GATE CS Verbal Aptitude Previous Year Questions

GATE CS 2025 Set 1 | Question 1

MCQ · 1 mark · −0.33

Ravi had ______ younger brother who taught at ______ university. He was widely regarded as ______ honorable man.

Select the option with the correct sequence of articles to fill in the blanks.

a; a; an the; an; a a; an; a an; an; a

Explanation

Answer: (A)

The article depends on the first sound of the next word, not on its first letter.

younger starts with a consonant “y” sound, so it takes a.
university also starts with a “y” sound (“yoo”), so it takes a, not an.
The “h” in honorable is silent, so the word starts with a vowel sound and takes an.

Only option A gives a; a; an.

Answer: A

GATE CS 2025 Set 1 | Question 2

MCQ · 1 mark · −0.33

The CEO’s decision to downsize the workforce was considered myopic because it sacrificed long-term stability to accommodate short-term gains.

Select the most appropriate option that can replace the word “myopic” without changing the meaning of the sentence.

visionary shortsighted progressive innovative

Explanation

Answer: (B)

The decision is criticised for chasing short-term gains at the cost of long-term stability, so “myopic” is used here in the sense of “unable to look ahead”. Shortsighted says exactly this. Visionary and progressive describe people who plan for the future, the reverse of the intended meaning, and innovative is about novelty, not foresight.

Answer: B

GATE CS 2025 Set 1 | Question 4

MCQ · 1 mark · −0.33

Consider the relationships among P, Q, R, S, and T:

P is the brother of Q.
S is the daughter of Q.
T is the sister of S.
R is the mother of Q.

The following statements are made based on the relationships given above.

(1) R is the grandmother of S.
(2) P is the uncle of S and T.
(3) R has only one son.
(4) Q has only one daughter.

Which one of the following options is correct?

Both (1) and (2) are true. Both (1) and (3) are true. Only (3) is true. Only (4) is true.

Explanation

Answer: (A)

S and T are sisters, so both are daughters of Q. R is the mother of Q, and P, being Q's brother, is also R's son.

(1) True: R is the mother of S's parent Q, so R is S's grandmother.
(2) True: P is the brother of the parent of S and T, so P is their uncle.
(3) Cannot be concluded: P is one son of R, but Q's gender is not given, so Q may be a second son.
(4) False: Q has at least two daughters, S and T.

Answer: A

GATE CS 2025 Set 1 | Question 6

MCQ · 2 marks · −0.66

“I put the brown paper in my pocket along with the chalks, and possibly other things. I suppose every one must have reflected how primeval and how poetical are the things that one carries in one’s pocket: the pocket-knife, for instance the type of all human tools, the infant of the sword. Once I planned to write a book of poems entirely about the things in my pocket. But I found it would be too long: and the age of the great epics is past.”

(From G.K. Chesterton’s “A Piece of Chalk”)

Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?

The author of the passage carries a mirror in his pocket to reflect upon things. The author of the passage had decided to write a poem on epics. The pocket-knife is described as the infant of the sword. Epics are described as too inconvenient to write.

Explanation

Answer: (C)

The passage calls the pocket-knife “the type of all human tools, the infant of the sword”, so (C) is stated directly.

(A) No mirror is mentioned; “reflected” here means “thought about”.
(B) The author planned a book of poems about the things in his pocket, not a poem on epics, and he gave up the plan.
(D) He says only that the age of great epics is past; he never calls epics inconvenient to write.

Answer: C

GATE CS 2025 Set 2 | Question 1

MCQ · 1 mark · −0.33

Despite his initial hesitation, Rehman’s _________ to contribute to the success of the project never wavered.

Select the most appropriate option to complete the above sentence.

ambivalence satisfaction resolve revolve

Explanation

Answer: (C)

The sentence contrasts Rehman’s early hesitation with something that “never wavered”. The blank therefore needs a noun meaning firm determination, one that can be followed by “to contribute”.

resolve (as a noun) means exactly that: his resolve to contribute never wavered.
ambivalence means mixed feelings, the opposite of something unwavering.
satisfaction is contentment, not a commitment, and does not take “to contribute”.
revolve is a verb meaning to turn around, so it cannot follow “Rehman’s”.

Answer: C

GATE CS 2025 Set 2 | Question 2

MCQ · 1 mark · −0.33

Bird : Nest :: Bee : _______

Select the correct option to complete the analogy.

Kennel Hammock Hive Lair

Explanation

Answer: (C)

A bird builds a nest and lives in it. The structure that bees build and live in is a hive, so Bee : Hive keeps the same relation.

The other words do not fit: a kennel is a shelter for a dog, a lair is the den of a wild animal such as a fox or a lion, and a hammock is a hanging bed for people.

Answer: C

GATE CS 2025 Set 2 | Question 6

MCQ · 2 marks · −0.66

Based only on the conversation below, identify the logically correct inference:

“Even if I had known that you were in the hospital, I would not have gone there to see you”, Ramya told Josephine.

Ramya knew that Josephine was in the hospital. Ramya did not know that Josephine was in the hospital. Ramya and Josephine were once close friends; but now, they are not. Josephine was in the hospital due to an injury to her leg.

Explanation

Answer: (B)

Ramya’s sentence is a counterfactual: “if I had known …, I would not have …”. This form describes a situation that did not happen, so it tells us that Ramya did not, in fact, know that Josephine was in the hospital. Her point is that knowing would not have changed anything.

A contradicts that meaning.
C and D may or may not be true, but nothing in the sentence mentions a past friendship or the cause of the hospital stay.

Answer: B

GATE CS 2024 Set 1 | Question 1

MCQ · 1 mark · −0.33

If ‘→’ denotes increasing order of intensity, then the meaning of the words [dry → arid → parched] is analogous to [diet → fast → ________ ].

Which one of the given options is appropriate to fill the blank?

starve reject feast deny

Explanation

Answer: (A)

In the first group, each word is a stronger degree of the same idea: dry, then arid (very dry), then parched (extremely dry, as if scorched).

The second group is about eating less. A diet limits food, a fast gives up food for a while, and the next, stronger step is to starve: to go without food until one suffers from it.

Reject and deny are not degrees of going without food, and feast is the opposite idea.

Answer: A

GATE CS 2024 Set 1 | Question 6

MCQ · 2 marks · −0.66

In the given text, the blanks are numbered (i)−(iv). Select the best match for all the blanks.

Steve was advised to keep his head ____(i)____ before heading ____(ii)____ to bat; for, while he had a head ____(iii)____ batting, he could only do so with a cool head ____(iv)____ his shoulders.

(i) down (ii) down (iii) on (iv) for (i) on (ii) down (iii) for (iv) on (i) down (ii) out (iii) for (iv) on (i) on (ii) out (iii) on (iv) for

Explanation

Answer: (C)

Each blank completes a fixed English expression:

(i) to keep one’s head down is to stay focused and avoid distractions, so down.
(ii) a batter goes to the crease by heading out to bat, so out.
(iii) to have a head for something is to have a natural talent for it, so a head for batting.
(iv) a cool head on one’s shoulders means calm good sense, so on.

Only option C gives down, out, for, on. The other options use phrases such as “a head on batting” or “a cool head for his shoulders”, which are not idiomatic.

Answer: C

GATE CS 2024 Set 2 | Question 1

MCQ · 1 mark · −0.33

If ‘→’ denotes increasing order of intensity, then the meaning of the words

[walk → jog → sprint] is analogous to [bothered → ________ → daunted].

Which one of the given options is appropriate to fill the blank?

phased phrased fazed fused

Explanation

Answer: (C)

Walk, jog and sprint are the same action at rising intensity. The blank therefore needs a word for being troubled that is stronger than “bothered” but milder than “daunted” (losing one’s nerve).

fazed means disconcerted or thrown off balance, which sits between the two.
phased (done in stages) only sounds like “fazed”; it says nothing about feelings.
phrased means put into words, and fused means joined together.

Answer: C