SSC Selection Post 2025 PYQ — Question 70

Correct Answer

have

Explanation

The question asks you to select the correct verb that forms a natural collocation with the noun "sympathy." To solve this quickly for an exam, look for the standard verb-noun pairing used by native speakers to express an emotional state.

A collocation is a combination of words that frequently occur together by habit and convention. In English, when you want to express that you feel compassion or pity for someone, the fixed idiomatic expression is to "have sympathy" for or with them.

Let's look at why the other verbs do not form standard collocations in this context:

"Keep sympathy" is incorrect; we say "keep a secret" or "keep in touch."

"Put sympathy" is incorrect; we say "put emphasis" or "put blame."

"Do sympathy" is completely ungrammatical; we say "do a favor" or "do homework."

Plugging the correct verb into the sentence yields: "I don't have sympathy with failures." This makes Option 4 the correct choice.

Key Points

Mastering collocations requires memorizing specific verb-noun pairings that sound natural to native speakers, rather than translating words literally.

The verb "have" is the standard operational verb utilized across English testing formats to denote possessing feelings like sympathy, pity, or patience.