Reconstruction of Sentence Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The sentence uses the structure 'Lest he forget, she put the key in his coat pocket'. 'Lest' (C) introduces the fear or the purpose, followed by the subject and the verb 'he forget' (B), which is in the base form as the word lest requires. The main clause 'she put the key' (D) follows, and the place 'in his coat pocket' (A) closes it. So the order is C, B, D, A. The other orders put the place or the main clause before 'lest', and they do not make a sentence. The answer is CBDA, option C.

Answer: A

The words can be put together as 'She never liked reading about economics, but the book was interesting nevertheless.' Sentence B ('She never liked reading') starts the sentence, D ('about economics') completes the object, C ('but the book was interesting') brings in the contrast, and A ('Nevertheless') comes at the end as an adverb that strengthens the contrast, which is a correct, if less usual, place for it. The other orders start with 'Nevertheless' or put 'about economics' before 'reading' and so they break the grammar. The answer is BDCA, option A.

Answer: A

The correct order is The children went to the park yesterday.

An English statement normally follows subject, verb, then the other parts: the children (subject), went (verb), to the park (place), yesterday (time). When place and time both follow the verb, place usually comes before time.

The children went Yesterday to the park puts time before place and wrongly capitalises yesterday. The two options beginning To the park invert the normal order for emphasis, which is possible in poetry or narrative but is not the ordinary word order the question asks for.

Answer: C

The correct order is SQPR: All religions are bound together in a holy partnership to advance the cause of peace, justice and freedom.

All religions are needs a complement, and (S) bound together supplies it. (Q) in a holy partnership says how they are bound, (P) to advance the cause of peace gives the purpose, and (R) justice and freedom completes the list that begins with peace.

Orders that start with P or Q leave All religions are without its verb phrase, and SPQR separates 'peace' from 'justice and freedom', breaking the list apart.

Answer: B

The correct order is PSQR: Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Buddha have taught us that men should live in peace and with one another and should show kindness to every living creature.

Taught us is followed by its content clause, (P) that men should live. (S) in peace and with one another completes live. (Q) and should show kindness adds the second duty, and (R) to every living creature says to whom.

Orders starting with S put the description before the verb it describes, and PSRQ leaves to every living creature hanging before show kindness, which it must follow.

Answer: B

The proper sequence is PRQS: The guide said that nowhere in the world you will find a fairer building than the Taj Mahal.

Nowhere in the world (P) sets the scope, you will find (R) supplies the verb, and its object a fairer building (Q) must come next, with the comparison than the Taj Mahal (S) completing it. A comparative such as fairer must come before its than phrase.

RQPS and RQSP separate nowhere in the world from the start of the clause or put it after the comparison, and PSQR puts than the Taj Mahal before a fairer building. (In formal English the verb would be inverted, will you find, but the parts are given as printed.)

Answer: D

The correct sequence is PRSQ.

The sentence reads: 'She had (P) such a winning smile (R) that I could not say (S) no to her (Q).'

The 'such ... that' construction fixes the order: 'such a winning smile' must come before the 'that' clause it leads into, and 'say no to her' completes it. The other orders break up 'had such a winning smile' or 'say no to her'.

Answer: B

The proper sequence is PRSQ.

The sentence reads: 'Everyone knows that it is difficult (P) to go to the manager (R) and tell him that he ought (S) to speak more politely (Q).'

'It is difficult' needs the infinitive that follows it ('to go'), and 'he ought' needs 'to speak' to complete it. Orders beginning with Q or ending with P leave 'ought' without its verb or 'difficult' without its subject clause.

Answer: A

The keyed order is PRSQ: 'Despite the heavy rain, the determined trekkers continued their journey to reach the Summit.'

The sentence opens with the phrase P, 'despite the heavy rain', which sets the contrast. The subject R, 'the determined trekkers', follows, then the verb phrase S, 'continued their journey', and the infinitive of purpose Q, 'to reach the Summit', closes it. Each part attaches directly to the one before.

QSPR and QPSR begin with 'to reach the Summit', which cannot open a sentence of this kind. RPSQ ('The determined trekkers, despite the heavy rain, continued ... Summit') is also grammatical, with the concession phrase set inside the sentence, but the key prefers the order that puts the introductory phrase first, and PRSQ is the answer keyed.

Answer: D

The meaningful sentence is The importance of education cannot be underestimated.

The subject is the noun phrase the importance of education, and the verb is the passive cannot be underestimated, meaning education is very important.

The other arrangements break English word order: the education of importance reverses the phrase, and the second and third options place the underestimated as a noun after be in a way that makes no sense.