NDA (I) 2024 General Ability Test · Question 32 of 146

Correct — A, SRQP. Reading S-R-Q-P gives 'The Indian nation is the product of a historical process that has been in the making for many millennia.' S states the subject and main clause, R adds the prepositional phrase carrying the relative pronoun 'that has', Q supplies the verb that this relative clause needs, and P closes with the time adverbial.

• (b)SQPR — S opens correctly, but placing Q ('been in the making') straight after it strands the auxiliary — 'been in the making' needs the 'that has' of R before it. It also ends on R ('of a historical process that has'), leaving the dangling relative 'that has' with nothing to complete.
• (c)PRSQ — Opens with P ('for many millennia'), a time adverbial that cannot begin the sentence. The subject S is buried mid-sentence and it closes on Q ('been in the making') as an unattached fragment.
• (d)RSQP — Opens with R ('of a historical process that has'), a prepositional-plus-relative fragment with no subject. The subject-plus-verb clause S must lead; here it comes second, so the sentence never establishes what 'is the product'.

A sentence-ordering item hinging on the unfinished relative clause in R ('that has'), which forces Q ('been in the making') to follow it.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Arrange to form a coherent sentence: (P) before leaving (Q) she switched off (R) the room (S) the lights

  • (a)QSPR
  • (b)SQPR
  • (c)QSRP
  • (d)SPQR

  Answer(a) QSPR — 'She switched off the lights before leaving the room.'

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Arrange to form a coherent sentence: (P) in the park (Q) the children were playing (R) it started raining (S) when

  • (a)QPSR
  • (b)PQSR
  • (c)QSPR
  • (d)QPRS

  Answer(a) QPSR — 'The children were playing in the park when it started raining.'