He had a <u>fine</u> ear for music.
- (a)small
- (b)close
- (c)coarse
- (d)smooth
Answer
Why
Correct: C, 'coarse'. 'A fine ear' is one that catches small differences, and 'fine' in that sense (delicate, finely discriminating) pairs with 'coarse', which means rough and unable to make fine distinctions.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)small: Small takes 'fine' as a word about size, but a fine ear is not a small ear.
- (b)close: Close can mean careful, as in close attention, which moves alongside 'fine' rather than against it.
- (d)smooth: Smooth sits on the same side as 'fine' (both are set against rough) so it repeats the sense instead of reversing it.
Concept
'Fine' and 'coarse' are a fixed pair, used of grains, cloth, features and, as here, of discrimination: a fine ear, a fine palate, a fine eye for detail.
'Fine' is one of the busiest adjectives in English (a fine day, a fine of five hundred rupees, fine sand, a fine distinction) so the sentence has to be read before the pair can be chosen. 'A fine ear for music' is about discrimination, and the word that reverses discrimination is 'coarse'.
Key facts
- Fine and coarse describe grain size: fine sand and coarse sand, fine cloth and coarse cloth.
- 'Fine' as a noun and verb is a money penalty, unrelated to the adjective in this sentence.
- 'A fine distinction' is a small one, and 'a coarse joke' is a crude one.
Study next
Common traps
- Taking 'fine' as a word about size and choosing 'small'.
- Choosing 'smooth', which belongs on the same side as 'fine'.
Asked as an antonym item: choose the word most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.
Related PYQs
He is essentially a crude person.
- (a) coarse
- (b) refined
- (c) eager
- (d) balanced
Answer(b) refined
The same fine-and-coarse axis with the roles swapped: there 'coarse' was planted as the synonym decoy for 'crude', while here it is the key.
Practice
- practice, not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'fine' in 'fine sand'.
- (a)soft
- (b)coarse
- (c)dry
- (d)clean
Answer(b) coarse: coarse sand has larger grains. - practice, not a real PYQ
Choose the word closest in meaning to 'discerning' in 'a discerning reader'.
- (a)careless
- (b)perceptive
- (c)hurried
- (d)doubtful
Answer(b) perceptive: a discerning reader notices fine differences.