Select the letter-cluster from among the given options that can replace the question mark (?) in the following series. YMW , VJT , SGQ , PDN, ?

Correct — D.
Rule: −3 at every position.

First letters: Y, V, S, P → P(16) − 3 = M(13).
Second letters: M, J, G, D → D(4) − 3 = A(1).
Third letters: W, T, Q, N → N(14) − 3 = K(11).

That gives MAK → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  TYD — TYD starts with T, four places after P, but the first letters fall Y, V, S, P. The next one is P − 3 = M.
• (b)
  HGF — HGF starts with H, eight places before P. The first letters fall by 3, so the next is M, and G and F fail the second and third positions as well.
• (c)
  MJH — MJH gets M right, then fails at both remaining positions. The second letters fall M, J, G, D, so the next is A, not J, and the third must be K, not H.

Read a letter-cluster series one position at a time: first letters together, then second, then third, each as a position number (A = 1 … Z = 26).

Here all three positions fall by 3. When every position moves by the same step, the gaps inside each cluster never change: in YMW, Y to M is −12 and M to W is +10, and VJT, SGQ and PDN keep those gaps.

MAK keeps them too, M to A is −12 and A to K is +10, which makes a quick check.

Key facts

• P = 16, D = 4 and N = 14, and each minus 3 gives M = 13, A = 1 and K = 11.
• When every position moves by the same step, the gaps inside each cluster stay fixed.
• YMW, VJT, SGQ, PDN and MAK all read −12 then +10 inside the cluster.

Common traps

• Picking MJH because its first letter is right, without checking the second and third
• Losing the direction: the letters fall, so an option that climbs from P, such as TYD, cannot fit

No directly related past PYQ was found.