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SSC CGL English · Fill in the Blanks

Sentence Fill-in-Blanks

A single sentence with one blank (sometimes two) and four options; the right word fits both the grammar of the slot and the meaning the rest of the sentence points to.

All Fill in the Blanks notes

Why this matters

Thirty-four questions in the bank, 16 from the 2023 shifts, 7 from the 2024 shifts and 11 from the 2025 shifts, with 29 EASY and 5 MODERATE. The 2025 questions use harder words, but every one is decided by a clue word in the sentence or by the grammar of the gap.

Concept 1 of 3: Reading the clue in the sentence

Every sentence carries a clue to the missing word: a word that means the same, a contrast word such as although or far from, or a result such as so ... that. Find the clue first and the blank's meaning follows; then pick the option that says it.

Definition

  • Same-direction clues (and, so, because, which means): the blank agrees with the clue. "Short and ___" wants a word like concise.
  • Contrast clues (although, but, far from, while): the blank goes against the clue. "Although carefully designed, unforeseen factors ___ the result" wants a negative word.
  • Result clues (so ... that, such ... that): the blank is what the first part leads to.
  • Naming questions (the young one of a lion, a female horse, the fear of heights) test a fixed word you either know or do not; learn the common sets.
  • Fast route: cover the options, say a word of your own for the blank, then pick the option nearest to it.

Worked example

Fill in the blank: Although the team had trained hard all season, a string of injuries ___ their chances in the final. (a) improved (b) damaged (c) doubled (d) celebrated
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 16 Sep 2025, Shift 3 · Q84Easy

Example 1 · Fill in the Blanks · Sentence Fill-in-Blanks

Select the correct option: Only after years of archival research did the historian manage to ___ the contradictory accounts of the regime’s collapse.

Missing a contrast word

Although, while, but and far from turn the meaning round. A word that agrees with the first half of such a sentence is usually the trap.

Picking a word that only sounds right

Options are often look-alikes (conform and confirm, cheque and cheek). Read each option's meaning, not its sound, before you choose.
Drill 19 more on reading the clue in the sentence

Concept 2 of 3: Words that go together

Some words simply go together in English: a doctor prescribes medicine, one has a narrow escape, one confirms a booking. These pairings are fixed, so a word with the right meaning can still be wrong if it does not pair with its neighbour.

Definition

  • Verb and object: prescribe a medicine, confirm a ticket, quell dissent, take one's hat off to someone.
  • Adjective and noun: a narrow escape, incessant rain, a runaway convict.
  • Two options may mean nearly the same thing; only one is the usual pairing.
  • Fast route: read the blank with its neighbour aloud. The fixed pair sounds familiar; the others sound odd.

Worked example

Fill in the blank: The judge ___ the man to five years in prison. (a) awarded (b) sentenced (c) ordered (d) gave
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2024 · Tier I, 9 Sep 2024, Shift 1 · Q90Easy

Example 2 · Fill in the Blanks · Sentence Fill-in-Blanks

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. Vinod had a ________ escape in the car accident.

Choosing by meaning alone

Advised and prescribed both relate to a doctor's guidance, but a doctor prescribes tablets. When two options mean similar things, pick the one that pairs with the next word.
Drill 4 more on words that go together

Concept 3 of 3: The grammar of the blank

Some blanks are decided before meaning matters: the word before or after the gap demands a certain form. A noun needs an adjective in front of it; the word than needs a comparative; a sentence that opens with rarely needs inverted word order.

Definition

  • Before a noun: an adjective (a neighbouring country, not a neighbour country).
  • After the or a: a noun. After had: a past participle (had clipped).
  • Than: needs a comparative (more, less, -er). As ... as: for equality in a positive sentence.
  • Negative openers (rarely, never, seldom, hardly) put the helping verb before the subject: "Rarely has there been ...".
  • Agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb ("a powder that looks"); a plural subject a plural one.
  • Fast route: look at the words just before and just after the gap first; they usually strike two options at once.

Worked example

Fill in the blank: Seldom ___ such a crowd at the village fair. (a) we have seen (b) have we seen (c) we saw (d) seen we have
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 16 Sep 2025, Shift 3 · Q83Moderate

Example 3 · Fill in the Blanks · Sentence Fill-in-Blanks

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: Rarely _____ such an overwhelming consensus among critics.

Keeping normal word order after a negative opener

"Rarely there has been" is wrong. After rarely, seldom, never or hardly at the start, the helping verb comes before the subject.

Using so ... as in a positive sentence

"She is so beautiful as a peacock" is wrong. Equality in a positive sentence uses as ... as.
Drill 8 more on the grammar of the blank

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.

Watch out for (5)

Test yourself on Fill in the Blanks

15 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 9 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.

Take the Fill in the Blanks chapter testDrill all 34 questions