He is the best (A) / of all other students (B) / in the entire (C) / batch this year. (D)

• A. He is the best
• B. of all other students (Answer)
• C. in the entire
• D. No error

SUPERLATIVE REDUNDANCY: 'Best of all' already includes the subject in the comparison. Adding 'other' is redundant — 'best of all other' illogically excludes the subject from the group. Correct: 'He is the best of all students' OR 'He is better than all other students'.

The old man died (A) / from a sudden cardiac arrest (B) / in the early hours (C) / of Tuesday morning. (D)

• A. The old man died
• B. from a sudden cardiac arrest (Answer)
• C. in the early hours
• D. No error

PREPOSITION WITH 'DIE': The correct collocation is 'die of' a disease or medical condition, not 'die from'. 'Die from' is used for external causes (wounds, accidents). Correct: 'died of a sudden cardiac arrest'. Students confuse 'die of' and 'die from'.

She has been waiting (A) / at the bus stop (B) / since two hours, (C) / hoping for a lift. (D)

• A. She has been waiting
• B. at the bus stop
• C. since two hours, (Answer)
• D. No error

SINCE vs FOR TRAP: 'Since' is used with a point of time (since 5 o'clock). 'For' is used with a period of time (for two hours). Correct: 'for two hours'. Students hear 'since' as formal and overuse it. This is a guaranteed 1-mark question in SSC/Banking exams.

The agreement was signed (A) / by both the parties (B) / on the presence (C) / of several senior witnesses. (D)

• A. The agreement was signed
• B. by both the parties
• C. on the presence (Answer)
• D. No error

PREPOSITION COLLOCATION: 'In the presence of' is the correct phrase, not 'on the presence of'. Students mix up 'on' and 'in' with abstract nouns. Correct: 'in the presence of several senior witnesses'.

Not only did he refuse (A) / to cooperate with the authorities (B) / but also encouraged (C) / others to obstruct the investigation. (D)

• A. Not only did he refuse
• B. to cooperate with the authorities
• C. but also encouraged (Answer)
• D. No error

PARALLEL STRUCTURE WITH NOT ONLY...BUT ALSO: Both parts of the correlative must be parallel. 'Not only did he refuse' = inversion + verb; 'but also encouraged' drops the subject 'he'. For parallelism: 'but also he encouraged' or restructure: 'Not only did he refuse...but also encouraged' — subject must appear in both clauses.

The number of patients (A) / admitted to the hospital (B) / have increased (C) / significantly this winter. (D)

• A. The number of patients
• B. admitted to the hospital
• C. have increased (Answer)
• D. No error

'The number of' takes a singular verb. 'Has increased' is correct. Compare: 'A number of patients have increased' (correct, plural). 'The number' refers to the count as a single figure. 'Admitted to the hospital' is a red herring — it has no verb influence.

It is no use (A) / to cry over (B) / the spilled milk (C) / after what has happened. (D)

• A. It is no use
• B. to cry over (Answer)
• C. the spilled milk
• D. No error

'It is no use + gerund' is the correct structure. 'To cry' (infinitive) is wrong. Correct: 'It is no use crying over spilled milk'. Students confuse this with 'It is not possible to cry...' where infinitive is correct. The idiom demands gerund.

He is considered to be (A) / one of the most (B) / influential journalists in (C) / the Indian subcontinent today. (D)

• A. He is considered to be
• B. one of the most
• C. influential journalists in
• D. No error (Answer)

CLEAN SENTENCE: No error. 'Considered to be' is acceptable (though 'considered' alone is more concise). 'One of the most influential journalists' correctly uses superlative with plural noun. This tests whether students mark clean sentences as correct.

The train, (A) / which had departed from Delhi (B) / at 6 a.m., (C) / reached to Mumbai by midnight. (D)

• A. The train,
• B. which had departed from Delhi
• C. at 6 a.m.,
• D. reached to Mumbai by midnight (Answer)

'Reach' is a transitive verb that never takes a preposition. 'Reached to Mumbai' is incorrect. Correct: 'reached Mumbai by midnight'. The long relative clause in the middle of the sentence makes students forget the verb-preposition rule by the time they read Part D.

He is more wiser (A) / than he was (B) / when he first (C) / joined the organisation. (D)

• A. He is more wiser (Answer)
• B. than he was
• C. when he first
• D. No error

DOUBLE COMPARATIVE: 'Wiser' is already the comparative form. Adding 'more' creates an incorrect double comparative. Correct: 'He is wiser than he was'. This is an obvious error placed in Part A — examiners sometimes front-load errors to test whether students check all parts.