In the following question, two columns are given containing three phrases each. In the first column, the phrases are A, B, and C, and in the second column, the phrases are D, E and F. A phrase from the first column, may or may not connect with a phrase from the second column to make a grammatically and contextually correct sentence. There are five options, four of which display the sequence(s) in which the phrase can be joined to form a grammatically and contextually correct sentence. If none of the options given form a correct sentence after combination, select ‘None of these’ as your answer.
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
(A) Researchers discovered that over 40 per cent of insect species could go extinct in the next few decades |
(D) 75 per cent of honey samples collected across multiple countries contains neonicotinoid insecticides. |
(B) In 2017, a worldwide study published in the journal Science showed that |
(E) will have on human life if such a slide in insect numbers worldwide continues unabated. |
(C) Conservation initiatives should try to create more visible awareness of such studies and the tangible impact it |
(F) — this extinction rated is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. |
A-F, B-D and C-E form contextually correct sentences. But the errors in phrases C, D and F make the sentences grammatically incorrect.
A-F :- ‘rated’ in phrase F must be replaced with ‘rate’. We need a noun here and not verb. ‘rate’ gives the speed of something happening, which is quite apt as per the context here.
B-D :- ‘contains’ in phrase D must be replaced with ‘contained’. The event given is of past (2017), therefore the sentence must be in past tense. Verbs like ‘published’, ‘showed’ and ‘collected’ show that the sentence contains Simple Past tense. Thus, ‘contained’ is the correct verb here.
C-E :- Phrase C contains incorrect ‘pronoun’. ‘it’ must be replaced with ‘they’ because, the noun ‘studies’ is plural. ‘it’ is used for singular things.
Hence, option 5 is the correct answer.