SSC CGL 2025 PYQ — Question 10

SSC CGL - 22 Sep 2025 - Shift 2 • English • Q10

Select the correct option:

His explanation was neither accurate ____ exhaustive, leaving many gaps.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B

Explanation

The correct answer is option 2 i.e. nor.

 

Error Concept: Incorrect use of correlative conjunctions.

What is wrong: The sentence uses the word 'neither,' which is a correlative conjunction that must be paired with a specific partner to connect two negative ideas of equal importance. Using 'or,' 'and,' or 'but' creates a grammatical mismatch.

Grammatical Concept: Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words or groups of words that have equal weight in a sentence.

  • Neither is always paired with nor.

  • Either is always paired with or.

  • Not only is always paired with but also.

How to correct: Replace the blank with 'nor' to complete the negative pairing initiated by 'neither.'

Corrected Phrase: neither accurate nor exhaustive

Final Sentence: His explanation was neither accurate nor exhaustive, leaving many gaps.

Hence, the chosen option is correct.