As the ship streams from San Diego P. as walls of gray water from a distant storm in the North Pacific Q. making the greener among us miserable with sea sickness R. rock and toss the ship S. those of us aboard have a personal demonstration of powerful ocean movement
- (a)P Q R S
- (b)S R P Q
- (c)S P R Q
- (d)Q S R P
Correct — C, S P R Q. The sentence opens with an 'As ...' clause, so a main clause has to follow, and S is the only part with a subject and a finite verb. P then starts a second clause whose subject is 'walls of gray water', and that subject needs the verb in R, so P and R are welded in that order. Q is a participle phrase describing the result, so it trails at the end: ... as walls of gray water from a distant storm in the North Pacific rock and toss the ship, making the greener among us miserable with sea sickness.
- (a)P Q R S — It drops the participle phrase Q between the subject 'walls of gray water' and its verb 'rock and toss', and it leaves the main clause S until after the sentence has already run its course.
- (b)S R P Q — The main clause is right, but 'rock and toss the ship' then arrives with no subject, and 'walls of gray water' is pushed behind the verb that belongs to it.
- (d)Q S R P — 'Making the greener among us miserable' is a participle phrase with nobody to describe when it comes first, and R is again cut off from its subject.
Every finite verb must find its own subject, and a participle phrase describing a result belongs after the clause that produces the result.
The stem prints 'As the ship streams from San Diego'. A ship steams out of a port, and 'streams' is a slip for 'steams'; the word is kept as printed and it does not change which parts fit together. 'The greener among us' means the least experienced, from the old use of 'green' for a newcomer.
- An 'As ...' clause at the start of a sentence is subordinate and must be followed by a main clause.
- 'Walls of gray water' is the subject of 'rock and toss', so the two cannot be separated.
- 'Green' has long been used of a person new to a task, which is where 'the greener among us' comes from.
- Letting a participle phrase drift in between a subject and its verb.
Asked as a jumbled-parts item where the subject of the second clause and its verb decide the order.
Domestic fires in Indian villages P. as the heat is dispersed Q. an unhealthy smoke accumulates in unventilated houses R. are wasteful S. lit in Chulhas The correct sequence should be
- (a) PQSR
- (b) PQRS
- (c) SPQR
- (d) SRPQ
Answer(d) SRPQ
Same skill — the modifier attaches to the opening subject, the finite verb follows it, and the clause of explanation comes last. There 'lit in Chulhas' describes the fires before 'are wasteful' can arrive; here the main clause has to follow the opening 'As ...' clause before the second 'as' clause can begin.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Arrange the parts to make a correct sentence — As the bus climbed out of the valley / P. as sheets of rain from the gathering clouds / Q. leaving the youngest of us frightened and silent / R. beat against the windows / S. we found ourselves in the middle of the storm
- (a)P Q R S
- (b)S P R Q
- (c)S R P Q
- (d)Q S R P
Answer(b) S P R Q — the main clause comes first, then the 'as' clause with its own subject and verb, and the participle phrase closes.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Arrange the parts to make a correct sentence — As the fishing boat left the harbour / P. swept over the deck / Q. making the new hands cling to the rail / R. as the first big waves of the morning / S. the crew felt the sea for the first time
- (a)S R P Q
- (b)R P S Q
- (c)P Q S R
- (d)S P R Q
Answer(a) S R P Q — 'the first big waves of the morning' must stay next to the verb 'swept over the deck'.