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Question

Each of the following items in this section consists of a sentence, the part of which have been jumbled. These parts have been labelled as P, Q, R and S. You are required to re-arrange the jumbled parts of the sentence and mark your response accordingly.

P: an earthquake and tsunami

Q: the disaster mitigation agency

R: said that the death toll from

S: in Indonesia has crossed 1500

This question was previously asked in
CDS I 2019 Elementary Mathematics Previous Year Paper (03-Feb-2019)
The correct answer is

Q R P S

Understanding Jumbled Sentences: Rearranging Parts

This type of question tests your ability to understand sentence structure and grammar by asking you to rearrange jumbled parts of a sentence to form a coherent and grammatically correct statement. We are given four parts, labelled P, Q, R, and S, and we need to find the correct order.

Let's look at the jumbled parts:

  • P: an earthquake and tsunami
  • Q: the disaster mitigation agency
  • R: said that the death toll from
  • S: in Indonesia has crossed 1500

To solve this, we need to find a logical starting point and connect the parts sequentially based on grammatical rules and meaning.

Step-by-Step Rearrangement Process

Let's try to build the sentence by identifying the subject and predicate.

  1. Look for a potential subject: Part Q, "the disaster mitigation agency," sounds like a likely subject for a sentence, especially one talking about official numbers.
  2. Find the verb or action related to the subject: Part R, "said that the death toll from," follows logically after a subject like "the disaster mitigation agency." The agency said something.
  3. What did the agency say the death toll was from? Part P, "an earthquake and tsunami," explains the cause of the death toll mentioned in R.
  4. What happened regarding the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami? Part S, "in Indonesia has crossed 1500," completes the statement by providing the location and the number the death toll has crossed.

Putting these parts together in the order Q, R, P, S gives us:

Q + R + P + S = "The disaster mitigation agency" + "said that the death toll from" + "an earthquake and tsunami" + "in Indonesia has crossed 1500."

This forms the complete sentence: The disaster mitigation agency said that the death toll from an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has crossed 1500.

This sentence is grammatically correct and makes perfect sense, stating what an official agency reported about a specific event.

Checking Other Options

Let's quickly consider why other possible arrangements might not work:

  • P Q S R: "An earthquake and tsunami the disaster mitigation agency in Indonesia has crossed 1500 said that the death toll from" - This is grammatically incorrect and nonsensical.
  • R P S Q: "Said that the death toll from an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia has crossed 1500 the disaster mitigation agency" - This places the subject ("the disaster mitigation agency") at the end, which is unusual and incorrect for a simple declarative sentence like this.
  • S Q R P: "In Indonesia has crossed 1500 the disaster mitigation agency said that the death toll from an earthquake and tsunami" - This starts awkwardly and places the subject after part of the predicate.

Based on this analysis, the order Q R P S is the only one that creates a grammatically sound and meaningful sentence.

Revision Table: Jumbled Sentence Strategy

Here is a simple table summarizing the strategy for rearranging jumbled sentence parts:

Step Action Purpose
1 Identify Subject Look for the noun or pronoun that the sentence is about.
2 Find Verb/Action Locate the word describing what the subject does or is.
3 Connect Phrases Link the remaining parts logically using prepositions, conjunctions, or phrases that modify the subject or predicate.
4 Read Aloud Say the rearranged sentence to check if it sounds natural and grammatically correct.

Additional Information: Sentence Structure Basics

Understanding basic sentence structure is key to solving jumbled sentence questions. A simple sentence typically follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure, although more complex sentences include phrases and clauses that add detail.

  • Subject: Who or what performs the action. (e.g., The agency)
  • Verb: The action or state of being. (e.g., said)
  • Object: Who or what receives the action. (e.g., that the death toll...)
  • Phrases: Groups of words that function as a single part of speech (e.g., "an earthquake and tsunami," "in Indonesia"). These often provide modifying information.

By identifying these components, you can often piece together the correct order of the jumbled parts to form a complete and meaningful sentence.

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Important Questions from Para Jumbles

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