Passage Correction Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Correct answer: an

The sentence is correct as printed. The choice between a and an follows the sound that begins the next word, not the letter. Unusual begins with the vowel sound uh, so it takes an. The contrast is with words spelt the same way at the start but pronounced with an initial yoo: a university, a uniform, a union, a useful tool, a European. The letter is identical; the sound is not. The reverse case is a silent h, where a consonant letter opens a vowel sound: an hour, an honest man, an heir, an honourable member. The same test applies to abbreviations sounded letter by letter: an MP, an SDM, an FIR, an LLB, because the names of those letters begin with vowel sounds. Reading the phrase aloud is the only reliable method.

Answer: D

It should read for a few moments.

Few without an article means hardly any; a few means a small number. The sentence means the intruder stood there briefly, so a few is required.

Answer: E

Correct answer: is

The subject is the quality, singular, so the verb is is. Of the products is a prepositional phrase, and a noun inside one can never be the subject. This pattern - a singular head noun followed by of and a plural noun - is among the most reliable sources of agreement errors, because the plural sits next to the verb and the ear follows it. The same trap appears in the list of items is long, a bunch of keys was found and the cost of vegetables has risen. The remedy is mechanical: cross out everything between the head noun and the verb, and the correct form becomes obvious. There is one genuine exception, with expressions of quantity such as a number of, a lot of and plenty of, where the verb follows the noun after of: a number of students were absent.

Answer: E

Correct answer: discussed

Discuss is a transitive verb and takes a direct object with no preposition: she discussed the matter. The about is already contained in the meaning of the verb, so adding it is redundant. A group of verbs behaves the same way and is worth learning together, since all of them attract an unnecessary preposition in Indian English: discuss, describe, emphasise, investigate, order, request, resemble, accompany, reach and enter. One does not describe about a scene, emphasise on a point, resemble to a parent or reach at a station. The corresponding nouns, however, do take prepositions: a discussion about the matter, an emphasis on quality. That contrast is the source of the confusion. Note also enter versus enter into: one enters a room, but enters into an agreement.

Answer: A

Correct answer: is

The subject is one, which is singular, so the verb is is. Of my friends is a prepositional phrase and cannot supply the subject. The construction one of + plural noun always takes a singular verb, however plural the phrase sounds. Note that the noun after of must itself be plural - one of my friend is wrong - which is what makes the sentence sound plural to the ear. A related pattern reverses the answer and is worth holding beside this one. When a relative clause follows, the relative pronoun refers to the plural noun: he is one of those students who work hard. The main verb stays singular while the relative clause takes the plural. And that in turn reverses again with the only one: he is the only one of those students who works hard.

Answer: D

It should read while cleaning.

The two actions were simultaneous and share a subject, so the reduced clause while cleaning is the neat form. As he cleans puts a present tense beside the past found, which cannot stand.

Answer: B

Correct answer: when

Scarcely pairs with when; only no sooner pairs with than. The distinction is grammatical: sooner is a comparative and requires than to complete it, while scarcely and hardly are not comparatives and take the temporal when. The rest of the sentence is correctly built and worth noticing for that reason. The restrictive adverb has been fronted, so the subject and auxiliary are inverted - had she left, not she had left. And the earlier action stands in the past perfect while the later one takes the simple past: had left followed by rang. Both features would be equally required in the no sooner version: No sooner had she left the office than the telephone rang. The four correct pairings are hardly…when, scarcely…when, barely…when and no sooner…than.

Answer: C

Correct answer: was

With neither…nor and either…or, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it. Here the nearer subject is the teacher, singular, so the verb is was. This is the proximity rule, and it is deliberately tested by placing the plural first: reverse the order and the answer reverses with it. Neither the teacher nor the students were aware is equally correct. Good style prefers the plural nearer the verb, precisely because neither the students nor the teacher was, though grammatical, sounds awkward. The same proximity rule applies to not only…but also and to or joining two subjects. It does not apply to and, which always creates a plural subject, nor to phrases such as along with and as well as, which do not affect the number at all.

Answer: D

Correct answer: the cleverest

A superlative is formed either by adding -est or by placing most before the adjective, never both. Since clever takes -est, the correct form is the cleverest. This is a double superlative, and its counterpart is the double comparative, as in more better or more easier. Both were acceptable in Shakespeare’s English but are errors in modern usage. The general rule is that short adjectives of one or two syllables take -er and -est - taller, tallest; happier, happiest - while longer ones take more and most: more beautiful, most beautiful. The definite article is required with a superlative that identifies one member of a group, which is why most clever without the also fails here. Note that most without the can mean very, as in a most interesting book, but that is a different construction.

Answer: A

Correct answer: has decided

A collective noun such as committee, jury, team or government takes a singular verb when the group is acting as a single unit, which it is here - the committee reached one decision. So has decided. A plural verb becomes correct when the members are acting individually and the sentence stresses their separate behaviour: the jury were divided in their opinions. The test is whether the group is behaving as one body or as several people. British usage tolerates the plural more readily than American, but Indian competitive examinations follow the unit rule, so the singular is expected unless the sentence points clearly the other way. The remaining options are wrong for further reasons as well - had been decided makes the committee the thing decided rather than the decider.