NDA (II) 2016 General Ability Test · Question 3 of 150

Correct — A, 'If you are wanting to watch'. 'Want' is a stative verb — it names a condition of the mind rather than an activity — and English does not put such verbs into the continuous. The segment has to read 'If you want to watch the birds nesting…'.

• (b)the birds nesting — Error-free — 'watch' takes an object followed by an -ing form for an action in progress, so 'watch the birds nesting' is exactly right.
• (c)you must not let them see you. — Error-free — 'let' is followed by a bare infinitive, and 'let them see you' obeys that pattern.
• (d)No error. — The continuous form in the first segment is not standard English, so the sentence carries a mistake.

Stative verbs — want, know, believe, own, seem, prefer — describe states rather than actions, and they stay in the simple form even when the reference is to this very moment.

The present continuous is right for something in progress, so a candidate who reads 'are wanting' as 'want just now' can talk themselves into accepting it. The test is whether the verb names an activity a person could be caught doing. Wanting is not something you do; it is something you are. Modern English does put a few of these into the continuous for deliberate effect, as in 'I'm loving this', but an examination sentence is not the place for it. The 'if' half of this sentence is otherwise unremarkable and the fault is purely the verb form.

• Common stative verbs include want, need, know, understand, believe, prefer, own, belong and seem.
• Watch, see, hear and feel take an object plus an -ing form for an action in progress — 'I watched him crossing the road'.
• 'Let', 'make' and 'see' take a bare infinitive when the action is complete — 'let them see you'.

• Using the continuous to signal 'at this moment' with a verb of wanting.
• Adding 'to' after 'let'.

Asked as an error-spotting item — name the segment that carries the mistake, or mark 'No error.'

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which segment carries the error — (a) I am knowing / (b) the answer / (c) to this question. / (d) No error

  • (a)I am knowing
  • (b)the answer
  • (c)to this question.
  • (d)No error

  Answer(a) I am knowing — 'know' is stative, so it must read 'I know the answer to this question.'

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Fill the blank — Do not let him ________ the letter.

  • (a)to read
  • (b)read
  • (c)reading
  • (d)reads

  Answer(b) read — 'let' is followed by the bare infinitive.