NDA (II) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 3 of 146

Correct — D, 'No error'. Each segment stands up on its own. The present-perfect passive 'This view has been taken' is well formed; 'by one of the ablest persons' uses the superlative in the ordinary pattern after 'one of the'; and the relative clause is read here as describing 'one' — the single person who took this view and who has written on this subject — so the singular 'has written' is what that reading calls for.

• (a)This view has been taken — Error-free — the present-perfect passive suits a view already formed and still held.
• (b)by one of the ablest persons — Error-free — 'one of the' is followed by a superlative and a plural noun, which is the standard pattern.
• (c)who has written on this subject. — Not the answer on the reading the paper adopted — 'who' is taken to point back to 'one', and a singular antecedent takes the singular 'has written'.

In the frame 'one of the + plural noun + who + verb', the verb can agree with the plural noun or with 'one', depending on which of the two the writer treats as the antecedent of 'who'.

Most handbooks used for this exam teach the plural — 'one of the ablest persons who have written' — on the ground that 'who' looks back to the whole group. The commission's key marks this printed sentence error-free, which follows the other long-established reading, where 'who' points back to 'one' and the verb turns singular. Carry the plural pattern as your default in a sentence-correction item, and read the printed sentence closely before assuming a singular verb must be a slip, because this paper accepted it.

• The plural agreement is the pattern usually taught: 'one of the boys who have passed'.
• When 'the only' comes first, the verb is always singular — 'the only one of the boys who has passed'.
• 'One of the' is always followed by a plural noun: one of the ablest persons, one of my friends.

• Marking the relative clause automatically because the handbook pattern reads 'who have written'.
• Assuming that a long sentence must contain an error somewhere.

Asked as an error-spotting item in which 'No error' is the answer.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Fill the blank — He is the only one of the boys who ______ passed.

  • (a)have
  • (b)has
  • (c)were
  • (d)are

  Answer(b) has — 'the only one' forces the singular whichever way the rest is read.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which sentence follows the pattern most handbooks teach?

  • (a)This is one of the books which is worth reading.
  • (b)This is one of the books which are worth reading.
  • (c)This is one of the book which are worth reading.
  • (d)This is one of the books what are worth reading.

  Answer(b) This is one of the books which are worth reading — 'which' is taken to refer to 'books'.