Direction:In the following passage some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the alternatives given. Select the most appropriate option for each blank. Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in India located near Hospet town in Karnataka state, India. (1)______ the attractions of Hampi (2)______ beautiful temples, ruins of palaces (3)______ of aquatic structures, ancient market streets, royal pavilions, bastions, royal platforms, treasury buildings...the list is practically (4)______. Most of the visitors to Hampi arrive at the well-connected Hospet Junction railway station, (5)______ about 13km from Hampi. Roads to Hampi are in great shape. Driving all the way to Hampi from the neighbouring cities is not a bad idea either.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 2.
are
Analyzing the Hampi Passage for Blank 2
The question asks us to select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 2 in the given passage about Hampi. Let's look at the sentence containing blank 2:
"(1)______ the attractions of Hampi (2)______ beautiful temples, ruins of palaces..."
We need to choose a verb for blank (2) that correctly fits the grammar and context of this sentence.
Identifying the Subject for Blank 2
In this sentence, the subject is "the attractions of Hampi". The main noun in this subject phrase is "attractions". "Attractions" is a plural noun.
The sentence structure suggests that it is introducing a list of things that are considered "attractions of Hampi". The verb at blank (2) acts as a link between the subject ("the attractions of Hampi") and the list that follows ("beautiful temples, ruins of palaces...", etc.).
Evaluating the Options for Blank 2
Let's examine the given options:
- are
- is
- was
- were
Since the subject "attractions" is plural, the verb must agree with a plural subject. This rules out singular verbs.
- is: This is a singular present tense verb. It cannot be used with the plural subject "attractions".
- was: This is a singular (or sometimes plural 'you/they') past tense verb. It's singular form doesn't fit the plural subject. While 'was' can be used in some contexts, the passage describes Hampi as a current UNESCO site and lists current attractions ("Roads to Hampi are in great shape"). The general context is present tense.
We are left with the plural options:
- are: This is a plural present tense verb. It correctly agrees with the plural subject "attractions" and fits the present tense context of the passage.
- were: This is a plural past tense verb. While it agrees in number with the subject, the passage is describing the current attractions of Hampi, not attractions that only existed in the past.
Determining the Correct Verb
The sentence is listing the things that currently constitute the attractions of Hampi. Therefore, a present tense verb is needed. Given the plural subject "attractions", the correct present tense plural verb is "are".
Putting it together, the sentence would likely read something like: "(Among/Some of) the attractions of Hampi are beautiful temples, ruins of palaces..." This structure is grammatically sound and fits the descriptive nature of the passage.
Conclusion for Blank 2
Based on the subject-verb agreement rule and the present tense context of the passage, the most appropriate word for blank number 2 is "are".
The completed part of the sentence would be:
...the attractions of Hampi are beautiful temples, ruins of palaces...
| Blank Number | Subject | Subject Type (Singular/Plural) | Required Verb Type | Most Appropriate Option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | the attractions of Hampi | Plural | Plural, Present Tense | are |
Revision Table: Key Grammar Points
| Concept | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject-Verb Agreement | Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. | She is happy. They are happy. |
| Present Tense Verbs | Used to describe actions or states that are happening now, or are generally true. | The sun rises in the east. Birds fly. |
| Identifying the Subject | Find the noun or pronoun that the verb is talking about or describing. | The students in the class are studying. (Subject is 'students', not 'class') |
Additional Information: Subject-Verb Agreement Explained
Subject-verb agreement is a fundamental rule in English grammar. It means that the verb in a sentence must match the number (singular or plural) of its subject.
- If the subject is singular (e.g., a cat, he, she, it, John), the verb is typically in its singular form (often ending in -s in the present tense for third person singular).
- If the subject is plural (e.g., cats, they, we, John and Mary), the verb is typically in its base form or plural form (without the -s in the present tense).
In the sentence from the Hampi passage, the subject is "the attractions". Since "attractions" is a plural noun, the verb linked to it must also be plural. The options provided are forms of the verb "to be". The plural present tense form of "to be" is "are". The plural past tense form is "were". Since the passage describes Hampi's current state, "are" is the appropriate choice for blank 2.
Important Questions from Vocab and Grammar Based Questions
Select the most appropriate option that will fill in the blank number 2.
Select the most appropriate option that will fill in the blank number 3.
Select the most appropriate option that will fill in the blank number 4.
Select the most appropriate option that will fill in the blank number 5.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 1.
