The committee deliberated extensively over whether ______ increase in tuition fees was justifiable given the prevailing economic climate.
Article Usage in Sentence Completion
This question requires choosing the correct article ('a', 'an', 'the', or 'no article') to fill in the blank in the sentence: "The committee deliberated extensively over whether ______ increase in tuition fees was justifiable given the prevailing economic climate."
Understanding Articles
Articles are words used before nouns to specify whether they are general or specific.
- 'a': Used before a singular noun starting with a consonant sound (e.g., 'a book'). It indicates non-specificity.
- 'an': Used before a singular noun starting with a vowel sound (e.g., 'an apple'). It also indicates non-specificity.
- 'the': Used before singular or plural nouns when the noun is specific, already known, or unique in the context (e.g., 'the sun', 'the book I read').
- 'no article': Used when referring to nouns in a general sense, or for plural count nouns or uncountable nouns used generally.
Analyzing the Sentence Context
The sentence discusses a committee's deliberation on a specific issue: the justification of an "increase in tuition fees" within a particular "economic climate".
- The phrase "increase in tuition fees" refers to a specific potential rise in fees that the committee is actively discussing. It's not just any increase in general, but a particular one being evaluated.
- The context involves a specific situation ("the prevailing economic climate"), making the discussion about the tuition fees increase specific as well.
Determining the Correct Article
Let's evaluate the options for the blank:
- 'a': Incorrect. While 'increase' starts with a vowel sound, 'a' implies a general or indefinite increase. The context points to a specific one.
- 'the': Correct. The article 'the' is used because the sentence refers to a specific increase in tuition fees that is the subject of the committee's deliberation within the defined economic context. This specificity makes 'the' the appropriate choice.
- 'an': Incorrect. Although 'increase' starts with a vowel sound, 'an' is used for indefinite instances. The context requires specificity, not generality.
- 'no article': Incorrect. 'Increase' here is a singular, countable noun referring to a specific event being discussed, not a general concept or a plural noun.
Therefore, the definite article 'the' best fits the context, indicating the specific increase in tuition fees under consideration.
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Important Questions from Sentence Jumbles
The following question consists of six sentences of a passage. The first and the sixth sentences are given in the beginning as S1 and S6. The middle four sentences in each have been jumbled up and labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find the proper sequence of the four sentences and mark your response accordingly.
S1: Egypt lies in the north-east corner of Africa.
S6: The whole country depends on the water of the Nile.
P: Most of it is desert or semi-desert.
Q: It has very little rainfall.
R: It is four times as big as Great Britain in size.
S: Only a twenty-fifth of the total area is cultivable.
The correct sequence should beThe following question consists of six sentences of a passage. The first and the sixth sentences are given in the beginning as S1 and S6. The middle four sentences in each have been jumbled up and labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find the proper sequence of the four sentences and mark your response accordingly.
S1: In mechanical efforts, you improve by perpetual practice.
S6: There is neither excuse nor temptation for the latter.
P: He cannot go on shooting wide or falling short, and still fancy that he is making progress.
Q: This is so because the object to be attained is a matter of actual experiment in which you either succeed or fail.
R: He must either correct his aim or persevere in his error with his eyes open.
S: If a man aims at a mark with a bow and arrow, he must either hit it or aim it.
The correct sequence should be
The following question consists of six sentences of a passage. The first and the sixth sentences are given in the beginning as S1 and S6. The middle four sentences in each have been jumbled up and labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find the proper sequence of the four sentences and mark your response accordingly.
S1: Isaac’s mother married again.
S6: He had a set of little tools and saw of various sizes made by himself.
P: But he was known to be very clever at making things.
Q: She sent him to school.
R: Isaac was left to the care of his good old grandmother.
S: In his early years Isaac did not appear to be a very bright student.
The correct sequence should be
The following question consists of six sentences of a passage. The first and the sixth sentences are given in the beginning as S1 and S6. The middle four sentences in each have been jumbled up and labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find the proper sequence of the four sentences and mark your response accordingly.
S1: The examination system must be regarded as the chief wrecker of young nerves.
S6: If I become a Vice-Chancellor, my first act would be to abolish all examinations in my university.
P: It makes me jump out of the bed, all in a sweat.
Q: It does this by building up a tension, for a part of the year, all through one’s youth.
R: And after four decades, the same nervousness sometimes recurs to me in nightmares.
S: I remember the desperate nervousness that used to grip me from January to April every year.
The correct sequence should be
The following question consists of six sentences of a passage. The first and the sixth sentences are given in the beginning as S1 and S6. The middle four sentences in each have been jumbled up and labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find the proper sequence of the four sentences and mark your response accordingly.
S1: History is a subject that is so little valued today that it is almost impossible to win world fame as a historian, yet that is exactly what Toynbee was able to.
S6: Among the civilizations that he studied was that of India.
P: We usually think of history as a chronological account of the development of various states and empires under the ruler.
Q: Toynbee’s view of history was different.
R: He tries to find the pattern behind the birth, growth and decay of civilization.
S: Though he used the recorded history of mankind, he was interested not merely in the chronology of single states or group but in the rise and fall of whole civilizations.
The correct sequence should be
