NDA (II) 2025 General Ability Test · Question 44 of 147

Correct — A, the order S Q R P. S is the only fragment with a main verb and can open ('it is widely believed that the parliamentary system differs'); Q supplies the object the verb 'differs' demands ('from a non-parliamentary system'); R begins the comparison clause ('in as much as the former is'); and P completes it ('more representative than the latter').

• (b)S P Q R — Puts P right after S, giving 'the parliamentary system differs more representative than the latter' — 'differs' needs 'from', not a comparative, so the join is ungrammatical, and the sentence ends unresolved on 'the former is'.
• (c)R S P Q — Opens with R ('in as much as the former is'), a subordinate clause whose 'the former' has no antecedent yet; a dependent clause cannot start the sentence.
• (d)P S R Q — Opens with P ('more representative than the latter'), a bare comparative phrase with no subject or verb before it, so the sentence has no grammatical head.

A sentence-rearrangement item hinging on the verb 'differs from' taking its object first, and 'in as much as' introducing the comparison of 'the former' with 'the latter'.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which fragment must begin the sentence in this jumble?

  • (a)'in as much as the former is'
  • (b)'more representative than the latter'
  • (c)'it is widely believed that the parliamentary system differs'
  • (d)'from a non-parliamentary system'

  Answer(c) 'it is widely believed...differs' — it is the only fragment carrying the main clause and verb.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The verb 'differs' in this sentence must be immediately followed by —

  • (a)a comparative ('more representative')
  • (b)the preposition phrase 'from a non-parliamentary system'
  • (c)'the former is'
  • (d)'than the latter'

  Answer(b) 'from a non-parliamentary system' — 'differ' takes the preposition 'from'.