SSC CGL Reasoning · Alphabet and Number Tests
Word Formation
Questions that test which words a set of letters can or cannot make: words formed from a longer word, jumbled letters turned into a word, and counts of the words some picked letters can spell.
Why this matters
Twenty-one questions in the bank, all from the 2025 shifts, with 14 EASY and 7 MODERATE. They are quick marks once you count letters instead of reading meanings, because most wrong options fail on a single missing or doubled letter.
Concept 1 of 3: Checking the letter supply
Definition
1. List the given word's letters with their counts: ACCEPTANCE has A 2, C 3, E 2, P 1, T 1, N 1. 2. For each option, check every letter: is it in the list, and is it there often enough? 3. 'Cannot be formed' picks the option that fails; 'can be formed' picks the one that passes.
- Fast route: first scan each option for a letter the given word does not have at all; that settles most questions in a few seconds. Only if every letter is present, check the doubled letters (two Ls, two Ts).
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Alphabet and Number Tests · Word Formation
Checking letters but not counts
Judging by meaning instead of letters
Concept 2 of 3: Rearranging letters into a word
Definition
- Same letters, same counts: an anagram uses every given letter exactly once. Check the length first, then the letters.
- Meaning: among the options with the right letters, pick the real word (or the one with the meaning asked, such as a weapon or an animal).
- Place of a letter: form the word first, then number it from the left.
- Number codes: if each letter carries a number, write the word, then write the number under each letter in order.
- One letter changed: the new word has the same length, and every place but one keeps its letter.
- Fast route: in a long jumble, look for a common ending (TION, ING, ENT) among the letters and build the word around it.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Alphabet and Number Tests · Word Formation
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | E | G | O | R | S | T |
Taking a near-anagram
Changing more than one letter
Concept 3 of 3: Counting the words that picked letters can make
Definition
1. Pick the letters by their places in the word, counted from the left. 2. Take each letter in turn as the first letter and try the other three behind it. Write down every real word. 3. Count the words, each once.
- Fast route: with one vowel among the four letters, the words are few; start from the patterns you know (consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant).
- Limit: SSC's key sometimes counts a rare word (COSH from S, C, H, O; DORP from P, R, O, D). When your count falls one short of an option, look for a less common word before you answer.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 3 · Alphabet and Number Tests · Word Formation
Using a letter twice
Picking the letters from the wrong places
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 (6)
- Checking letters but not counts→ Checking the letter supply
- Judging by meaning instead of letters→ Checking the letter supply
- Taking a near-anagram→ Rearranging letters into a word
- Changing more than one letter→ Rearranging letters into a word
- Using a letter twice→ Counting the words that picked letters can make
- Picking the letters from the wrong places→ Counting the words that picked letters can make
Test yourself on Alphabet and Number Tests
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.