UPSC, SSC, PSC, IBPS Previous Questions

The author of the piece is now turning to taking to task the youngsters who have criticized their elders. But it won’t be long before the youngsters’ ability becomes outmoded and useless. The author is urging some restraint on their part. The word to fit the blank is (B) “ability”. Abilities have a limited shelf life and are a perishable commodity in some senses.

The preposition to fit the prepositional phrase is “in”, not any other preposition. The correct word is (B) “in”.

It’s easy for youngsters to criticize their parents and adults for their inability to operate a computer , a DVD player, etc. Ability to use comes with practice and willingness to adapt to change. Youngsters will ridicule their adult’s lack of knowledge or ability to handle the new gadgets, devices, etc. The right word is © “lack”.

Some adults, parents or seniors have yet to get used to operating a computer, a DVD player, etc., because they find these complicated. The right word for the blank is (D) “complicated.”

It’s teenagers who constantly operate and manipulate gadgets, computers and other devices and become more comfortable and confident in operating them. They know how to turn on a DVD player, how to boot a computer and how to operate a new mobile. They are more comfortable and at ease with these devices and gadgets which the adults find it difficult to handle. The suitable word is (A) “operating”.

With the never-ending array of gadgets and software, youngsters and elders are bewildered. So a research was conducted to find out where these people stand on this. So research suggested that youngsters are better equipped to handle these gadgets than their parents and elders. The most apt word is (B) “research.”

The word for the second blank is (D) “software” which is required to run or operate a computer. Without a software package no computer can run or function. The computer is composed of hardware and it is operated by various software packages depending on the operator’s need and function. Other words do not have the wide range that “software” has

The most apt word to fit the first blank is (D) "invent" which means "to produce or design something which has not existed before." Scientists are in the forefront of the technological revolution and are inventive and creative enough to invent more gadgets, gizmos, devices, etc. Other words are way behind "invent" and are dismissed.

The correct options is (D) because other options deviate from grammatical rules and are structurally faulty. The word "forbid" is negative and its meaning is "to order someone not to do something" or "to say that something is not allowed." Some example sentences with "borbid". her father forbade the marriage; you are forbidden to leave; she knew her mother would forbid her going lack of spae frobade them from mentioning the subject again. So the use of "to" after "forbade" is grammatically and syntactically allowed in the answer option (D). Furthermore there's no use of "not" in the answer option.

Only one sentence is grammatically correctly framed and that is option (A). Other options can be faulted on grammar. The reporting verb (“said”) is rightly changed to “admitted”, the first person is changed to the third person and the present tense (“am”) is turned into past tense (“was”). The reported speech is perfect.

Except (B) other options are grammatically wrongly worded sentences. In (B) the right yes/no question word (Would) is used to begin the sentence with; the double quotes and the question mark are rightly used at the right places.

The correct option is (A) though it could have been expressed better: the teacher asked him not to …. The teacher instructed him not to ….. the teacher urged him not to…; the teacher ordered him not to ….; the teacher instructed him not to …. The teacher urged him not to …. The teacher ordered him not to …; the teacher commanded him not to go out. Very rarely do we use this word in spoken or in written English; however the sentence isn’t grammatically incorrect.

The correct option is (D) because the sentence is grammatically correct except for two venial error in it. First, a comma after “madam” is missing and second there’s no need of a hyphen between “fee” and “concession.” Otherwise this is a perfect sentence and is the correct form of the direct speech.

Option (A) is correct because all the rules are followed by it. There are two errors in the direct speech sentence: first “the” is not required before “school” and no comma is required after “school”. “Today” is rightly changed to “that day” and the use of “whether” is right owing to the presence of the yes/no question word “Do” in the direct speech.

Only option (B) has complied with all the rules of the switch from direct to reported speech. “Whether” is rightly used because a yes/no question word (“will”) is used to frame the question/request. The first person is changed to the third person.

The correct option is (D) because the sentence is grammatically correct except for two venial error in it. First, a comma after “madam” is missing and second there’s no need of a hyphen between “fee” and concession”. Otherwise this a perfect sentence and is the correct form of the direct speech.

The correct form of the reported speech is option (D). When it’s clear who is speaking to whom, the use of “told” is preferable. The teacher told the students not to do something. The use of “is” in the sentence was spoken on Sunday. But if the sentence is looked at today, “is” sounds a bit improper because others don’t know when the direct speech sentence was spoken: this year, last year or the year before last year?; there’s  no knowing when. So the use of past tense of “is” would have been better.

The standard and the correct reported speech form of the sentence is (C). The first person “We” is rightly changed to the third person “They” and the past tense “were is turned into past perfect tense. Therefore the sentence © is accepted as the only correct option. Other options deviate from grammatical rules.

There’s no need to hyphenate goodbye. The right option is (B). There can be other ways of expressing the reported speech.

The past perfect tense 'had come' changes to the present perfect "have come" in the direct speech. This is seen only in Choice (B)

The pronoun 'you' changes to 'him' in the indirect speech. The given sentence is correctly expressed in the reported speech only in choice C. The remaining options are grammatically incorrect.

The word 'hoped' should be used in the reported speech to denote the expression of hope indicated in the direct speech. The will of the direct speech changes to would in the reported speech and 'my' changes to 'his'. this seen only in choice (A).

Only Choice (B) is grammatically correct. The use of "that" after 'asked' makes choice (A) incorrect.

Options B and C can be eliminated because the expression ‘already told us’ is not in the direct speech, hence it should not be changed in the reported speech. Choice (D) is incorrect because the present perfect continuous tense ‘has been speaking" is incorrect here. Only Choice (A) is grammatically correct.

The expression ‘please’ is correctly expressed using ‘requested’ as the reporting verb. You request someone to do something. Hence the correct form of the sentence is ‘I requested my mother to warm that milk……”.

The commander orders for something to be done. The given sentence is correctly expressed in the reported speech only in choice(B)

The correct reporting verb which should be used here is “asked” and “can changes to ‘could’ in the reported speech.

“Asked” is the correct verb which should be used in the reported speech and “will” changes to “would” and “now” changes to then in the reported 

Choice (B) is the correct answer. The shall of the future tense changes to would in the direct speech. Choice (D) is incomplete. Choice (B)