Parts of a sentence are given below in jumbled order. Arrange the parts in the correct order to form a meaningful sentence. (a) false news websites (b) spreading propaganda about politics (c) thrive because the advertisements and politicians (d) and social networking sites (e) make a lot of money

Correct — C. Part (a) opens the sentence, and part (d) begins with and, so (d) can only be hooked on to a noun phrase, never to a verb. Together they build the compound subject: "false news websites and social networking sites".

Part (c) then supplies the main verb thrive and opens a because-clause whose subject is "the advertisements and politicians".

Part (b), "spreading propaganda about politics", is a participle phrase describing those politicians, and part (e) make a lot of money is the finite verb that because-clause is still waiting for.

That reading is a-d-c-b-e — option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  adecb — a-d-e-c-b stacks two finite verbs back to back: the subject is followed by "make a lot of money" and then by "thrive", with no conjunction between them, so no single main clause survives.
• (b)
  aedcb — a-e-d-c-b spends part (e) early, on the opening subject, and the because-clause is then left verbless — "because the advertisements and politicians spreading propaganda about politics" never says what they do.
• (d)
  aecbd — a-e-c-b-d strands part (d) at the end. A part beginning with and has to join something already in place, so closing the sentence with "and social networking sites" leaves it hanging.

A parts-jumble is solved by grammar, not by sense of style. Three signals do almost all the work.

A part opening with and is a joiner: it attaches to a phrase of the same kind and cannot start or end the sentence on its own.

Every clause needs exactly one finite verb. Here there are two finite verbs, "thrive" and "make", so there are two clauses — a main clause and the because-clause.

A word ending in -ing, like "spreading", is a participle. It describes a noun and can never be the verb a clause is built on.

Key facts

• A jumbled part that begins with "and" is a coordinator and must follow the phrase it joins.
• A subordinate clause introduced by "because" needs its own subject and its own finite verb.
• An -ing participle such as "spreading" modifies a noun and cannot serve as a clause's verb.

Common traps

• Attaching "make a lot of money" to the opening subject because it sits next to it, which leaves the because-clause without a verb.
• Treating "spreading propaganda about politics" as the verb of the because-clause.
• Choosing by ear after reading only the first two parts of each option.

No directly related past PYQ was found.