SSC CHSL English Grammar Rules, Frequently Asked in Tier 1

The English Language section in the SSC CHSL Tier 1 exam tests a candidate’s understanding of grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. Out of all these, grammar-based questions are the most common. Knowing the basic grammar rules can help you score well and avoid silly mistakes. In this blog, we will cover the most important English grammar rules frequently asked in SSC CHSL Tier 1.

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

This is one of the most common topics in SSC CHSL Exam. The verb must always agree with the subject in number (singular/plural) and person.

Rule	Example
Singular subject takes singular verb	She writes every day.
Plural subject takes plural verb	They write every day.
When two subjects are joined by “and” → plural verb	Riya and Sita are friends.
When two subjects are joined by “or/nor” → verb agrees with the nearest subject	Either Rohan or his friends are coming. / Either his friends or Rohan is coming.

2. Tenses

Tense questions test your knowledge of time of action, past, present, or future. Consistency in tense is very important.

Tense Type	Rule/Usage	Example
Simple Present	Used for habits or universal truths	She goes to school every day.
Present Continuous	Ongoing actions	He is reading a book.
Simple Past	Completed actions	They played football yesterday.
Past Continuous	Action happening in the past	She was cooking when I came.
Simple Future	Actions that will happen later	I will call you tomorrow.

3. Articles (a, an, the)

Articles are small words but play a big role in grammar. They are used before nouns.

Rule	Example
Use ‘a’ before words starting with a consonant sound	a book, a car
Use ‘an’ before words starting with a vowel sound	an apple, an hour
Use ‘the’ for specific or known things	the sun, the Taj Mahal
No article before proper nouns or general statements	Life is beautiful. (not The life is beautiful)

4. Prepositions

Prepositions show relationship between words usually indicating place, time, or direction.

Preposition Type	Usage	Example
Place	in, on, at	in Delhi, on the table, at the station
Time	in, on, at	in 2020, on Monday, at 5 PM
Direction	to, from, into, onto	go to school, come from home
Other Common Ones	between, among, over, under, beside	between two trees, under the bed

5. Voice (Active and Passive)

In SSC CHSL, candidates are often asked to convert Active Voice to Passive Voice.

Type	Example
Active Voice – Subject performs the action	Ram wrote a letter.
Passive Voice – Subject receives the action	A letter was written by Ram.
Rule: The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

6. Narration (Direct and Indirect Speech)

Questions on reported speech are also common. You must know how to change the tense, pronouns, and time words properly.

Type	Example
Direct Speech	He said, “I am happy.”
Indirect Speech	He said that he was happy.
Rule: Change the tense one step back (present → past, past → past perfect).

7. Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives describe nouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Rule	Example
Adjective modifies a noun	She is a beautiful girl.
Adverb modifies a verb	He runs fast.
Never use double comparatives or superlatives	Incorrect: more better → Correct: better
Adjectives used for comparison follow proper order: Positive → Comparative → Superlative	Good → Better → Best

8. Commonly Confused Words

Many SSC CHSL questions are based on confusing word pairs. Learning them helps you avoid errors.

Word Pair	Meaning	Example
Accept / Except	accept = receive, except = exclude	I accept your gift. Everyone except John came.
Affect / Effect	affect = influence, effect = result	The weather affects my mood. / The effect was amazing.
Then / Than	then = time, than = comparison	I will call you then. / He is taller than me.
Lose / Loose	lose = misplace, loose = not tight	Don’t lose your bag. / The shirt is loose.

Check out SSC CHSL Salary

9. Error Spotting and Sentence Improvement

This is a scoring part of SSC CHSL. Questions check your understanding of grammar, tenses, and usage.

Tips to Solve

• Read the whole sentence first.
• Look for subject-verb mismatch, article misuse, or preposition errors.
• Check for incorrect word forms or tense changes.
• Eliminate options logically.

10. Practice Makes Perfect

The best way to master grammar is through regular practice. Attempt mock tests, previous year papers, and topic-wise quizzes daily.

SSC CHSL English Syllabus

The SSC CHSL English Syllabus is as follows:

Topic	Description
Spot the Error	Identify grammatical errors in a sentence
Fill in the Blanks	Choose the correct word to complete a sentence
Synonyms / Homonyms	Words with similar meanings or same spelling but different meanings
Antonyms	Words with opposite meanings
Spelling / Detecting Mis-spelt Words	Identify correct or incorrect spellings
Idioms & Phrases	Common expressions and their meanings
One Word Substitution	Replacing a phrase with a single word
Improvement of Sentences	Correcting and improving sentence structure or grammar
Active / Passive Voice	Converting sentences between active and passive forms
Direct / Indirect Speech	Changing between direct and reported speech
Shuffling of Sentence Parts	Re-arranging parts of a sentence to make it meaningful
Shuffling of Sentences in a Passage	Re-arranging sentences to form a coherent paragraph
Cloze Test	Filling in blanks within a passage to test contextual understanding
Comprehension Passage	Reading and answering questions based on a passage

Check out detailed SSC CHSL Syllabus to know more about other subjects.

FAQs

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