Hello friends, Akshay Bhardwaj here again. As you might know from my previous post, I recently cleared the SSC CPO prelims and the Delhi Police Constable exam. It feels great, but the journey is not over yet. Right now, my entire focus is on the CPO Mains, my physical exam, and the upcoming SSC CGL 2026 exam.
English is a huge part of the Mains exam. We simply cannot take it lightly. Recently, I was studying from a very helpful video on the QEng YouTube channel. The teacher explained Amazing Top 20 English grammar rules through practice questions. I took detailed notes because these are the exact types of errors SSC asks in exams.
Table of Contents
Today, I want to share these notes with all my fellow aspirants. I have added clear examples for every single rule so we can all revise together and understand how the rule works in an actual sentence. These rules will help you spot errors quickly in your mock tests. Let us look at them one by one.
Top 20 English Grammar Rules
1. Fractions and Verbs
When we use words like ‘1/3 of’, ‘2/3 of’, ‘most of’, or ‘plenty of’, we often get confused about the verb. Should it be singular or plural? The rule is very simple. Look at the noun that comes right after these words. If the noun is singular, use a singular verb. If the noun is plural, use a plural verb.
- Incorrect – 1/3 of the newly constructed complex have been left vacant.
- Correct – 1/3 of the newly constructed complex has been left vacant.
2. Gerunds and Possessive Pronouns
This is a common trap in SSC exams. A gerund is a verb ending in ‘-ing’ acting like a noun. If you use a pronoun before a gerund, it must be in the possessive case.
- Incorrect – The manager was frustrated with him coming late.
- Correct – The manager was frustrated with his coming late.
Check Out More – Top 25 Rules of Narration for SSC CGL 2026 (Direct and Indirect Speech).
3. Mixed Conditionals
Sometimes, we mix a present imaginary situation with a past result. If the ‘If’ clause shows a present unreal situation (using ‘were’), and the main clause talks about a past action (like “last month”), we must use the past result structure.
- Incorrect – If she were dishonest, she would accept the bribe last month.
- Correct – If she were dishonest, she would have accepted the bribe last month.
4. ‘To’ as a Preposition
We usually use the base form of a verb after ‘to’. But in some fixed phrases, ‘to’ acts as a preposition. Phrases like ‘committed to’, ‘look forward to’, and ‘used to’ always take an ‘-ing’ verb after them.
- Incorrect – The team was strongly committed to investigate.
- Correct – The team was strongly committed to investigating.
5. The Inversion Rule
Words like ‘Scarcely’, ‘Hardly’, and ‘No sooner’ are negative adverbs. If a sentence starts with them, we must use the inversion rule. This means the helping verb must come before the subject.
- Incorrect – Scarcely the director had assumed the charge when the strike started.
- Correct – Scarcely had the director assumed the charge when the strike started.
6. That vs. What
‘That’ is a relative pronoun that needs an antecedent. This means a noun must come right before it. ‘What’ does not need a noun before it because it already means ‘the thing that’.
- Incorrect – The only evidence what could prove his innocence was destroyed.
- Correct – The only evidence that could prove his innocence was destroyed.
7. Tricky Plural Nouns
Some words have foreign origins and weird plural forms. ‘Criteria’ is actually a plural word. Its singular form is ‘criterion’. If the sentence talks about a “primary” or single thing, you must use the singular form.
- Incorrect – The primary criteria for selecting the candidate has changed.
- Correct – The primary criterion for selecting the candidate has changed.
8. Parallelism Rule
When you join two actions with “not only… but also”, they must be in the exact same grammar form. You cannot mix an infinitive with an ‘-ing’ gerund. They must balance perfectly.
- Incorrect – He intends not only to reorganize the office but also enhancing the infrastructure.
- Correct – He intends not only to reorganize the office but also to enhance the infrastructure.
9. State Verbs in Continuous Tense
Verbs that show a state of mind or ownership cannot take an ‘-ing’ form. Words like ‘belong’, ‘own’, ‘know’, and ‘love’ are state verbs. If there is a time marker like ‘since’, you must use the perfect tense.
- Incorrect – The manuscript is belonging to him since the 19th century.
- Correct – The manuscript has belonged to him since the 19th century.
10. Asking Questions in Indirect Speech
When we report a yes/no question, we use ‘whether’ or ‘if’. A major rule here is never to use ‘that’ before ‘whether’. Using both creates a double conjunction error.
- Incorrect – The investigator asked that whether any transaction was processed.
- Correct – The investigator asked whether any transaction was processed.
11. Future Perfect Tense Clues
Look out for the phrase “By the time” followed by a future event. It means a task will finish before a certain point in the future. The main clause must use the Future Perfect tense (‘will have + V3’).
- Incorrect – By the time the committee arrives next month, the team will reconcile the balances.
- Correct – By the time the committee arrives next month, the team will have reconciled the balances.
12. Dangling Participles
If a sentence starts with an ‘-ing’ phrase, the subject of the main clause must be the one performing that action. A document cannot walk through a library. We need to add a clear subject to the first part.
- Incorrect – Walking through the archives, several documents were discovered by the researcher.
- Correct – While he was walking through the archives, several documents were discovered by the researcher.
13. Intransitive Verbs and Passive Voice
Verbs that do not take a direct object are called intransitive verbs. ‘Occur’ is a great example. Because it has no object, you can never write it in the passive voice.
- Incorrect – The crisis was occurred due to a technical glitch.
- Correct – The crisis occurred due to a technical glitch.
14. Direct vs. Indirect Questions
If a question is placed inside a normal statement, it loses its question format. The sentence must end with a full stop, and we must use the normal subject-verb order instead of helping verb-subject.
- Incorrect – The board wanted to know why had the director decided to leave.
- Correct – The board wanted to know why the director had decided to leave.
15. Verbs Followed by Gerunds
Some specific verbs only take gerunds (‘-ing’ form) right after them instead of infinitives. The verb ‘recommend’ belongs to this group, along with ‘enjoy’, ‘avoid’, and ‘deny’.
- Incorrect – The officer recommended to implement the new protocols.
- Correct – The officer recommended implementing the new protocols.
16. Prepositions with Specific Words
Vocabulary and fixed prepositions go hand in hand. The word ‘complicit’ means being involved in something illegal. It always takes the preposition ‘in’.
- Incorrect – He was complicit for the embezzlement scheme.
- Correct – He was complicit in the embezzlement scheme.
17. Present Subjunctive Mood
When a sentence uses a verb showing urgency or demand like ‘insist’, ‘recommend’, or ‘demand’, the following clause must use the base form of the verb. For passive voice, we use ‘be + V3’.
- Incorrect – The officer insisted that the facility is kept isolated.
- Correct – The officer insisted that the facility be kept isolated.
18. Distant Subjects and Verbs
Examiners love to put a long relative clause between the subject and the verb to distract you. Always trace the verb back to its real subject, not the noun closest to it.
- Incorrect – The framework, which was implemented last quarter, have reduced latency.
- Correct – The framework, which was implemented last quarter, has reduced latency.
19. Verb Conjugation Traps
Sometimes, the error is just a wrong verb form. The forms for the word ‘shrink’ are shrink (V1), shrank (V2), and shrunk (V3). After helping verbs like ‘has’, we must use the V3 form.
- Incorrect – The investment portfolio has shrank by 12%.
- Correct – The investment portfolio has shrunk by 12%.
20. The ‘As If’ Rule
When a sentence uses “as if” or “as though” to talk about a hypothetical or impossible situation, we must use the past subjunctive mood. We use ‘were’ or the V2 form regardless of the main tense.
- Incorrect – He interrogates people as if he is the legal head.
- Correct – He interrogates people as if he were the legal head.
Final Views
These 20 rules cover a lot of ground for SSC English. I am revising them daily as I prepare for CPO Mains and SSC CGL 2026. Managing studies along with my physical exam prep gets tiring, but seeing the syllabus getting completed gives me hope.
I hope you found these rules and examples helpful. Keep studying hard, and good luck to everyone.