CUET English 2026 18th May Shift 1 PYQs

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: There is no greater joy than winding down at the end of a long day by reading a book and _____ a cup of good tea.

Rearrange the following to form a meaningful sentence: (A) Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh, such as Bundi, Mewar, Kota, Bikaner, Kishangarh, Jodhpur, Malwa, Sirohi (B) and other principalities largely between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries (C) of painting that prevailed in the princely kingdoms and regions of what roughly constitutes (D) the term 'Rajasthani Schools of Painting' pertains to the schools Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: Historians are eagerly waiting for a _____ in the quest of deciphering the Indus Valley script so that they can arrive at a holistic understanding of the civilisation.

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: The university students, fed up with the long list of approvals they must secure before organising an event, said to the principal, "Madam, these long processes are nothing else ___ red-tapism, which hinder our ability to respond to the needs of the student community."

Replace the underlined word in the following sentence with the most appropriate synonym from the options given: The quarrelsome nature of Rohini cost her the presidency of the college union in the recent elections.

Choose the option that best transforms the given sentence from direct speech to indirect speech: He said to his daughter, "Will you stop playing that terrible music of yours and let me do my work in peace?"

Match the words given in List-I with their antonyms in List-II | List-I (Word) | List-II (Antonym) | |---|---| | (A) Indictment | (I) Vindication | | (B) Inquisitive | (II) Fatuous | | (C) Prudent | (III) Orderly | | (D) Unruly | (IV) Apathetic | Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Read the following lines carefully and identify the figure of speech used: "Romans, friends, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him"

Match the phrasal verbs given in List-I with their meanings given in List-II | List-I (Phrasal Verbs) | List-II (Meaning) | |---|---| | (A) Lay about | (I) Establish a rule | | (B) Lay off | (II) Beat or attack violently | | (C) Lay down | (III) Plan something | | (D) Lay out | (IV) To discontinue work | Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Fill in the blank with the correctly spelled word from the options given: The _________ widow refused to sign any property documents.

Rearrange the following to form a meaningful sentence: (A) paintings from the medieval period have earned a generic name, (B) handwritten on the topmost portion of the painting in clearly demarcated box-like space (C) such as miniature paintings, for their relatively smaller size, and manuscript illustrations (D) which were pictorial illustrations of poetic verses from epics and various texts, with verses Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Match the idioms given in List-I with their meanings given in List-II | List-I (Idiom) | List-II (Meaning) | |---|---| | (A) Eke out | (I) tendency to delay decisions | | (B) Fabian policy | (II) in disorder | | (C) Hobson's choice | (III) no alternative | | (D) At sixes and sevens | (IV) consuming it frugally to make it last longer | Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: There are _____ students in class today than yesterday.

Fill in the blanks in List-I with the suitable words given in List-II | List-I | List-II | |---|---| | (A) True _______ can't be enjoyed by a spiteful woman. | (I) facility | | (B) The hostel_______provided for the new admissions needs to be upgraded. | (II) dual | | (C) The _______ fought by the royal scion led to his shocking defeat. | (III) felicity | | (D) The _______ aspects of the proposal led to much confusion. | (IV) duel | Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Rearrange the following to form a meaningful sentence: (A) than any existing engines (B) in theory, once all the bugs (C) deliver better total fuel economy (D) have been sorted out, fuel cells should Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Read the given sentences carefully. Choose the options that demonstrate the most appropriate usage of idioms: (A) Ever so often, the minority shareholders squeaked and chattered but none of them dared to bell the cat. (B) My new mop comes with numerous features that help me tidy up the house quickly; it really is a white elephant! (C) Economic policymakers in Japan seem to be bereft of ideas for shaking the country out of the doldrums. (D) The young woman, aware of her family's financial constraints, decided to sow her wild oats by getting a part-time job at the library. Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Read the given sentence carefully. Choose the option that best replaces the underlined phrase: The proliferation of social media platforms has ensured that the dabbler in art and literature, who could not pursue art as a full time career and often abandoned their artistic pursuits, can showcase their artworks online and monetise it.

Choose the option that best transforms the given sentence from active voice to passive voice. The rise in consumption of materialistic goods has financially strained numerous middle-class families.

Choose the option that indicates the closest antonym of the underlined word in the given sentence: Excessively corpulent children and adults in the relief camps indicate the devastating impact of blatant negligence.

Read the given sentences carefully and choose the options that are free of spelling errors. (A) We must ensure that all our documents are infallable while visiting a foreign country to ensure a smooth immigration check. (B) The pace of the recent advancements in technology can only be described as exponential. (C) The university hostels can accommodate only ten percent of the registered students. (D) The examiner despaired over the illigible handwriting of the students. Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: The new CEO________addressed the concerns of the employees who were worried about the possible increase in their workload due to the upcoming merger.

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: She said that her interest in research began when she ___________ a discrepancy in the English translation of a Kumaoni folk song.

Rearrange the following to form a meaningful sentence: (A) a man of intense feeling and sharp imagination, (B) and grew to be one of the most prolific writers of his time, specialising in both short story and (C) Syed Abdul Malik was born in a remote village of Assam (D) novel but had varied interests and allowed himself to be drawn to many other fields as well Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Match the words given in List-I with their opposites given in List-II | List-I (Word) | List-II (Antonym) | |---|---| | (A) Adroit | (I) Unsullied | | (B) Acrimony | (II) Brevity | | (C) Dishevelled | (III) Inept | | (D) Verbosity | (IV) Cordiality | Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Choose the option that best replaces the underlined word without changing the meaning of the sentence: Irritated by Deepanshu's inability to ever be on time, Sakshi decides to leave the restaurant after waiting for him for an hour.

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: When I called Hishma for directions, she said that her house is ten kilometers ___ the highway.

Read the given sentences carefully. Choose the grammatically correct options: (A) The new company policy was met with tepidly enthusiasm by the employees, who is concerned about its impact on their workload. (B) The humanities' professor was rather surprised to discover that undergraduate engineering students did not know how to use figurative language properly. (C) Upon carefully examination by the defense, it was discovered that their were several inconsistencies in the testimony given by the accused. (D) The new employee, who had recently graduated from university, naively assumed that she would be able to get a leave on her second day at work. Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: He ___________me for the last few months that he is leaving India very soon.

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: Recent advances in language development, such as synthetic phonics, are said to be ______ with neuro-divergent children, who often struggle with language acquisition at a young age.

Read the following lines and identify the figure of speech used: To shut those dark glowing eyes, Violet fringed with golden amber. It is the tail that has to blink For eyes that are always open.

Replace the underlined word with the most appropriate option given below: Always avoid selfish people, as they only care about their own interests and will not hesitate to throw you under the bus if needed.

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: Your looks defy your _____________ age.

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: Although the research team travelled ________ into the submerged ruins of Alexandria than any previous expedition, they still failed to solve the enduring mystery of Cleopatra's tomb.

Rearrange the following to form a meaningful sentence: (A) from literature (kavya), the latter being both human and an art, and 'tradition' (itihasa), including (B) religious scriptures (agama) and scholarly treatises (shastra) are usually distinguished (C) 'antiquity' (purana) and 'epic' (akhyana), is distinguished from all the three as the inspired words of ancient rishis (D) the classical tradition in Bhartiya literature is essentially secular: Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option: Three college drop-outs were accused ___ cheating an NRI couple of a large amount of money.

Fill in the blanks with the suitable word from the options given below: ___________ much I tried, I couldn't help her.

Match the expressions given in List-I with the words given in List-II | List-I (Phrase) | List-II (Word) | |---|---| | (A) One who does not care for art and literature | (I) Philistine | | (B) One who travels from place to place in search of work | (II) Apostate | | (C) A person who has rejected his/her religious and political beliefs | (III) Itinerant | | (D) One who collects stamps | (IV) Philatelist | Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Choose the option that indicates the most appropriate expansion of the given word: CORTEGE

Match the words given in List-I with their synonyms in List-II | List-I (Word) | List-II (Synonym) | |---|---| | (A) Esoteric | (I) Synchronous | | (B) Concurrent | (II) Languor | | (C) Lassitude | (III) Obdurate | | (D) Obstinate | (IV) Enigmatic | Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word. An ___________ person always plans in an imaginative manner.