103Easy
Example 1 · Cloze Test · Collocations and the Precise Word
Directions: Each of the following sentences in this section has a blank space with four words or group of words given. Select whichever word or group of words you consider most appropriate for the blank space and indicate your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
Passage
Whenever I go into a bank, I feel scared. Everybody and everything that I see there ___(97)___ me. As for the manager the sight ___(98)___ him simply terrifies me and ___(99)___ me want to runaway ___(100)___ I can. As soon as I ___(101)___ the door of the bank I lose my head ___(102)___ when I try to do any ___(103)___ there, I behave like an idiot. I cannot explain ___(104)___ for this but that is how it ___(105)___ has been that is how it is ___(106)___.
Blank (103): ... when I try to do any ____ there, I behave like an idiot.
Close in meaning, wrong partner
incident, accident and events all name things that happen. But a first example of something is its first instance. Test the option with its neighbour, not on its own.
number for something you cannot count
Light, water and money cannot be counted one by one, so they take amount. Soldiers, books and days take number.
A general word where an exact one exists
'the distribution of ___ skills among adults' with number or calculation sounds close. The exact name for the skill of working with numbers is numeracy.
Concept 2 of 3: Fixed phrases and phrasal verbs tested
A fixed phrase is a group of words always used in the same form. Change one word and it breaks. A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word, with a meaning of its own.
Definition
The terms:
- Fixed phrase: words that always go together in one form: see to it that, have no alternative but to.
- Phrasal verb: a verb plus a small word such as away, down or up, with its own meaning: keep away from, get bogged down.
How to handle them:
- If the words around the blank look like part of a known phrase, complete the phrase exactly.
- Do not change its small words: 'no alternative but to', not 'no alternative yet to'.
- Learn the tested ones below.
| Phrase | Meaning | In the passage | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| see to it that | make sure that | the duty of each individual to see to it that we don't use polythene bags | 2021 (II) |
| have no alternative but to | have no other choice than to | The Government had no alternative but to ban these polythene bags. | 2021 (II) |
| keep (someone) away from | stop someone from reaching something | keep low-income customers away from formal finance | 2022 (II) |
| get bogged down with | get stuck on something and stop moving forward | may in the process get bogged down with one or two particular issues | 2023 (II) |
| from person to person | changing with each person | differ from person to person and behaviour to behaviour | 2020 (II) |
| of some kind | of one type or another | you are a superman of some kind | 2018 (II) |
| from a ... standpoint | from a point of view | from a juridical or quasi-juridical standpoint | 2019 (I) |
| considered from (a standpoint) | judged from a point of view | is generally considered from a juridical or quasi-juridical standpoint | 2019 (I) |
Complete the phrase exactly. One changed word breaks it.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2021 · CDS (II) 2021 — English · Q108Moderate
Example 2 · Cloze Test · Collocations and the Precise Word
Directions: select the most appropriate word for each blank
Passage
The polythene bags ___(101)___ non-biodegradable, i.e., they cannot be decomposed ___(102)___ micro-organisms into manure. They remain as ___(103)___ even after years. Animals that started eating waste food ___(104)___ with these polythene bags, ultimately started dying ___(105)___ their internal system was getting blocked. The Government had no alternative ___(106)___ to ban these polythene bags. It is ___(107)___ duty of the Government to look into this matter; however, it is also the duty of each individual to ___(108)___ that we ___(109)___ use polythene bags. By using these we will not only harm the environment but ourselves as well. Thus, say ‘No’ to plastic bags and contribute ___(110)___ society.
Blank (108): "... it is also the duty of each individual to _______ that we ... use polythene bags."
Breaking 'from X to X'
'differ from person to people' or 'to persons' breaks the pattern. Both nouns are the same word, singular, with no article: from person to person.
Swapping the small word
'no alternative yet to', 'bogged out', 'keep way from': each looks close but is not English. The small word is part of the phrase.
some and same
'of same kind' is wrong: same needs 'the' (of the same kind). The tested phrase is of some kind, meaning of one sort or another.
Concept 3 of 3: Near-synonyms and look-alikes: test each against the context
Two words can mean nearly the same and still not fit the same place. One may be for a person, the other for a group; one may be for things seen, the other for things heard. Other options only look like the right word. Test each option in the full sentence.
Definition
The terms:
- Near-synonym: a word close in meaning to another but different in use: audience (a group that listens or watches together) and spectator (one person watching).
- Look-alike: a word that looks or sounds like the right one but means something else: suffused (filled with) and suffixed (added at the end).
The method:
- Put each option in the blank and read the whole sentence.
- Ask: one person or a group? Seen or heard? A cause or a reason? An honour or a prize?
- For a look-alike, say each word's own meaning. Keep the one whose meaning fits.
- Prefer the exact word over a general one.
Pairs tested:
- honours (marks of respect given to a person) vs awards, prizes (things won).
- the reasons (why a person acts) vs the causes, the responses.
- attempt (try; takes its object directly) vs engage (needs 'in').
- suffused (filled with a colour or feeling) vs suffixed, surfaced.
- far-off (distant in time or place) vs far-out (very strange), far-fetched (hard to believe).
- victorious (winning a war or a contest) vs successful, thriving.
Worked example
The museum guide asked the ___ to stay together as they walked through the halls. (a) mob (b) group (c) crowd (d) gang
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2018 · CDS (I) 2018 — English · Q100Easy
Example 3 · Cloze Test · Collocations and the Precise Word
Directions: Each of the following sentences in this section has a blank space with four words or group of words given. Select whichever word or group of words you consider most appropriate for the blank space and indicate your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
Passage
One of India’s greatest musicians is M.S. Subbulakshmi, affectionately known to most people as M.S. Her singing has brought ___(91)___ to millions of people not only ___(92)___ all parts of India, but in ___(93)___ countries around the world as well. ___(94)___ October 1966 Subbulakshmi was invited to ___(95)___ in New York, where people of ___(96)___ foreign countries listened to her music ___(97)___ This was one of the greatest ___(98)___ ever given to any musician. For ___(99)___ together M.S. kept that international ___(100)___ spell-bound with the beauty of her voice and her style of singing.
Blank (100): "kept that international ______ spell-bound with the beauty of her voice"
The general word over the exact one
successful can describe many things. For a side that wins a war, the exact word is victorious. When two options fit, ask which one names the situation exactly.
Picking by sound
suffixed and surfaced look like suffused. A picture is suffused with expression; nothing in it is suffixed. Say the meaning of each look-alike before you choose.
Cause and reason
'I cannot explain ___ for this' is about why a person behaves as he does, so the reasons. causes fits events in nature, such as the causes of a flood.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Collocations tested: the word its neighbour accepts9 rows
| Collocation | In the passage | Wrong options offered | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| do business | when I try to do any business there (at a bank) | service, deed, act | 2017 (II) |
| undergo change | Ideology also undergoes change. | went, proceeds | 2023 (II) |
| combat diseases | evolved antibodies to combat autoimmune diseases | support, observe, invite | 2019 (I) |
| ethical questions | as in all ethical questions | answers, statements, experiences | 2019 (I) |
| numeracy skills | the distribution of numeracy skills among adults | number, proficiency, calculation | 2025 (II) |
| the amount of light | the temperatures and the amount of light which suit them | focus, share, quality | 2019 (II) |
| the first instance | when the first instance for this art form was seen | incident, accident, events | 2018 (II) |
| an agricultural breakthrough | an early industrial and agricultural breakthrough | breakout, breaking, investment | 2019 (II) |
| driven by cravings | each person's habits are driven by different cravings | broken, given, prescribed | 2020 (II) |
Every wrong option has the right word class. Only the partner word decides.
Fixed phrases and phrasal verbs tested8 rows
| Phrase | Meaning | In the passage | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| see to it that | make sure that | the duty of each individual to see to it that we don't use polythene bags | 2021 (II) |
| have no alternative but to | have no other choice than to | The Government had no alternative but to ban these polythene bags. | 2021 (II) |
| keep (someone) away from | stop someone from reaching something | keep low-income customers away from formal finance | 2022 (II) |
| get bogged down with | get stuck on something and stop moving forward | may in the process get bogged down with one or two particular issues | 2023 (II) |
| from person to person | changing with each person | differ from person to person and behaviour to behaviour | 2020 (II) |
| of some kind | of one type or another | you are a superman of some kind | 2018 (II) |
| from a ... standpoint | from a point of view | from a juridical or quasi-juridical standpoint | 2019 (I) |
| considered from (a standpoint) | judged from a point of view | is generally considered from a juridical or quasi-juridical standpoint | 2019 (I) |
Complete the phrase exactly. One changed word breaks it.
Watch out for (9)
- Close in meaning, wrong partner→ Collocations tested: the word its neighbour accepts
- number for something you cannot count→ Collocations tested: the word its neighbour accepts
- A general word where an exact one exists→ Collocations tested: the word its neighbour accepts
- Breaking 'from X to X'→ Fixed phrases and phrasal verbs tested
- Swapping the small word→ Fixed phrases and phrasal verbs tested
- some and same→ Fixed phrases and phrasal verbs tested
- The general word over the exact one→ Near-synonyms and look-alikes: test each against the context
- Picking by sound→ Near-synonyms and look-alikes: test each against the context
- Cause and reason→ Near-synonyms and look-alikes: test each against the context
Test yourself on Cloze Test
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.