Select the most appropriate homonyms from the given alternatives to fill in the blanks. The rowing instructor commanded them to ________ in a ________. A.row (verb) B.roe C.row (sequence)

Correct — A. The two blanks want two different word classes, and each slot announces which.

Blank 1 follows "to", an infinitive marker, so it needs a verb: row (A), to propel a boat with oars. The rowing instructor makes the sense plain.

Blank 2 follows "in a", so it needs a singular countable noun: row (C), a line or sequence.

A then C gives: "The rowing instructor commanded them to row in a row." That is option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  A, B — A, B puts roe — the eggs of a fish — in the second blank. "In a roe" is not English, and nothing in a rowing instruction involves fish eggs.
• (c)
  C, A — C, A reverses the two slots, so a noun follows "to" and a verb follows "a". Both blanks then hold the wrong word class.
• (d)
  B, C — B, C opens with roe, which is a noun only. "To" requires an infinitive verb, so the first blank fails before the second is even reached.

Homonyms share a spelling and a sound but not a meaning, and the way to separate them is by word class and slot, not by meaning alone.

"To ______" is an infinitive slot and takes a verb. "In a ______" is a noun slot and takes a singular countable noun.

Row fills both: a verb meaning to propel a boat, and a noun meaning a line of things. Roe is a noun only — the eggs inside a female fish — so it can never fill an infinitive slot.

Key facts

• Row as a verb means to propel a boat with oars.
• Row as a noun means a line of people or things arranged side by side.
• Roe is the mass of eggs inside a female fish and has no verb form.
• A third row, rhyming with "cow", means a noisy quarrel and is spelt the same but said differently.

Common traps

• Choosing by sound alone, since row, row and roe are all pronounced the same.
• Filling the blanks in the order the alternatives are listed, A then B.

No directly related past PYQ was found.