NDA (I) 2018 GAT Q23: Frank Lloyd Wright has been acclaimed by colleagues as the

Q: What is the answer to NDA (I) 2018 GAT Q23?

C. Correct — C, 'as the greater of all modern architects.' The phrase 'of all modern architects' compares one man with a whole class, and a comparison across more than two takes the superlative — the sentence should read 'as the greatest of all modern architects'. The comparative 'greater' is for a comparison between two.

NDA (I) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 23 of 150

Question text verified against the official NDA question paper.

Frank Lloyd Wright has been acclaimed by colleagues as the greater of all modern architects. No error.

(a)has been acclaimed
(b)by colleagues
(c)as the greater of all modern architects.
(d)No error.

Answer

Why

Correct — C, 'as the greater of all modern architects.' The phrase 'of all modern architects' compares one man with a whole class, and a comparison across more than two takes the superlative — the sentence should read 'as the greatest of all modern architects'. The comparative 'greater' is for a comparison between two.

Why the others are wrong

(a)has been acclaimed — This is correct; the present perfect passive is exactly right for praise given over a period and still standing.
(b)by colleagues — This is correct; 'by' introduces the agent in a passive sentence, and 'by colleagues' names who did the acclaiming.
(d)No error. — The sentence does carry a mistake, in the degree of comparison used in part (c), so this cannot be marked.

Concept

English has three degrees of comparison — great, greater, greatest. The comparative is used between two things, and the superlative when one is picked out of a group of three or more.

The giveaway is the phrase 'of all'. Any phrase naming a whole group — of all, of the lot, in the world — calls for the superlative, which is why 'the greatest of all modern architects' is right and 'the greater' is not. The comparative would be in order only if two architects were being weighed against each other, as in 'the greater of the two'. The paper prints 'greater', and that printed word is the very error being tested, so it is reproduced here as printed.

Key facts

'The greater of the two' is correct, and so is 'the greatest of the three'.
A superlative normally takes 'the' — the tallest boy, the greatest architect.
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, so 'of all modern architects' places him in a class rather than in a pair.

Study next

Degrees of comparison and when each is usedPhrases that force a superlative — of all, of the lot, in the worldDouble comparatives and double superlatives to avoidThe present perfect passive and the agent phrase with 'by'

Common traps

Reading past 'greater' because the sentence sounds fluent.
Marking the passive verb in part (a) on suspicion, when it is correctly formed.

Asked as an error-spotting item — name the part of the sentence that carries the mistake, or mark 'No error.'

Related PYQs

NDA_GAT_2016_II_Q52016Open & attempt →

It is most essential for us to reach the station before noon lest we should miss the train. No error.

(a) It is most essential for us
(b) to reach the station before noon
(c) lest we should miss the train.
(d) No error.

Answer(a) It is most essential for us

The same ground of degree words used where they do not belong, again in an error-spotting item whose remaining parts are all correct.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Which part carries the error — (a) Of the four candidates / (b) he is the better / (c) in every subject. / (d) No error
- (a)Of the four candidates
- (b)he is the better
- (c)in every subject.
- (d)No error
Answer(b) he is the better — four candidates call for the superlative, 'the best'.
practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the form that fits — She is the ______ of the two sisters.
- (a)tall
- (b)taller
- (c)tallest
- (d)most tall
Answer(b) taller — a comparison between two takes the comparative.