SSC Selection Post 2025 PYQ — Question 60

Correct Answer

Humorous

Explanation

The question asks you to identify the correct spelling of the adjective form of "humour/humor". This is one of the most common spelling traps in competitive English exams.

Let's break down the rule that causes this confusion:

In British English, the base noun is spelled humour with an "ou". In American English, it is spelled humor with just an "o".

However, when you add the adjective suffix "-ous" to the end of the word, the spelling changes uniformly across both British and American English. The letter "u" in the middle syllable is dropped entirely. Therefore, the correct spelling is Humorous, which contains only single "o" letters in the first two syllables (hu-mor-ous).

Let's look at why the other options are spelling errors:

Humourous is incorrect because it mistakenly retains the British noun spelling "ou" before adding the suffix.

Humorus is incorrect because it misses the "o" in the final "-ous" suffix.

Humurous is incorrect because it uses a "u" instead of an "o" in the second syllable.

Because the standard, universally accepted spelling drops the middle "u", Option 1 is the correct choice.

Key Points

To avoid this common suffix trap on future exams, remember that several nouns ending in "-our" drop the "u" completely when they transition into adjectives ending in "-orous":

Humour becomes Humorous

Vapour becomes Vaporous

Clamour becomes Clamorous

Rigour becomes Rigorous