Grammer 2.0

Front

In Bengal, the peasantry _______ affected the most by the policies and schemes launched by the British Government in the 19th century.

A. were
B. was
C. are

Back

Grammar Rule Explanation

• The confusion comes from the word "peasantry".

• At first glance, "peasantry" looks singular, but actually it is a collective noun meaning peasants as a group of people.

• Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on whether we are thinking of the group as a whole (singular) or as individuals (plural).

👉 In this sentence, we are talking about peasants as individuals (the common people who suffered under British policies). Therefore, the verb must be plural → "were".

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✅ Key Rule for SSC Exams:

• Peasantry, gentry, clergy, police, people, cattle → though singular in form, they usually take plural verbs.

• Example:

  • The police are investigating the case.

  • The clergy were divided in their opinions.

Front

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice:

Sentence:
The storm completely destroyed the small coastal village, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

A. The small coastal village was being completely destroyed by the storm, leaving hundreds of people homeless.
B. Hundreds of people were left homeless after the small coastal village was completely destroyed by the storm.
C. The small coastal village had been completely destroyed by the storm, leaving hundreds of people homeless.
D. The small coastal village was completely destroyed by the storm, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

Back

Answer: D. The small coastal village was completely destroyed by the storm, leaving hundreds of people homeless. ✅

Original Sentence (Active Voice)

The storm completely destroyed the small coastal village, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

• Subject: The storm

• Verb: destroyed

• Object: the small coastal village

• Extra info: leaving hundreds of people homeless

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Option D (Correct Passive)

The small coastal village was completely destroyed by the storm, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

✔ Structure is direct passive:

• “The small coastal village” (object → subject)

• “was destroyed” (past simple passive)

• “by the storm” (doer mentioned)

• “leaving hundreds homeless” (retained exactly as in original)

👉 This is a faithful conversion of the active sentence into passive without altering the focus.

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Option B (Not Correct Passive)

Hundreds of people were left homeless after the small coastal village was completely destroyed by the storm.

❌ What happened here?

• Subject changed → Now “hundreds of people” became the subject instead of “the small coastal village.”

• The focus shifts from the village being destroyed to people becoming homeless.

• It is grammatically correct, but it is not a direct passive transformation of the original sentence.

👉 SSC wants the exact passive form of the main clause (the storm destroyed the village).
Option B rewrites the sentence, not transforms it.

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Key SSC Rule

When asked to “express the given sentence in passive voice,” you must:

1. Keep the same subject-object relationship (just swapped).

2. Keep the same tense.

3. Avoid rewriting with a different focus/subject.

That’s why ✅ Option D is correct, and ❌ Option B is rejected.

Front

Question:
Parts of the following sentence have been underlined and given as options. Select the option that contains an error.

Due to the recent budget cuts, there are less employees in this department than there were last year affecting overall productivity greatly.

A) in this department than
B) there are less employees
C) overall productivity greatly
D) there were last year

Back

Correct Answer: B) there are less employees ✅

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Explanation:

• The word employees is countable, so the correct comparative word is fewer (not less).

• Correct sentence → Due to the recent budget cuts, there are fewer employees in this department than there were last year, affecting overall productivity greatly.
  
  
  
  🔹 Core Rule:

  • Fewer → used with countable nouns (things you can count one by one).

  • Less → used with uncountable nouns (things that cannot be counted individually).

Front

Question:
Such goods are (A)/ made for export (B)/ and are seldom if never (C)/ used in the country. (D)

Options:
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) No error

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Back

Correct Answer: ✅ C

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Explanation:
The phrase "seldom if never" is incorrect. The correct idiomatic expression is "seldom if ever", which means almost never.

✔ Correct Sentence: Such goods are made for export and are seldom if ever used in the country.

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Concept Tested:
This question tests idiomatic usage and collocation in English grammar.

• "seldom if ever" → correct

• "rarely if ever" → correct

• "hardly if ever" → correct

• "seldom if never" → ❌ incorrect

Front

Question:
Identify the type of phrase in the following:
“great harmony among diverse communities”

(A) Adjective Phrase
(B) Noun Phrase
(C) Adverb Phrase
(D) Prepositional Phrase

Back

Answer:
✔️ (B) Noun Phrase

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• Head word (Noun): harmony

• Pre-modifier (Adjective): great

• Post-modifier (Prepositional Phrase): among diverse communities

  • Preposition → among

  • Object of Preposition → communities

  • Adjective modifying “communities” → diverse

👉 Since the head word is a noun ("harmony"), the whole phrase is a Noun Phrase.