NDA (II) 2024 General Ability Test · Question 37 of 141

Correct — C, Conjunction. Here 'since' introduces the subordinate clause 'since he has been in town' and joins that clause of time/reason to the main clause 'She spoke to him once' — the job of a subordinating conjunction. (When 'since' is followed by a noun phrase, e.g. 'since Monday', it is a preposition; when it is followed by a full clause, as here, it is a conjunction.)

• (a)Adjective — 'since' does not describe or qualify a noun, so it cannot be an adjective.
• (b)Adverb — 'since' can act as an adverb when it stands alone ('I have not seen her since'), but here it is followed by a clause, so it is not an adverb.
• (d)Preposition — A preposition takes a noun/pronoun object ('since Monday'); here 'since' is followed by the clause 'he has been in town', making it a conjunction, not a preposition.

'Since' is a chameleon word: a subordinating conjunction before a clause, a preposition before a noun phrase, and an adverb when it stands alone — the structure that follows decides its part of speech.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  What part of speech is 'because' in 'He left early because he was tired'?

  • (a)Preposition
  • (b)Conjunction
  • (c)Adverb
  • (d)Adjective

  Answer(b) Conjunction — 'because' joins the reason clause to the main clause.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  What part of speech is 'since' in 'I have been busy since Monday'?

  • (a)Conjunction
  • (b)Adverb
  • (c)Preposition
  • (d)Adjective

  Answer(c) Preposition — here 'since' is followed by the noun phrase 'Monday'.