The party was excellent, and I would like to thank all the people <u>concerned</u>.
- (a)cared
- (b)attentive
- (c)dependable
- (d)uninvolved
Answer
Why
Correct: D, 'uninvolved'. In 'all the people concerned' the word means the people involved in the matter, so its reverse is those who had nothing to do with it: 'uninvolved'.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)cared: 'Cared' reverses nothing; it is a past-tense verb where an adjective is needed, and caring belongs to the other sense of 'concerned' in any case.
- (b)attentive: Attentive belongs to the worried, caring sense of 'concerned' and is a near-synonym of it rather than an opposite.
- (c)dependable: Dependable is about being reliable, which is a different quality altogether from being involved in something.
Concept
'Concerned' has two senses: concerned about something means worried about it, while 'the people concerned' means the people involved, and the position of the word decides which sense is meant.
Placed after the noun, as in 'the people concerned' or 'the authorities concerned', the word carries the involvement sense; placed before a noun, as in 'a concerned parent', it carries the worried sense. Here it follows 'the people', and the speaker is thanking those who helped with a party, so involvement is what has to be reversed.
Key facts
- 'As far as I am concerned' uses the involvement sense.
- A concerned expression is a worried one, while the people concerned are those involved.
- 'Uninvolved' and 'unconnected' both reverse the involvement sense.
Study next
Common traps
- Reading the caring sense and then hunting for the opposite of 'worried'.
- Choosing an option that does not even match the word class of the underlined word.
Asked as an antonym item: choose the word most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.
Related PYQs
He was quite <u>concerned</u> about his son's career.
- (a) unrelated
- (b) indifferent
- (c) dispassionate
- (d) carefree
Answer(b) indifferent
The same word set in the other of its two senses: there it followed 'about' and carried the worried sense, so the key was 'indifferent'; here it follows 'the people' and carries the involvement sense.
Practice
- practice, not a real PYQ
In 'Please inform the authorities concerned', the word 'concerned' means
- (a)worried
- (b)involved
- (c)careful
- (d)senior
Answer(b) involved: after the noun, 'concerned' carries the involvement sense. - practice, not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'involved' in 'the people involved in the project'.
- (a)engaged
- (b)uninvolved
- (c)interested
- (d)employed
Answer(b) uninvolved: the prefix un- reverses the participle.