Given below are four jumbled parts of a sentence. Select the option that gives their correct order. A) has been attributed by many climate scientists B) the unprecedented frequency of extreme weather events C) to the steady rise in global atmospheric temperatures D) observed across various continents over the last decade

Correct — B. B holds the subject: the unprecedented frequency of extreme weather events.

D, observed across various continents over the last decade, describes those events, so it sits right after B.

A brings the verb, has been attributed, singular to agree with frequency.

The verb attribute pairs with to, so C finishes the sentence: B-D-A-C, option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  CBAD — CBAD puts D last, after scientists, so it is the scientists who are observed across various continents. D has to sit beside the events it describes.
• (c)
  ADBC — ADBC opens with has been attributed, a verb with nothing in front of it to act as its subject.
• (d)
  ABCD — ABCD also starts on the verb, has been attributed, with no subject before it. The subject in B has to come ahead of A.

In a part-ordering item, find the skeleton before reading for sense: subject, verb, then whatever the verb demands.

Here the verb attribute sets the pattern X is attributed to Y, where Y is the cause. A participle phrase such as observed across various continents stays next to the noun it describes.

Built up: The unprecedented frequency of extreme weather events observed across various continents over the last decade has been attributed by many climate scientists to the steady rise in global atmospheric temperatures.

Key facts

• Attribute X to Y: to say that X is caused by Y (the delay was attributed to fog).
• A participle phrase (observed across ..., written by ...) must stay next to the noun it describes, or it attaches to the wrong one.
• The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject: the frequency of events has been, not have been.

Common traps

• Letting the plural events set the verb: the head noun is frequency, so the verb is has been.
• Parking the participle phrase at the end, where it attaches to the wrong noun.

No directly related past PYQ was found.