English Comprehension PYQs

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

• The error is in part B of the sentence.
• A singular verb is used after One of, Neither of, Either of, and Each of.
• Eg. Either Shradha or Sujata is going to be a winner.
• Hence we need to replace 'are' with 'is'

Correct sentence - One of my best friends is planning to start a new venture.

 

• The Noun is Part of the sentence which defines persons, Place or things.
• Helping verbs in the sentence are decided with the help of a noun or subject.

The correct answer is '(A)'.

Key Points

Reading the sentence we find that:

• The plural linking verb is used in part A is incorrect as there is a subject-verb disagreement.
• Clergy ( the entire class of religious officials) is a collective Noun which follows the verb in singular form
• The sentence can be made correct if we use the Singular linking verb is.

The correct sentence will be: Neither the Pope nor the clergy is responsible for the actions taken in the name of religion in the country.

Additional Information

• Sometimes two subjects are joined by ‘nor’ and are of different count
• Then the succeeding verb agrees in count with the one nearest to it.
• So, in the given sentence, the succeeding verb is singular as clergy is singular.

The correct answer is '(B)'.

Key Points

Reading the sentence we find that:

• The conjunction than used in part B is incorrect.
• We need to use the word to after the superlative adjective superior for the sentence to be correct.

The correct sentence will be:Can the French be so enormously superior to us that we could not beat them?

Additional Information

• A Comparative Adjective is a word that describes a noun by comparing it to another noun.
• They are followed by the word ‘than’.
• A Superlative Adjective is a word that describes a noun by comparing it to two or more nouns to the highest or lowest degree.
• They are followed by the word ‘to’.

The correct answer is '(C)'.

Key Points

Reading the sentence we find that:

• The pronoun their used in part C is incorrect.
• Their  is used to reflect possession. It means that something 'belongs' to someone.
• The sentence can be made correct if we use the pronoun there.

The correct sentence will be: The sun had been under the cloud all day, and there had been brief showers.

Additional Information

• They're, there, their are often confused. Let us see their meanings and uses - 

• They're is a contraction of they are or they were. - They're (they are) trying to escape from the prison.

• There can be used either as adverb  or a pronoun.

• As an adverb it means at that place. It is a location adverb - I can go there to check on your mother.​

• As a pronoun it is used to introduce a word or a clause - We know that there are things we need to talk about.

• Their is the third-person plural possessive pronoun. - Their house is next to an open field.

The correct answer is '(C)'.

Key Points

Reading the sentence we find that:

• The adjective alone used in part C has been placed incorrectly.
• Alone is an adjective that cannot be placed before the linking verb lived.
• So the adjective needs to be placed after the noun, and the sentence should be accordingly restructured for it to be correct.

The correct sentence will be: For four years and four months he lived alone on the island without any human contact.  

Additional Information

• Generally adjectives are placed before nouns.
• But some adjectives can only be placed after the noun or linking verbs.
• These include - alike, alight, alive, fine, glad, ill, poorly, alone, ashamed, awake, aware and unwell.

- the sisters were very much alike

- he looked poorly

The correct answer is '(B)'.

Key Points

Reading the sentence we find that:

• The preposition in used in part B is incorrect.
• The adjective grateful (feeling or showing an appreciation for something done or received.) is always followed by the preposition to when it is required.

The correct sentence will be: I would be grateful to hear from anyone who may be able to help.

Additional Information

• Certain verbs, nouns, adjective and participles are followed by particular prepositions only.
• abounds (verb) followed by preposition in.
• attend (verb) followed by preposition to.
• grateful (adjective) followed by preposition to.

The correct answer is Culture.

Key Points

Culture: the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular group of people or society

The line refers to Japan not being considered to have a predominant sports tradition by other countries around the world.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Perceptions. 

Key Points

Perceptions: the ways in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted

The given line talks about other countries having interpretations of their own regarding Japan's history, tradition and culture.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Development. 

Key Points

Development: a specified state of growth or advancement

The context talks about Japan's association with sports-  as viewed by other counties. The given line talks about various facets of Japan, one of them being its technological advancements.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Equipment. 

Key Points

Equipment: the necessary items for a particular purpose

The line talks about students carrying a specialized sports item- Kyodo- while coming home from school. 

Additional Information

 

The word equipment has no plural form.

The correct answer is Understand. 

Key Points

Understand: perceive the intended meaning of (words, a language, or a speaker)

The given line talks about the need for looking into the religious and historical background of Japan to perceive its position in sports. 

Additional Information

The correct answer is A. 

Key Points

The word suit is incorrectly spelt as siut.  

• Suit: a set of outer clothes made of the same fabric and designed to be worn together, typically consisting of a jacket and trousers or a jacket and skirt.

Therefore the error lies in part A.

• Armour: clothing, often made of metal, that soldiers wore in earlier times to protect themselves (धातु का बना आवरण जो प्राचीन समय में सैनिक आत्मरक्षा के लिए पहनते थे; कवच, बख्‍़तर)
• Excellent: very good; of high quality (बहुत बढ़िया; उच्‍च स्‍तर का, उत्‍कृष्‍ट)
• Protection: the act of keeping somebody/something safe so that he/she/it is not harmed or damaged (सुरक्षा, हिफ़ाज़त)
• Hence, the given answer is correct.

The correct answer is C. 

Key Points

• The word is incorrectly spelt as attendence.
• The correct spelling is attendance.

Important Points

• Let us look at the other emboldened words:
• Gotten: (it is the past participle of 'got') to receive, obtain or buy something. (किसी वस्‍तु को पाना, लेना या ख़रीदना)
• Promotion: a move to a higher position or more important job (पदोन्‍नति या अधिक बड़ी नौकरी की प्राप्ति)
• Enough: as much or as many of something as necessary (पर्याप्त, काफ़ी, जितना (मात्रा या संख्‍या) आवश्‍यक हो उतना)
• Hence, the given answer is correct.

The correct answer is A. 

Key Points

• The word view is incorrectly spelt as veiw.
• View means an opinion or a particular way of thinking about something; the ability to see something or to be seen from a particular place.
• All other words in bold have correct spellings.
• Hence, the given answer is correct.

The correct answer is C. 

Key Points

• The word cereal is incorrectly spelt as cerial.
• Cereal: a breakfast food made from roasted grain, typically eaten with milk.
• Bought: (past tense: bought; past participle: bought)  to get something by paying money for it
• favourite: liked more than any other
• forgot: (past tense: forgot) to not be able to remember something

The correct answer is B. 

Key Points

• The word dramatically is wrongly spelt as drammatically.
• Let us look at the other emboldened words:
• Improved: to become or to make something better. (किसी स्थिति का बेहतर होना या उसे बेहतर बनाना, सुधरना या सुधारना)
• Lead: to go with or in front of a person or animal to show the way or to make him/her/it go in the right direction. (किसी व्‍यक्ति या पशु को साथ ले जाना या उसे रास्‍ता दिखाना या सही दिशा में भेजना)
• Left: to leave (छोड़ देना)

The correct answer is Option 2)i.e. I have another. 

Key Points

• In the given sentence, the subject ‘I’ have already introduced my brother ‘Oliver’ and now we are talking about a different brother.
• The use of ‘other’ is incorrect before ‘brother.’❌
• The most appropriate determiner for the given sentence is ‘another’.✔️
• When we use the indefinite article ‘an’ before other, we write it as one word another. ‘Another’ means ‘one more, an additional, extra, an alternative or different’.
• Example: Is there another cafe around here we could go to? (alternative or different)
• We use another with singular nouns.
• Here, in the given sentence ‘brother’ is a singular noun.
• Therefore, by reading the above explanation we find that option 2 is correct.

📌Correct sentence: You’ve met Oliver, but I have another brother whom you haven’t met, called Lucas.✔️

Additional Information 

• Another is singular. We don’t use it with plural nouns.
• Example: Another interesting places to visit include the old harbor and the castle.❌(Incorrect)
• Example: Other interesting places to visit include the old harbor and the castle.✔️(Correct)
• We write another as one word.
• Example: There is an other car park a little further down the same street.❌ (Incorrect)
• Example: There is another car park a little further down the same street.✔️ (Correct)
• The words another and other mean the same thing, except that another is used with a singular noun and other is used with uncountable and plural nouns.

Correct option - 5

The above-mentioned sentence is error free and does not require any corrections.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 5, i.e., No corrections required.

The correct answer is Option 4 i.e. 'Going to meet'

Explanation: The phrase 'going to a meeting' is grammatically incorrect and therefore needs to be corrected. By reading the above-mentioned sentence.

Nevertheless is an adverb which means 'that contrasts' before is a preposition hence we need a prepositional object and it can be a noun/gerund/pronoun and hence in this case we will use a gerund form. The action of 'meeting' hasn't performed yet hence use an infinitive not a preposition after the gerund. So 'to meet' is correct.

Additional Information

The meaning of mien is 'a person's appearance or manner.'

So the correct sentence is:

Nevertheless, before going to meet Samuel, she assumed a calm and dignified mien.

Correct option - 2

The phrase 'unaffected by simple' does not fit into the sentence grammatically and therefore needs to be corrected. The sentence suggests that 'his conversation was without being affected simple and frank...'

Option 1 and option 4 are grammatically incorrect and therefore cannot be used.

The phrase 'unaffected and simple and frank' also does not make any sense and therefore option 3 is also rejected.

This leaves us with option 2, i.e., 'Unaffectedly simple', to be the only correct answer.

Correct sentence: His conversation was unaffectedly simple and frank; his language natural; always abounding in curious anecdotes.