Practice Fillers Questions and Answers

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks are an essential part of the English section of various competitive exams like- SEBI Grade A, RBI Assistant, RBI Grade B, IBPS SO, IBPS PO, SBI PO, SBI CLerk, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL and many others.

What are Fill in the Blanks?

In Fill in the Blanks, a few sentences are given with missing words. The candidates are required to choose the most appropriate option from the given options to fill the gaps and make the sentence whole and meaningful. Fill in the Blanks is also referred to as Fillers.

How to Approach Fill in the Blanks?

Read the Sentence

• First things first, read the sentence carefully. 
• The goal is to understand the meaning, tone and context of the given sentence without looking at the options given. 
• Try to understand the logical structure of the statement. 
• Based on the context, you will be able to determine the kind of word that is required to fill the blank.

Identify Connectors/Conjunctions/Transition Words

• Try to identify the connectors/conjunctions/transition words in the given sentence. 
• This will help you in understanding the tone well.
• For instance, words like ‘and’, ‘because’, ‘along with’, etc, add to the subject which means that the sentence is going in the same direction.
• On the contrary, words like ‘despite’, ‘although’, ‘however’ etc, show a contradiction in the given sentence and give us a clue about the direction of the sentence.
• Such clues play an important role in  finding the correct option.

Build your Vocabulary

• Questions on Fill in the Blanks are meant to test your analytical skills and vocabulary skills.
• Therefore, there will be certain questions which will test your knowledge with respect to vocabulary, grammar, idioms, phrases, synonyms or antonyms. 
• A good vocabulary will increase your chances of recognising which option would fit in and which won’t.

Re-read the Sentence

• Once you have filled the blank with one of the given options, you must re-read the sentence. This is the most crucial step while solving questions on Fill in the Blanks.
• If the sentence makes sense logically and grammatically, then the word is right.
• However, if the statement does not make sense, replace the chosen option with a more meaningful alternative. 
• Most importantly, the option you choose must enable you to read the sentence with ease and without any grammatical errors.

Elimination

• Sometimes, you may get confused between two options or you may not understand the meaning of some of the words given in the options.
• In this case, you can use the process of elimination to choose the correct option.
• You can place each option in the blank one by one and eliminate the ones which do not complete the sentence or do not make the sentence meaningful.
• Once you have placed the option that seems correct, re-read the sentence and ensure that the statement is complete and has no grammatical errors.

Sample Questions on Fill in the Blanks

Directions: The following questions have some blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank that best fits in the context of the sentence.

Q1) With a whole lot of games _________ in the coming months from the post-apocalyptic genre, everybody will be able to _________ the world after the unthinkable has happened.

1. Retiring, exploit
2. Rejecting, report
3. Releasing, explore
4. Launching, visualise
5. Opening, understand

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

The given sentence implies something related to the new games coming in the post-apocalyptic genre which will give some kind of experience to the general public. 

Thus, Option (c) is the correct choice since games can be released and also with something that does not exist in reality it would be thrilling to experience the world like that. It would be a kind of exploration of something new in a new kind of world.

Q2) At a _________ store recently launched by a Kochi-based startup at the city’s Gold Souk Grande Mall, customers get a _________ experience of what cashier-less shopping feels like.

1. Mechanical, true
2. Engineered, realistic
3. Automated, hands-free
4. Fully-automated, hands-on
5. Automated, lifetime

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

The given statement implies that there is some important development in Kochi where a startup company has launched something that enables cashier-less shopping experience.Therefore,  Option (d) is the correct choice because the shop is about cashier-less shopping experience and that can be provided by only a fully-automated shop and both the words fit the context perfectly in the given statement. 

Q3) The large-scale _________ of troops by the Syrian government and its allies around the province, has led to speculation about an _________ attack as well as calls to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

1. Realisation, eminent
2. Mutilation, excellent
3. Mobilisation, imminent
4. Resources, extreme
5. Assimilation, assumed

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

The given statement implies that the Syrian Government and its allies must have got their troops around the province and that is causing the perception that they will attack the province soon.

Hence, Option (c) is the correct choice because the government and its allies have got the troops around the province and this can be explained well by the given word mobilization whereas the second blank can also be filled with the word imminent which will mean an impending attack on the said province. So, both the words are correct for the given blanks.

Q4) But the people of Telangana are going to _________ him by what he did in the last four years, and not by what he _________ to do in the next few weeks.

1. Judge, intends
2. Reject, restricts
3. Reciprocate, proposes
4. Rectify, plans
5. None of the above

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

The given statement implies that the people of Telangana will have opinions about him with respect to his past actions and not what he will do in the future. It seems that the sentence is about support to a political party on the basis of its actions in the last few years.

Therefore, Option (a) is correct because people of the state are going to judge the political party and its leader on the basis of its actions in the last few years in power and he may now say something that he wants to do in the next few years but that is of no use now as far as getting support of people is concerned.

Q5) Holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assembly may have larger _________, but there is a _________ that could disadvantage regional parties.

1. Ramifications, complexion
2. Impact, synthesis
3. Benefits, perception
4. Beginning, problem
5. None of the above

Answer: (c) 

Explanation:

The given statement implies that holding simultaneous polls will have different effects on the national parties and the regional players. It is made clear by the fact that ‘but’ has been used to connect the two parts and it is used to connect two contrasting parts only. 

Thus, Option (c) will be the correct choice because the first blank can be filled with benefits whereas the second blank should have something that implies that there is an idea regarding the disadvantage of regional parties in case of simultaneous polls.

Conclusion

Fill in the Blanks has become an important part of the syllabus of various government and competitive exams. Therefore, it is imperative that you do not take this topic lightly. Practice as many Fill in the Blanks questions as possible to improve your speed. Furthermore, focus on building your vocabulary and make a list of important idioms & phrases and revise them regularly. You can expect around 4 to 5 questions on this topic.