Sentence & Double Fillers — IBPS PO English
A filler question gives a sentence with one or two blanks and asks for the word(s) that complete it correctly. Single fillers need one word that fits grammar and meaning; double fillers are the IBPS favourite — two blanks, and an option is right only if both its words fit. It looks like vocabulary but is really contextual reading: the connective and the sentence's logic decide the answer, and in double fillers the trap is an option that nails one blank but fails the other. At 3–5 marks, fillers are steady, fast marks once you test both blanks every time.
1. What IBPS actually asks
- Single filler: one blank, 4–5 word options — pick the contextually correct one.
- Double filler: two blanks in the sentence; each option gives a pair of words; both must fit.
- Newer variants: phrase-fillers (a phrase, not a single word) and "which word can fill both blanks in two given sentences".
2. Read the sentence's logic first
Before looking at options, decide what kind of word the blank needs from the sentence's direction:
- Contrast signalled by "but / although / despite / however" → the blank needs a word opposing the surrounding idea.
- Continuation signalled by "and / moreover / because / so" → a word agreeing with it.
- Cause/result → a word consistent with the logical flow.
The connective usually tells you whether you need a positive or negative word before you weigh any option.
3. Double fillers — both blanks or nothing
The defining rule: an option qualifies only if both its words fit their respective blanks. Method:
- Test the easier blank first with each option — eliminate any option whose word fails there.
- Then test the surviving options on the second blank.
- The correct option is the only one where both words work grammatically and meaningfully.
The classic trap: an option's first word fits perfectly but its second word doesn't (or vice versa). Never choose on one blank — always confirm both. Eliminating on the failing blank is faster than confirming on the passing one.
4. The three-filter test (per word)
For each candidate word:
- Grammar — right part of speech and form for the slot.
- Meaning — does the sentence become sensible and true?
- Collocation — does it pair naturally with the adjacent words ("severe shortage", "sharp rise", "meet demand")?
Fillers are engineered so that the wrong options usually fail on meaning or collocation, not grammar — so read for sense and fixed pairings.
Solved examples
Q1 (single, contrast). "The scheme was popular, ___ its implementation was poor."
Show explanation
Solution. "Popular … poor implementation" is a contrast ⇒ needs "but/yet/although". → but.
Q2 (double). "Despite the ___ in prices, demand continued to ___." Options: (a) rise / fall (b) fall / rise (c) rise / grow (d) drop / decline.
Show explanation
Solution. "Despite" signals contrast: prices go one way, demand the opposite. "Despite the rise … demand continued to grow"? That's not contrast. "Despite the fall in prices, demand continued to fall" — contradicts "despite". Best contrast: "Despite the rise in prices, demand continued to grow" reads oddly; the intended contrast is "Despite the rise in prices, demand did not fall" — among options, (c) rise / grow gives a sensible "despite higher prices, demand still grew". Answer: (c). (Lesson: test both words against the connective.)
Q3 (double, collocation). "The bank faced a ___ shortage of funds and had to ___ its lending." Options: (a) severe / curtail (b) severe / expand (c) mild / stop (d) huge / increase.
Show explanation
Solution. "Severe shortage" (collocation ✓) and "curtail lending" (a shortage forces cutting back ✓). (b) expand contradicts a shortage. Answer: (a) severe / curtail.
Q4 (fill both blanks with one word). "She will ___ the report by evening" and "Please ___ your seatbelt." Which word fits both? — fasten? No. "complete"? Only the first. Correct shared word: "finish" fits the first only; the intended answer tests a word like "secure" (secure the report / secure your seatbelt). (Judge a word against both sentences.)
6. Common traps
- Choosing on one blank in a double filler — the other word may fail; always test both.
- A grammatically-fine but meaning-wrong word — read for sense.
- Ignoring the connective — "but/despite" flips the required word's polarity.
- Breaking collocation — "make a decision" not "do a decision"; "meet demand" not "fulfil demand" (in many contexts).
7. The protocol
- Read the sentence's logic — note the connective (contrast vs continuation) before the options.
- Single filler: apply grammar + meaning + collocation; pick the one that fits.
- Double filler: eliminate on the easier blank first, then confirm the survivors on the second; both must fit.
- Watch the one-word-fits trap — never choose a double filler on a single blank.
- Confirm by reading the completed sentence for natural sense.
