Parts of Speech: previous-year questions

Answer: (D) by

'Close by' is the fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'near, at a short distance', as in 'There is a book shop close by'. 'Close up' means to shut (a shop) or to move nearer together, 'close in' means to surround or approach (night closes in, the enemy closes in), and 'close now' is not a phrase of place at all. Remember the grammar point too: 'close to' must be followed by an object (close to the station), whereas 'close by' can end a sentence. Similar expressions of nearness are 'nearby', 'at hand' and 'round the corner'.

Answer: (A) although

Two full clauses with a contrast between them ('I want to go' and 'the weather is bad') must be joined by a concessive conjunction, and 'although' is the only one offered. 'In spite of' also expresses contrast but it is a preposition, so it must be followed by a noun or gerund (in spite of the bad weather) or by 'the fact that'. 'When' expresses time and 'as' expresses time or reason, which would make the sentence illogical. Note for error-spotting questions: 'although' or 'though' is paired with 'yet', never with 'but', and 'despite' is never followed by 'of'.

Answer: (B) though

The two clauses stand in contrast (a holiday is planned, yet the destination is not fixed), so the concessive conjunction 'though' is required. 'While' can show contrast but mainly means 'during the time that', 'when' expresses time, and 'which' is a relative pronoun, not a conjunction, so it cannot join these clauses. 'Though', 'although' and 'even though' are interchangeable here; 'though' is the only one that can also be placed at the end of a sentence in informal use (They haven't decided, though).

Answer: (A) once

'Once' used as a conjunction means 'as soon as' or 'after', so the sentence says the call will be made after the chores are finished. 'Because' would make the chores the reason for calling, 'so' introduces a result, and 'as' (while or because) does not give the 'after completion' sense. Grammar point often tested in error-spotting: in time clauses beginning with once, when, after, before, until or as soon as, the present tense is used for future meaning (once I am done, not once I will be done).

Answer: (A) in; up; to; for

The fixed combinations are "interested in" (+ gerund), "take up" (begin to study or practise something), "decide to" (+ verb) and "opt for" (choose), giving: She was not interested in taking up French, but decided to opt for German instead. The other three sets already fail at the first blank, since "interested to/on/for taking" is not idiomatic. Related phrasal verbs: opt out of (choose not to take part), take to (develop a liking for), take after (resemble) and take over (assume control).

Answer: (B) Noun

A classic trick question: the word 'adjective' is itself the name of a part of speech, and a name is a noun. In the same way, the words 'noun', 'verb', 'adverb' and 'pronoun' are all nouns. The related describing word is 'adjectival' (an adjective), so option C is the trap.

Answer: (B) number

The fixed expression is 'in number' (singular): 'They were four in number.' 'Quantity' is used for things that are measured rather than counted, 'in numbers' means 'in large groups' ('they came in numbers'), and 'in totality' means 'as a whole'. Related usage: 'a number of' takes a plural verb, 'the number of' takes a singular verb.

Answer: (C) over

The noun 'control' takes the preposition 'over' when we mean power to manage something: control over one's temper, emotions or expenses. 'Control of' is also correct in some contexts (control of the company), but it is not among the options. 'Control on' is a common Indian-English error; 'with' and 'after' do not collocate with 'control' at all.

Answer: (D) about

The verb 'worry' is followed by 'about' (worry about something or somebody). Compare similar fixed prepositions: anxious about, concerned about (a problem) but concerned with (a subject), care for, long for, object to. 'Worry for' is occasionally heard for people, but with 'what' the standard form is 'What are you worrying about?'.

Answer: (B) on

We speak 'on the phone': the preposition 'on' is used with media and devices of communication (on the phone, on television, on the radio, on the internet). 'At', 'with' and 'in' do not collocate with 'phone' in this sense. Note also: 'spend time on something' and 'spend time (in) doing something'.

Answer: (A) for

'Work for' names the employer (He works for an insurance company; she works for the Government), and this is the PSC's official answer. 'Work at' points to the place (at the Kolkata office), 'work in' to a field or department (in insurance, in sales), and 'work with' to colleagues or tools. Because the blank is followed by the employer itself, 'for' is the most appropriate choice.

Answer: (B) Alumni

'Alumni' is the plural of 'alumnus' (a former male student; feminine alumna, plural alumnae). The other three are singular: index (plural indices or indexes), hypothesis (plural hypotheses), analysis (plural analyses). More Latin/Greek plurals for the exam: datum - data, criterion - criteria, phenomenon - phenomena, syllabus - syllabi, crisis - crises, radius - radii.

Answer: (C) of

Traditional grammar uses 'die of' for a disease, hunger or old age (died of dengue, of cholera, of starvation). 'Die from' is used for an indirect or external cause (died from his injuries, from overwork), 'die by' for violence or one's own hand (died by the sword), 'die for' for a cause (died for the country) and 'die in' for an event (died in an accident). PSC's key accepts only 'of'.

Answer: (A) over

'Preside' takes the fixed preposition 'over' when it means to be in charge of or chair a meeting, court or ceremony: 'The Speaker presides over the Lok Sabha'. 'Preside at' is occasionally seen for occupying the chair at an event, but 'presided over the meeting' is the standard, expected collocation; 'in' and 'for' are wrong. Similar fixed prepositions: abide by, comply with, consist of, insist on, deal with.

Answer: (D) by

The preposition 'by' shows the extent or margin of a difference: taller by two inches, older by three years, won by ten runs, prices rose by 5%. 'With', 'of' and 'in' cannot express a margin of difference. The same idea can be written without a preposition as 'He is two inches taller than you'.

Answer: (B) A one-eyed person was seen roaming about the streets.

The choice between 'a' and 'an' depends on sound, not spelling. 'One' begins with the consonant sound /w/ ('wun'), so it takes 'a': a one-eyed person, a one-rupee note, a university, a European. Conversely, words beginning with a vowel sound take 'an': an hour, an honest man, an MLA, an heir. A singular countable noun cannot stand without an article, so (D) is wrong, and (C) drops the hyphen of the compound adjective and uses 'the' for a first mention.

Answer: (C) a

'Unique' begins with the consonant sound /j/ ('yoo-neek'), so it takes 'a', not 'an' - like a union, a uniform, a useful book, a European. 'The' does not fit a general classifying statement of this kind, and 'this' is a demonstrative, not an article. La Gioconda (the Mona Lisa) was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the early 16th century and hangs in the Louvre, Paris.

Answer: (C) with

The textbook rule is: offended with a person, offended at or by a thing or action. Since the blank is followed by 'me' (a person), the answer is 'with'; 'for' and 'towards' are not used after 'offended'. Compare similar pairs: angry with a person / angry at a thing; annoyed with someone / annoyed at something; pleased with someone / pleased at the news.

Answer: (B) hard

"Hard" is the adjective needed to qualify "problem"; "hardly" is an adverb meaning "barely" and doesn't fit here.

Answer: (B) late

"Late" (not on time) is the adverb needed here; "lately" means "recently" and doesn't fit the sense of the sentence.