In the following letter sequence, each group follows a specific pattern. Identify the group of letters that should come next in the sequence. ZYA, WVD, TSG, QPJ,?

Correct — C.
Rule: first letter −3, second letter −3, third letter +3.

First: Z, W, T, Q → Q(17) − 3 = N(14)
Second: Y, V, S, P → P(16) − 3 = M(13)
Third: A, D, G, J → J(10) + 3 = M(13)

That gives NMM → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  MNM — MNM swaps the first two letters. The first column runs Z, W, T, Q, so N comes next, and the second letter always sits one place before the first: M.
• (b)
  MON — MON gets no position right. The first letter should be N, the second M and the third M, three places after J — not O and N.
• (d)
  OMN — OMN starts with O, only two places before Q, when the step is −3. Its third letter, N, is four places after J instead of three.

A letter-cluster series is three series running side by side. Split the groups into columns and find each column's step on its own.

Here the first two columns fall by 3 and the third rises by 3. A check works inside each group too: the second letter is always the one just before the first — ZY, WV, TS, QP — so after N comes M.

Key facts

• Z, W, T, Q, N fall by 3.
• A, D, G, J, M rise by 3.
• Letter positions used here: J = 10, M = 13, N = 14, P = 16, Q = 17.

Common traps

• Carrying the −3 of the first two columns into the third, which rises by 3
• Swapping the first two letters, as MNM does, when the second always sits one place before the first

No directly related past PYQ was found.