NDA (II) 2023 GAT Q22: Geomorphologists ascertain several wonderful facts about

Q: What is the answer to NDA (II) 2023 GAT Q22?

A. Correct — A, verify. To 'ascertain' something is to find it out and make certain of it, so in this sentence geomorphologists establish and confirm facts about the earth. 'Verify' is the only option that carries that sense of settling something as true.

NDA (II) 2023 General Ability Test · Question 22 of 146

Question text verified against the official NDA question paper.

Geomorphologists ascertain several wonderful facts about our earth.

(a)verify
(b)invert
(c)increase
(d)omit

Answer

Why

Correct — A, verify. To 'ascertain' something is to find it out and make certain of it, so in this sentence geomorphologists establish and confirm facts about the earth. 'Verify' is the only option that carries that sense of settling something as true.

Why the others are wrong

(b)invert — 'Invert' means to turn upside down or reverse an order, which has nothing to do with establishing facts.
(c)increase — 'Increase' is about quantity. Ascertaining facts does not add to them, it confirms them.
(d)omit — 'Omit' means to leave out — close to the opposite of finding something out.

Concept

'Ascertain' is built on 'certain'. It means to establish something with certainty, usually by checking or investigating rather than by assuming.

The shape of the word is the giveaway — strip 'ascertain' down and 'certain' is sitting inside it. Only one option belongs to the family of establishing what is true, so the item is really testing whether a candidate can see the root through the prefix and the ending.

Key facts

'Ascertain' is formed on 'certain' and means to make certain of a fact.
Geomorphology is the study of landforms and of the processes that shape them.

Study next

Root-based vocabulary: certain, ascertain, certifyVerbs of establishing truth, such as verify, confirm and corroborateSeeing a familiar root inside an unfamiliar wordGeography vocabulary appearing inside English items

Common traps

Reading 'ascertain' as a dressed-up form of 'assert' and hunting for a verb of claiming.
Choosing an option that fits the noun 'facts' loosely instead of matching the verb.

Asked as a synonym item where the tested verb hides a familiar root that fixes its meaning.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'ascertain'. The police tried to ascertain the identity of the caller.
- (a)assume
- (b)confirm
- (c)conceal
- (d)dispute
Answer(b) confirm — to ascertain is to establish something with certainty.
practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'corroborate'. The witness could not corroborate the driver's account.
- (a)support
- (b)cancel
- (c)translate
- (d)publish
Answer(a) support — to corroborate is to back a statement with further evidence.