NDA (I) 2017 General Ability Test · Question 29 of 149

Correct — C, a pair of spectacles. 'Spectacles' is one of the nouns that name a two-part object and exist only in the plural, so a single item is counted with 'a pair of' — 'bought a pair of spectacles'.

• (a)a spectacle — The singular 'a spectacle' means a striking sight or a public display, not eyewear, so it changes the meaning completely.
• (b)two spectacles — Two-part nouns cannot be counted directly; the countable unit is the pair, giving 'two pairs of spectacles'.
• (d)No improvement — The bare plural leaves the quantity vague after a single visit to the optician, and the natural English for one such purchase supplies 'a pair of'.

A number item on plural-only nouns for two-part objects, which are counted with 'a pair of'.

Bare 'spectacles' is not ungrammatical on its own, which is what makes the last option tempting. The improvement asked for is the counting phrase that the single purchase calls for.

• Trousers, scissors, pliers, tongs, binoculars and pyjamas behave the same way.
• The singular of some of these words exists but means something quite different, as with 'a spectacle'.

• Forming a singular by simply dropping the -s from a two-part noun.

Asked as a sentence-improvement item that removes the counting phrase from a plural-only noun.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which option best improves the underlined part — He bought <u>a trouser</u> from the shop.

  • (a)a pair of trousers
  • (b)two trousers
  • (c)trouser
  • (d)No improvement

  Answer(a) a pair of trousers — trousers is a plural-only noun.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which option best improves the underlined part — Give me <u>a scissor</u> to cut the cloth.

  • (a)a pair of scissors
  • (b)two scissors
  • (c)scissor
  • (d)No improvement

  Answer(a) a pair of scissors — scissors takes the counting phrase 'a pair of'.