NDA (II) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 41 of 146

Correct — D, SRPQ. The opening line 'Domestic fires in Indian villages' is a subject with no verb, and S ('lit in Chulhas') is a shortened relative phrase standing for 'which are lit in Chulhas', so it has to sit against the noun it describes. R ('are wasteful') then supplies the verb that subject has been waiting for, P ('as the heat is dispersed') gives the reason for the waste, and Q adds the second consequence. Reading it out gives 'Domestic fires in Indian villages, lit in Chulhas, are wasteful as the heat is dispersed, an unhealthy smoke accumulates in unventilated houses.'

• (a)PQSR — It opens with the reason clause 'as the heat is dispersed' straight after the subject, so the fires are given a cause before they are given a verb, and 'are wasteful' is stranded at the very end behind a complete clause.
• (b)PQRS — The same fault at the front, since a subordinate 'as' clause cannot follow a bare subject, and here the descriptive phrase 'lit in Chulhas' is pushed to the end where it has no noun to attach to.
• (c)SPQR — This gets S next to the subject but then postpones the main verb behind two more clauses, so 'as the heat is dispersed' explains nothing and 'are wasteful' arrives after the sentence has already made a complete statement about smoke.

A sentence-ordering item decided by two structural rules — a shortened relative phrase sits against its noun, and a subject must reach its verb before any subordinate clause begins.

The four option strings are near-anagrams of one another, so guessing from their look is hopeless. The reliable move is to name one link you are certain of and use it to cut. The certainty here is that 'Domestic fires in Indian villages' has no verb and only R supplies one, which kills options (a) and (b) at once because both put P first. Between the two survivors, the reason clause P must follow the claim it explains, and that leaves SRPQ. The assembled sentence is a little rough where P meets Q, since the paper prints no 'and' between the two consequences. That is how the item is printed and it does not change which sequence is intended.

• A shortened relative phrase such as 'lit in Chulhas' stands for 'which are lit in Chulhas' and must touch the noun it modifies.
• A chulha is the traditional clay or mud cooking stove used in Indian homes, burning wood, dung cakes or crop residue.
• The booklet's spelling 'Chulhas' is reproduced here exactly as printed.

• Comparing the four option strings letter by letter instead of testing one link at a time.
• Letting a reason clause float ahead of the claim it is supposed to explain.

Asked as an ordering item where the opening fragment is a subject without a verb, so the parts must supply that verb before anything else.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Arrange the parts — The bridge across the river / P. was closed to traffic / Q. built nearly a century ago / R. after the floods / S. of last August. The correct sequence should be

  • (a)QPRS
  • (b)PQRS
  • (c)QRSP
  • (d)RSQP

  Answer(a) QPRS — 'The bridge across the river, built nearly a century ago, was closed to traffic after the floods of last August.'

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Arrange the parts — The old clock in the hall / P. still keeps / Q. perfect time / R. repaired last winter / S. by a local watchmaker. The correct sequence should be

  • (a)RSPQ
  • (b)PQRS
  • (c)RPQS
  • (d)SRPQ

  Answer(a) RSPQ — 'The old clock in the hall, repaired last winter by a local watchmaker, still keeps perfect time.'