NDA (II) 2022 General Ability Test · Question 39 of 150

Correct — B, 'and pursue a honest livelihood'. The choice between 'a' and 'an' follows sound rather than spelling, and the h in 'honest' is silent, so the word opens with a vowel sound and takes 'an' — 'an honest livelihood'.

• (a)The opportunity to attain foundational literacy — Error-free — 'the opportunity to attain…' is a correct noun-plus-infinitive structure and the article suits the specific opportunity being described.
• (c)must be viewed as basic right of every citizen. — Not the segment named — the passive 'must be viewed as' is correctly built; it would read more smoothly as 'as a basic right', but that is a matter of polish, whereas 'a honest' is impossible in standard English.
• (d)No error — There is an error — 'a honest' must be 'an honest' — so 'No error' is not the answer.

An error-spotting item on the a/an rule: the indefinite article is chosen by the first sound of the word that follows, not by its first letter.

Words such as honest, hour, heir and honour begin with a silent h and so take 'an'; words such as university, union and one begin with a consonant sound despite the vowel spelling and take 'a'. This sentence has two soft spots, since segment (c) would also read better as 'a basic right of every citizen'. When that happens, choose the segment that breaks a hard rule — 'a honest' cannot occur in standard English, while a dropped article before an abstract-sounding phrase is only awkward. The commission's answer names segment (b) on exactly that reasoning.

• 'An' goes before a vowel sound: an honest man, an hour, an heir, an MP.
• 'A' goes before a consonant sound: a university, a European, a one-rupee coin.
• The h is silent in honest, honour, hour and heir, but pronounced in hotel, history and hospital.

• Choosing the article by spelling instead of by sound.
• Being pulled towards a second, milder article slip elsewhere in the sentence.

Asked as an error-spotting item — name the segment that contains the error, or mark 'No error'.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Fill in the blank: She waited for ___ hour before the interview began.

  • (a)a
  • (b)an
  • (c)the
  • (d)no article is needed

  Answer(b) an — the h in 'hour' is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Spot the error: (a) He is / (b) an university topper / (c) from Bhopal. / (d) No error

  • (a)(a)
  • (b)(b)
  • (c)(c)
  • (d)No error

  Answer(b) an university topper — 'university' begins with a 'yoo' consonant sound, so it takes 'a university'.