In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. This Diwali is more significant because we are going to celebrate it after three years, without the evil shadow of Covid-19 that (1)________ looming over all festivities. The lockdowns and endless bad news of death and (2)________ had turned our country into a zone of gloom. But, this season of Diwali (3)________ all the sorrows of people by lighting the candle of hope in their lives. We can see the lights, the candles, the lanterns, and the busy people coming out of their houses and purchasing toys for their children. Let’s (4)________ those people who have made such a huge contribution to (5)________ good thoughts and saving people's lives.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 4.
- (a)onerous
- (b)terminate
- (c)salute
- (d)berate
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The blank follows Let's, which is let us — and let takes a bare infinitive. Whatever fills the blank has to be a verb in its base form.
That alone removes the adjective on offer, before any meaning is weighed.
Among the verbs, the object is those people who have made such a huge contribution, so the verb must be one of praise. salute, in its sense of honouring someone publicly, is the fit — option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)onerous — onerous is an adjective meaning burdensome. Let us cannot be followed by an adjective, so this fails on part of speech before its meaning is considered.
- (b)terminate — terminate means bring to an end, or dismiss from a job. Applied to people just credited with a huge contribution, it reverses the sentence's gratitude.
- (d)berate — berate means to scold someone at length. It is a verb in the right form, but the sentence is thanking these people, not rebuking them.
Concept
A blank after Let's is a grammar question wearing a vocabulary costume.
Let's is let us, and let belongs to the small set of verbs followed by a bare infinitive — let him go, make her wait, help us carry. The blank is therefore a base-form verb slot, and any adjective or noun among the options is dead on arrival.
Once part of speech has cut the list, tone decides the rest. The relative clause praises these people, so the verb has to praise them too. salute means to honour or acknowledge with respect.
The option set mixes one adjective with three verbs, so naming the part of speech first is faster than weighing four meanings in turn.
It is also safer: an unfamiliar word like onerous tempts you precisely because you cannot check its meaning, and the grammar test does not need its meaning.
Key facts
- Let's is a contraction of let us, and let is followed by a bare infinitive.
- Onerous is an adjective meaning involving great effort or difficulty.
- Salute means to honour or show respect publicly, and it takes a person as its object.
- Berate means to criticise or scold someone angrily.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing onerous because it is the least familiar word in the set.
- Weighing meanings before checking whether an option can even occupy a bare-infinitive slot.
A blank settled by form before meaning is also asked 18 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.21: when the creature ___ into the air is keyed leaps, the only option carrying the -s that its singular subject needs.
Related PYQs
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