In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. The beginning of the story is (1)______ in its presentation but (2)______ the style eases out and becomes haunting in its simplicity. The author brings out the human elements in his story. This common element of sympathy and sacrifice is given a new (3)_____ by the old artist who shows by his last desperate act that one can be a hero for one day if only one cares (4)______. O Henry’s treatment of his material is balanced and controlled, a fine (5)______ of humour and pathos.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 4.
- (a)enough
- (b)tough
- (c)through
- (d)though
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The blank closes the clause if only one cares (4)______, so it has to attach to the verb cares and finish the thought without opening anything new.
Enough does exactly that. It is a degree word that follows the verb it modifies — cares enough, tries hard enough, ran fast enough — and the sense wanted is a sufficient measure of caring.
One can be a hero for one day if only one cares enough → option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)tough — Tough is an adjective, and an adjective cannot modify a verb. Cares tough has no grammatical footing, and toughness is not the quality the clause is measuring.
- (c)through — Through is a preposition or particle and wants an object after it — through the door, through the night. Ending the clause on a bare through leaves it unfinished.
- (d)though — Though marks concession or, at the end of a sentence, contrast with what came before. There is no contrast to mark: the clause is stating the condition for being a hero.
Concept
The four options are a near-homophone set — enough, tough, through, though — and they belong to four different word classes.
Enough is a degree word placed after the verb, adjective or adverb it modifies: cares enough, good enough, quickly enough. Tough is an adjective. Through is a preposition or particle. Though marks concession.
So the blank is decided by what the slot can hold. A verb is already in place and nothing follows the blank, which leaves room for a degree adverb and for nothing else.
The -ough spelling maps onto several different sounds. Enough and tough rhyme with each other; through and though rhyme neither with them nor with each other.
Sorting this family by part of speech is therefore faster and far safer than sorting it by how the words look or sound.
Key facts
- Enough follows the verb, adjective or adverb it modifies — cares enough, good enough, soon enough.
- Enough goes before a noun when it works as a determiner — enough time, enough reasons.
- Through is a preposition or particle and needs an object or a verb to complete it.
- Though introduces a concession, or at the end of a sentence marks contrast with what preceded.
Study next
Common traps
- Reading the blank as a conjunction slot and choosing though because the passage is discursive.
- Choosing through on spelling proximity without checking that it demands an object.
SSC likes a cloze blank whose four options differ mainly in spelling, because the real test is then part of speech rather than meaning.
The same trick keys 17 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.21, where The adverse (1)__________ of climate change takes effects over the verb affects.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.