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Question

Directions: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts, labelled as (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to determine whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response on the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).

It was one (a)/  of most eloquent speeches (b)/  delivered by Swami Vivekananda. (c)/ No error (d)

This question was previously asked in
CDS 2 2024 Maths Question Paper (01-Sep-2024)
The correct answer is

b

Analyzing Sentence Structure Errors

This question asks us to identify a grammatical error in a given sentence, focusing on three specific underlined parts. The sentence is: "It was one (a)/ of most eloquent speeches (b)/ delivered by Swami Vivekananda. (c)/ No error (d)". We need to determine which part contains the mistake.

Detailed Breakdown of Sentence Parts

Let's examine each underlined part of the sentence:

  • Part (a): "It was one" - This part correctly sets up the context, indicating a single instance from a group. Grammatically, it is sound.
  • Part (b): "of most eloquent speeches" - This part is where the error lies. The phrase "most eloquent" is a superlative adjective, indicating the highest degree of eloquence. When using the construction "one of..." followed by a superlative adjective, the definite article "the" is required. The correct phrasing should be "one of the most eloquent speeches" to signify that the speech belongs to the group of the most eloquent ones.
  • Part (c): "delivered by Swami Vivekananda." - This phrase correctly describes who delivered the speeches and is grammatically accurate in this context.
  • Part (d): "No error" - Since we've identified an error in part (b), this option is incorrect.

Understanding Superlative Adjectives and Articles

The error in part (b) relates to the common grammatical rule concerning superlatives:

  • Rule: When you use "one of" followed by a superlative adjective (like 'best', 'fastest', 'most beautiful', 'most eloquent'), you must include the definite article "the" before the superlative adjective.
  • Structure: The correct pattern is one of the + superlative adjective + plural noun.
  • Example: "Mount Everest is one of the highest mountains in the world."
  • Application to the question: The sentence should follow this pattern: "It was one of the most eloquent speeches..." The absence of "the" makes part (b) grammatically incorrect.

Identifying the Correct Option

The error is the omission of the article "the" before "most eloquent speeches". This error is located in part (b) of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct option indicating the location of the error is (b).

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