Q3:

Grammar

Medium

Choose the most appropriate passive construction for the given sentence:

Do you expect your parents to come from Hyderabad today?

Answer options
Option 1
Correct Answer
Explanation for 2026: 21 May Shift 2 ENG question 3

Q4:

Literary Devices

Medium

Choose the correct pair of figures of speech for the given sentence:

The silence screamed louder than any voice in the room.

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for 2026: 21 May Shift 2 ENG question 4

Q5:

Word Usage

Medium

Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

The ________analysis of the movie by the upcoming blogger was so to the point that it not only went viral, but also raised the gross collection beyond the expected numbers.

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for 2026: 21 May Shift 2 ENG question 5

Q7:

Idioms

Medium

Match the idioms given in List-I with their meanings given in List-II.

LIST-I (Idioms)LIST-II (Meaning)
A. Take something at face valueI. To take something as naturally expected
B. Take something in strideII. Assessing all the aspects in order to form an opinion
C. Take something lying downIII. To accept something exactly the way it appears to be
D. Take stock of a situationIV. To endure something unpleasant without fighting back

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options
Option 3
Correct Answer
Explanation for 2026: 21 May Shift 2 ENG question 7

Q9:

Synonyms

Easy

Choose the correct synonym for the underlined word in the given sentence:

He was advised to move to a place that would offer a salubrious climate .

Answer options
Option 4
Correct Answer
Explanation for 2026: 21 May Shift 2 ENG question 9

Q10:

Synonyms

Medium

Choose the correct words with similar meaning for the underlined word in the given sentence:

There is not a single word that is REDUNDANT in the report.

A. not needed

B. supernumerary

C. meagre

D. essential

Answer options

Q11:

Rearrangement

Medium

Arrange the following parts to make a meaningful sentence:

A. the early tests of his vegetarianism to the epic

B. the cardinal rule: he shared his struggles

C. fasts at the end of his life, Gandhi held on

D. across decades of dietary experimentation, from

Answer options

Q12:

Literary Devices

Easy

Choose the correct figure of speech used in the given sentence:

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tyred.

Answer options

Q14:

Grammar

Easy

Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

_____you make a wrong choice with regard to your career, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

Answer options

Q15:

Antonyms

Easy

Choose the correct antonyms for the word FIDELITY from the options given:

A. Falsity

B. Treachery

C. Loyalty

D. Obedience

Answer options

Q16:

Grammar

Medium

Fill in the blanks given in List-I with the correct options given in List-II

LIST-I (Sentences)LIST-II (Words)
A. Rashi will fail ____ she does not work hard.I. because
B. He was late to school ______ he got caught in the sudden downpour.II. in case
C. I could not recognise her, she has changed a lot ______ I saw her last.III. if
D. The teacher said that ____ any of us had any questions on the subject, we should ask her then.IV. since

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q17:

Word Usage

Medium

Match the words given in List-I with their expanded forms given in List-II.

LIST-I (Word)LIST-II (Expanded form)
A. CacheI. A place where records are kept.
B. ArchivesII. A place where dishes are washed.
C. ScabbardIII. A hidden store of things.
D. SculleryIV. A case in which the blade of the sword is kept.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q18:

Idioms

Easy

Choose the correct meaning for the idiom To play to the gallery from the given options:

Answer options

Q19:

Word Usage

Medium

Fill in the blanks given in List-I with the appropriate words given in List-II

LIST-I (Fill in the Blanks)LIST-II (Words)
A. Since the ______ of the document submitted was not clear, it was rejected.I. collusion
B. The ________between the two cars proved very fatal for the passengers.II. tenure
C. He is seen interacting more with the staff as his _____ as the chairman is drawing close.III. tenor
D. The domestic help in ____ with the robbers staged the robbery in a manner that would cast no aspersion on him.IV. collision

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q21:

Phrasal Verbs

Medium

Select the sentence in which the phrasal verb TURN DOWN has been used correctly.

Answer options

Q22:

Synonyms

Easy

Choose the correct words with similar meaning for the word:

ADJACENT.

A. Verging

B. Distant

C. Separate

D. Juxtaposed

Answer options

Q23:

Phrasal Verbs

Easy

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

The shopkeeper did not have the toys I was looking ____________.

Answer options

Q24:

Rearrangement

Medium

Arrange the following parts to make a meaningful sentence:

A. race ahead without stopping to smell

B. on a mountain, and in life, it pays to be patient

C. the roses and take in the scenery along the way

D. and enjoy the journey rather than

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q25:

Grammar

Easy

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

This column _________ twice weekly in the newspaper that I subscribe to.

Answer options

Q26:

Spelling

Easy

Fill in the blank with the correctly spelled word from the options:

The warden would give us weekly some money to cover up any _________expenses.

Answer options

Q27:

Rearrangement

Medium

Arrange the following parts to make a meaningful sentence:

A. well-equipped to deal with the drastic change in forex output

B. due to the unpredictable U.S. policies in the areas of

C. software exports and information technology

D. Indian manufacturers and exporters are

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q28:

Grammar

Easy

Choose the most appropriate reported construction for the given sentence:

"I will buy the flowers myself." said Mrs. Kapoor

Answer options

Q29:

Phrasal Verbs

Easy

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

If you will ____me a little longer, I'll answer all the questions.

Answer options

Q30:

Word Usage

Medium

Match the words given in List-I with their expanded forms given in List-II

LIST-I (Word)LIST-II (Expanded form)
A. EntomologyI. The study of animal behaviour
B. EpigraphyII. The study of the characteristics of human races
C. EthnologyIII. The study of insects
D. EthologyIV. The study of inscriptions

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q32:

Phrasal Verbs

Easy

Choose the correct word that appropriately replaces the underlined words in the given sentence:

The committee decided to call off the celebrations due to the escalation of the situation in the province.

Answer options

Q33:

Grammar

Medium

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

An ordinance declaring President's rule in the state _____________ for immediate compliance after assessing the law and order situation.

Answer options

Q34:

Word Usage

Medium

Fill in the blank with the appropriate word from the given options:

Despite an affected________that convinced casual observers that he was indifferent about his painting, the young NIFT graduate cared deeply about his art and laboured at it diligently.

Answer options

Q35:

Word Usage

Easy

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

She could not bring herself to forget how mean Ravi was to her sister. She _____him on sight

Answer options

Q36:

Grammar

Medium

Fill in the blanks given in List-I with the correct words given in List-II.

LIST-I (Fill in the blanks)LIST-II (Words)
A. I have _________ influence in the political field.I. a little
B. There is no milk left. I have given ___ milk I had to the cat.II. some
C. I've only read _____ of the book so far.III. the little
D. _______ dreams are very disturbing.IV. little

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q37:

Rearrangement

Easy

Complete the beginning of the sentence given by arranging the following parts into a meaningful sentence:

Work is one thing

A. and without it

B. that is necessary

C. to keep the world going

D. we all would die

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q38:

Grammar

Medium

Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank in the given sentence:

My daughter probably thinks I am making up the stories about my childhood although she ______says so and continues to listen patiently.

Answer options

Q39:

Rearrangement

Medium

Complete the beginning of the sentence given by arranging the following parts into a meaningful sentence:

I know it is not nice to compromise but

A. if placed in her situation

B. you can hardly blame her

C. for doing what

D. most people would do

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q40:

Antonyms

Medium

Match words given in List-I with their opposites given in List-II

LIST-I (Words)LIST-II (Antonyms)
A. DissipateI. Criticism
B. SedentaryII. Forgiving
C. AdulationIII. Hoard
D. VindictiveIV. Energetic

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer options

Q41:

Passage

Medium

Attempts to lose weight often end in disappointment. This pattern is extremely common in modern life. Research shows that barely 20% of people manage to maintain lost weight after a year. This failure is not about shaming individuals; it reflects a serious public health risk comparable to smoking. Recent findings in a series of papers named Lacent underline two essential points. First, ultra-processed foods have steadily weakened people's ability to make healthy choices. Second, only strong and coordinated policy measures can rebuild a food environment that supports better habits.

Consider something as simple as yogurt. What seems like a healthy snack is usually packed with modified starches, emulsifiers, sweeteners and colourings. With busy work schedules, few people have time to prepare fresh alternatives, especially those who carry and balance multiple responsibilities. This is where policy can matter. Front-of-package warnings, limits on marketing to children and fiscal measures that prevent large corporations from making profit on public health, society must acknowledge how harmful highly engineered food has become. People need to resist such products. Instead, they must replace them with real cooking.

Ultra-processed foods feel addictive because they are designed to override the body's hunger signals. When people eat them compulsively, it is not simply weakness, it is the outcome of meticulous industrial engineering to hijack human biology. Even something labelled as a "strawberry" may contain dozens of artificial chemicals and no real fruit. While policymakers delay reforms, everyone turns to chips, sweets and cola for comfort during stress and loneliness.

Ultimately, despite the structural issues, personal discipline still plays a crucial role. Choosing healthier food is genuinely challenging- sometimes as demanding as other major acts of self-control in life. We can view the greater empathy. It is no less tough than buying a house or sending a child abroad.

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a characteristic of ultra-processed foods?

Answer options

Q42:

Passage

Medium

Attempts to lose weight often end in disappointment. This pattern is extremely common in modern life. Research shows that barely 20% of people manage to maintain lost weight after a year. This failure is not about shaming individuals; it reflects a serious public health risk comparable to smoking. Recent findings in a series of papers named Lacent underline two essential points. First, ultra-processed foods have steadily weakened people's ability to make healthy choices. Second, only strong and coordinated policy measures can rebuild a food environment that supports better habits.

Consider something as simple as yogurt. What seems like a healthy snack is usually packed with modified starches, emulsifiers, sweeteners and colourings. With busy work schedules, few people have time to prepare fresh alternatives, especially those who carry and balance multiple responsibilities. This is where policy can matter. Front-of-package warnings, limits on marketing to children and fiscal measures that prevent large corporations from making profit on public health, society must acknowledge how harmful highly engineered food has become. People need to resist such products. Instead, they must replace them with real cooking.

Ultra-processed foods feel addictive because they are designed to override the body's hunger signals. When people eat them compulsively, it is not simply weakness, it is the outcome of meticulous industrial engineering to hijack human biology. Even something labelled as a "strawberry" may contain dozens of artificial chemicals and no real fruit. While policymakers delay reforms, everyone turns to chips, sweets and cola for comfort during stress and loneliness.

Ultimately, despite the structural issues, personal discipline still plays a crucial role. Choosing healthier food is genuinely challenging- sometimes as demanding as other major acts of self-control in life. We can view the greater empathy. It is no less tough than buying a house or sending a child abroad.

According to the passage front-of-package warnings and marketing restrictions are important as-

Answer options

Q43:

Passage

Medium

Attempts to lose weight often end in disappointment. This pattern is extremely common in modern life. Research shows that barely 20% of people manage to maintain lost weight after a year. This failure is not about shaming individuals; it reflects a serious public health risk comparable to smoking. Recent findings in a series of papers named Lacent underline two essential points. First, ultra-processed foods have steadily weakened people's ability to make healthy choices. Second, only strong and coordinated policy measures can rebuild a food environment that supports better habits.

Consider something as simple as yogurt. What seems like a healthy snack is usually packed with modified starches, emulsifiers, sweeteners and colourings. With busy work schedules, few people have time to prepare fresh alternatives, especially those who carry and balance multiple responsibilities. This is where policy can matter. Front-of-package warnings, limits on marketing to children and fiscal measures that prevent large corporations from making profit on public health, society must acknowledge how harmful highly engineered food has become. People need to resist such products. Instead, they must replace them with real cooking.

Ultra-processed foods feel addictive because they are designed to override the body's hunger signals. When people eat them compulsively, it is not simply weakness, it is the outcome of meticulous industrial engineering to hijack human biology. Even something labelled as a "strawberry" may contain dozens of artificial chemicals and no real fruit. While policymakers delay reforms, everyone turns to chips, sweets and cola for comfort during stress and loneliness.

Ultimately, despite the structural issues, personal discipline still plays a crucial role. Choosing healthier food is genuinely challenging- sometimes as demanding as other major acts of self-control in life. We can view the greater empathy. It is no less tough than buying a house or sending a child abroad.

What is the central concern of the passage?

Answer options

Q44:

Passage

Medium

Attempts to lose weight often end in disappointment. This pattern is extremely common in modern life. Research shows that barely 20% of people manage to maintain lost weight after a year. This failure is not about shaming individuals; it reflects a serious public health risk comparable to smoking. Recent findings in a series of papers named Lacent underline two essential points. First, ultra-processed foods have steadily weakened people's ability to make healthy choices. Second, only strong and coordinated policy measures can rebuild a food environment that supports better habits.

Consider something as simple as yogurt. What seems like a healthy snack is usually packed with modified starches, emulsifiers, sweeteners and colourings. With busy work schedules, few people have time to prepare fresh alternatives, especially those who carry and balance multiple responsibilities. This is where policy can matter. Front-of-package warnings, limits on marketing to children and fiscal measures that prevent large corporations from making profit on public health, society must acknowledge how harmful highly engineered food has become. People need to resist such products. Instead, they must replace them with real cooking.

Ultra-processed foods feel addictive because they are designed to override the body's hunger signals. When people eat them compulsively, it is not simply weakness, it is the outcome of meticulous industrial engineering to hijack human biology. Even something labelled as a "strawberry" may contain dozens of artificial chemicals and no real fruit. While policymakers delay reforms, everyone turns to chips, sweets and cola for comfort during stress and loneliness.

Ultimately, despite the structural issues, personal discipline still plays a crucial role. Choosing healthier food is genuinely challenging- sometimes as demanding as other major acts of self-control in life. We can view the greater empathy. It is no less tough than buying a house or sending a child abroad.

Choose the word with a similar meaning to the underlined word from the given options.

Ultra-processed foods are addictive because they are designed to override the body's natural hunger.

Answer options

Q45:

Passage

Medium

Attempts to lose weight often end in disappointment. This pattern is extremely common in modern life. Research shows that barely 20% of people manage to maintain lost weight after a year. This failure is not about shaming individuals; it reflects a serious public health risk comparable to smoking. Recent findings in a series of papers named Lacent underline two essential points. First, ultra-processed foods have steadily weakened people's ability to make healthy choices. Second, only strong and coordinated policy measures can rebuild a food environment that supports better habits.

Consider something as simple as yogurt. What seems like a healthy snack is usually packed with modified starches, emulsifiers, sweeteners and colourings. With busy work schedules, few people have time to prepare fresh alternatives, especially those who carry and balance multiple responsibilities. This is where policy can matter. Front-of-package warnings, limits on marketing to children and fiscal measures that prevent large corporations from making profit on public health, society must acknowledge how harmful highly engineered food has become. People need to resist such products. Instead, they must replace them with real cooking.

Ultra-processed foods feel addictive because they are designed to override the body's hunger signals. When people eat them compulsively, it is not simply weakness, it is the outcome of meticulous industrial engineering to hijack human biology. Even something labelled as a "strawberry" may contain dozens of artificial chemicals and no real fruit. While policymakers delay reforms, everyone turns to chips, sweets and cola for comfort during stress and loneliness.

Ultimately, despite the structural issues, personal discipline still plays a crucial role. Choosing healthier food is genuinely challenging- sometimes as demanding as other major acts of self-control in life. We can view the greater empathy. It is no less tough than buying a house or sending a child abroad.

In the passage, the phrase "engineered to hijack human biology" refers to:

Answer options

Q46:

Passage

Easy

Perceptions of time have shifted greatly over the years and many of the novels I have read recently reflect a renewed concern with their passage. Anthony Powell's Cycle A Dance to the Music of Time is one example. Its title, taken from Poussin's painting, evokes the universal inability to control life's unfolding rhythm. Powell's work even includes a brief portrait of my predecessor in History Today, Peter Quennell.

Yet the novel that illuminates our era most, indeed, time itself - is one I revisited after more than a decade, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. It was written in a crisis and doubt. It was published in1942 between two European catastrophes and after a pandemic. The very idea of fixed time had been unsettled by Einstein's 1905 Theory of Relativity, which gave scientific weight to earlier philosophical explorations.

The novel follows Hans Castrop, a young marine engineer with a modest private income. He visits his tubercular cousin at the International Sanatorium above Davos. "Can one narrate time itself?", Castrope wonders. Planning to stay for three weeks, he instead remains for seven years. Life in the sanatorium alters his sense of time's tempo. Why hurry back to work when one can wander the mountains with cosmopolitans, pursue romance and explore art, the occult and the natural world? Doctors are happy to offer medical justification for his extended retreat and to separate him from his money but withdrawal has limits. Reality, Mann suggested, can be postponed only so long. The novel ultimately raises a question that resonates strongly today. Reality can not be put off forever.

What causes Hans Castrop to extend his stay at the sanatorium from weeks to years?

Answer options

Q47:

Passage

Medium

Perceptions of time have shifted greatly over the years and many of the novels I have read recently reflect a renewed concern with their passage. Anthony Powell's Cycle A Dance to the Music of Time is one example. Its title, taken from Poussin's painting, evokes the universal inability to control life's unfolding rhythm. Powell's work even includes a brief portrait of my predecessor in History Today, Peter Quennell.

Yet the novel that illuminates our era most, indeed, time itself - is one I revisited after more than a decade, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. It was written in a crisis and doubt. It was published in1942 between two European catastrophes and after a pandemic. The very idea of fixed time had been unsettled by Einstein's 1905 Theory of Relativity, which gave scientific weight to earlier philosophical explorations.

The novel follows Hans Castrop, a young marine engineer with a modest private income. He visits his tubercular cousin at the International Sanatorium above Davos. "Can one narrate time itself?", Castrope wonders. Planning to stay for three weeks, he instead remains for seven years. Life in the sanatorium alters his sense of time's tempo. Why hurry back to work when one can wander the mountains with cosmopolitans, pursue romance and explore art, the occult and the natural world? Doctors are happy to offer medical justification for his extended retreat and to separate him from his money but withdrawal has limits. Reality, Mann suggested, can be postponed only so long. The novel ultimately raises a question that resonates strongly today. Reality can not be put off forever.

Why does The Magic Mountain gain renewed relevance for contemporary readers, according to the passage?

Answer options

Q48:

Passage

Easy

Perceptions of time have shifted greatly over the years and many of the novels I have read recently reflect a renewed concern with their passage. Anthony Powell's Cycle A Dance to the Music of Time is one example. Its title, taken from Poussin's painting, evokes the universal inability to control life's unfolding rhythm. Powell's work even includes a brief portrait of my predecessor in History Today, Peter Quennell.

Yet the novel that illuminates our era most, indeed, time itself - is one I revisited after more than a decade, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. It was written in a crisis and doubt. It was published in1942 between two European catastrophes and after a pandemic. The very idea of fixed time had been unsettled by Einstein's 1905 Theory of Relativity, which gave scientific weight to earlier philosophical explorations.

The novel follows Hans Castrop, a young marine engineer with a modest private income. He visits his tubercular cousin at the International Sanatorium above Davos. "Can one narrate time itself?", Castrope wonders. Planning to stay for three weeks, he instead remains for seven years. Life in the sanatorium alters his sense of time's tempo. Why hurry back to work when one can wander the mountains with cosmopolitans, pursue romance and explore art, the occult and the natural world? Doctors are happy to offer medical justification for his extended retreat and to separate him from his money but withdrawal has limits. Reality, Mann suggested, can be postponed only so long. The novel ultimately raises a question that resonates strongly today. Reality can not be put off forever.

Which scientific concept influenced changing perceptions of time, as highlighted in the passage?

Answer options

Q49:

Passage

Medium

Perceptions of time have shifted greatly over the years and many of the novels I have read recently reflect a renewed concern with their passage. Anthony Powell's Cycle A Dance to the Music of Time is one example. Its title, taken from Poussin's painting, evokes the universal inability to control life's unfolding rhythm. Powell's work even includes a brief portrait of my predecessor in History Today, Peter Quennell.

Yet the novel that illuminates our era most, indeed, time itself - is one I revisited after more than a decade, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. It was written in a crisis and doubt. It was published in1942 between two European catastrophes and after a pandemic. The very idea of fixed time had been unsettled by Einstein's 1905 Theory of Relativity, which gave scientific weight to earlier philosophical explorations.

The novel follows Hans Castrop, a young marine engineer with a modest private income. He visits his tubercular cousin at the International Sanatorium above Davos. "Can one narrate time itself?", Castrope wonders. Planning to stay for three weeks, he instead remains for seven years. Life in the sanatorium alters his sense of time's tempo. Why hurry back to work when one can wander the mountains with cosmopolitans, pursue romance and explore art, the occult and the natural world? Doctors are happy to offer medical justification for his extended retreat and to separate him from his money but withdrawal has limits. Reality, Mann suggested, can be postponed only so long. The novel ultimately raises a question that resonates strongly today. Reality can not be put off forever.

Which of the following concepts has Not been discussed in the given passage concerning the novels mentioned?

Answer options

Q50:

Passage

Medium

Perceptions of time have shifted greatly over the years and many of the novels I have read recently reflect a renewed concern with their passage. Anthony Powell's Cycle A Dance to the Music of Time is one example. Its title, taken from Poussin's painting, evokes the universal inability to control life's unfolding rhythm. Powell's work even includes a brief portrait of my predecessor in History Today, Peter Quennell.

Yet the novel that illuminates our era most, indeed, time itself - is one I revisited after more than a decade, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. It was written in a crisis and doubt. It was published in1942 between two European catastrophes and after a pandemic. The very idea of fixed time had been unsettled by Einstein's 1905 Theory of Relativity, which gave scientific weight to earlier philosophical explorations.

The novel follows Hans Castrop, a young marine engineer with a modest private income. He visits his tubercular cousin at the International Sanatorium above Davos. "Can one narrate time itself?", Castrope wonders. Planning to stay for three weeks, he instead remains for seven years. Life in the sanatorium alters his sense of time's tempo. Why hurry back to work when one can wander the mountains with cosmopolitans, pursue romance and explore art, the occult and the natural world? Doctors are happy to offer medical justification for his extended retreat and to separate him from his money but withdrawal has limits. Reality, Mann suggested, can be postponed only so long. The novel ultimately raises a question that resonates strongly today. Reality can not be put off forever.

What central idea connects Anthony Powell's works as described in the passage?

Answer options

CUET English 2026 21 May Shift 2 Past Year Question Paper

Every question from the CUET English 2026 21 May Shift 2 paper is here in full, with the correct answer and a step by step solution for each one. It is completely free, there is no login and no paywall, and you can read the whole paper online or download it to revise offline.

You can also attempt it instead of only reading it. Take the paper as a full length mock under exam conditions, or filter it by topic and attempt just that topic as a topic test. Both are free, and you get a breakdown of your accuracy, your timing and your weak areas once you submit.

CUET English past year questions (PYQs) are the closest thing to the real exam, so working through them is the quickest way to learn the paper pattern, the marking scheme and the level of difficulty to expect on the day.