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One-Letter Addition

One Letter Addition problems ask you to add exactly one letter to a given word to form a new valid English word. You must identify which of the given options can be formed by adding one letter.

10Worksheets
200+Practice Questions
IntermediateDifficulty
2 hoursHours to Master

What You'll Learn

Introduction & Overview Why This Matters How to Solve Pro Tips & Tricks
Shortcut Methods Common Mistakes Practice Worksheets Exam Importance

Introduction to One-Letter Addition

One Letter Addition problems ask you to add exactly one letter to a given word to form a new valid English word. You must identify which of the given options can be formed by adding one letter.

Prerequisites

Vocabulary Spelling awareness Word transformation Letter insertion
Why This Matters: One Letter Addition problems appear in 1-2 questions in SSC CGL and Banking exams. They test vocabulary and word transformation skills.

How to Solve One-Letter Addition Problems

1

Step 1: Identify the base word

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Step 2: For each candidate word, check if it differs from base by exactly one letter

3

Step 3: The added letter can be at beginning, middle, or end

4

Step 4: The candidate must have length = base length + 1

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Step 5: All letters of base must appear in candidate in same order (with one extra)

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Step 6: Verify the candidate is a valid English word

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Step 7: Select the correct candidate

Pro Strategy: The candidate word must contain all letters of the base word in the same order, plus one extra letter. Check if the extra letter can be inserted at some position to get the base word.

Example Problem

Example: Add one letter to 'CARE' to form a new word. Options: SCARE, CARED, CARES, CARER Solution: Step 1: Base word: CARE (4 letters) Step 2: SCARE (5 letters) - add S at beginning → CARE with S before = SCARE ✓ Step 3: CARED (5 letters) - add D at end → CARE + D = CARED ✓ Step 4: CARES (5 letters) - add S at end → CARE + S = CARES ✓ Step 5: CARER (5 letters) - add R at end → CARE + R = CARER (valid? CARER means one who cares, yes) ✓ Step 6: All can be formed! Answer: All options can be formed by adding one letter

Pro Tips & Tricks

  • The added letter can be at the beginning (SCARE from CARE)
  • The added letter can be at the end (CARED, CARES, CARER from CARE)
  • The added letter can be in the middle (PLANE from PLAN - add E at end actually)
  • Common additions: add S for plural (CAR → CARS)
  • Add D for past tense (CARE → CARED)
  • Add R for agent noun (CARE → CARER)

Shortcut Methods to Solve Faster

CARE → SCARE (add S at beginning)
CARE → CARED (add D at end)
PLAN → PLANE (add E at end)
TRAIN → TRAINS (add S at end)
STAR → START (add T at end)
SEND → SENDS (add S at end)
FRIEND → FRIENDS (add S at end)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Adding a letter that changes the order of existing letters
Adding more than one letter
Creating a non-existent word
Not checking if the candidate contains all base letters in order

Exam Importance

One-Letter Addition is an important topic for various competitive exams. Here's how frequently it appears:

SSC CGL
1-2 questions
BANKING PO
1-2 questions
RAILWAYS RRB
1-2 questions
INSURANCE
1-2 questions

Ready to Master One-Letter Addition?

Start with Worksheet 1 and work your way up to expert level! Each worksheet includes:

20 practice questions
Detailed solutions
Step-by-step explanations
Start Practicing Now