After this incident I went to Nainital, and returned after nearly a month. I had _____ (21) taken _____ (22) my clothes when I saw Gangu standing _____ (23) a new baby. He was _____ (24) with joy. Even Nanda _____ (25) not have _____ (26) such joy _____ (27) getting Krishna. His face had the same _____ (28) that _____ (29) on the face of a _____ (30) man after a full meal. on the face of a _____ man after a full meal.
- (a)starved
- (b)starving
- (c)hungry
- (d)satisfied
Correct — A, starved. The -ed participle names a condition the man has been through, which is exactly what 'after a full meal' requires: the hunger is behind him, and the glow on his face comes from having been starved and then fed.
- (b)starving — The -ing participle says the man is still going hungry at that moment, which cannot be true of somebody who has just finished a full meal.
- (c)hungry — 'Hungry' is also a present-state word, and it is too mild besides; the comparison needs long deprivation to make the glow of satisfaction as strong as Gangu's joy.
- (d)satisfied — 'A satisfied man after a full meal' says the same thing twice and kills the contrast, because the force of the picture lies in the change from want to plenty.
A participle used as an adjective changes meaning with its ending — the -ed form names a state the noun has been through, while the -ing form names something still going on.
The time phrase at the end of the sentence is what decides the answer. 'After a full meal' places the man past his hunger, so only a form that describes deprivation already over can stand in front of 'man'.
- A starved man has been deprived of food; a starving man is going without food now.
- The same split separates 'a drowned sailor' from 'a drowning sailor'.
- 'After a full meal' fixes the time as later than the hunger, which rules out every present-state word.
- Choosing the -ing form because hunger feels like an ongoing thing, without checking the time phrase in the sentence.
Asked as a cloze blank testing which participle of a verb can work as an adjective in the time frame the sentence sets.
It was a ________ experience. Everybody was shocked.
- (a) terrified
- (b) horrified
- (c) terrifying
- (d) denouncing
Answer(c) terrifying
Same skill — both items ask which participial form of a verb can serve as an adjective. There an experience is 'terrifying' because it causes the feeling, while the people are 'terrified'; here 'after a full meal' forces the completed -ed form 'starved' rather than the ongoing 'starving'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word that best fills the blank — The ____ soldiers were given a hot meal as soon as they reached the camp.
- (a)exhausting
- (b)exhausted
- (c)tiring
- (d)exhaust
Answer(b) exhausted — the men have been worn out, so the -ed form is the adjective wanted.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word that best fills the blank — The lecture was so ____ that half the class fell asleep.
- (a)bored
- (b)boring
- (c)bore
- (d)bores
Answer(b) boring — the lecture causes the feeling, so it takes the -ing form.