NDA (I) 2017 General Ability Test · Question 48 of 149

Correct — D, P Q R S. In this section each label stands immediately after the part it names. So (P) is 'She has', (Q) is 'more', (R) is 'intelligence' and (S) is 'than we suspected her to possess'. The parts are already in their natural sequence, giving 'She has more intelligence than we suspected her to possess', because 'more' has to stand directly before the noun it measures and the 'than' clause closes the comparison at the end.

• (a)P Q S R — The 'than' clause is dropped in before the noun, so 'more' is cut off from 'intelligence' and the comparison loses the thing being compared.
• (b)P R Q S — With the noun in front of 'more', the comparative no longer measures 'intelligence' and the sentence reads as two loosely joined halves.
• (c)P S Q R — A 'than' clause cannot follow 'has' directly, because there is no comparative word before it for 'than' to answer.

A word-order item on a comparative structure, where the comparative word, its noun and the 'than' clause must follow in that order.

One option in an ordering set is sometimes the sequence as printed. Checking the given order first is quicker than assembling the sentence from scratch.

• Assuming the parts must always be rearranged.

Asked as an ordering item whose answer keeps the parts in the sequence in which they are printed.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Arrange the parts. He has (P) more (Q) courage (R) than anyone expected (S). The proper sequence should be

  • (a)P Q R S
  • (b)P R Q S
  • (c)P S Q R
  • (d)P Q S R

  Answer(a) P Q R S — 'He has more courage than anyone expected.'

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Arrange the parts. This book gives (P) better (Q) examples (R) than the one I read last year (S). The proper sequence should be

  • (a)P R Q S
  • (b)P Q R S
  • (c)P Q S R
  • (d)P S Q R

  Answer(b) P Q R S — 'This book gives better examples than the one I read last year.'