MCQ
Conjunctions & connectives MCQ - Practice Questions with Answers
Solve 14 Conjunctions & connectives questions for RAS/RPSC preparation.
Practice questions
Q1Assertion (A): 'Provided that' is more appropriate than 'because' in the sentence: 'The research grant will be renewed ______ the team submits audited accounts by 31 March.' Reason (R): 'Provided that' introduces a condition on which the renewal depends, whereas 'because' introduces the cause of an already stated fact.
The renewal is not being explained as an event that has already happened; it is being made dependent on a requirement. That cue is the future construction 'will be renewed' followed by a deadline condition. Provided that means 'on the condition that' and fits this contingency. Because would state a reason, as in 'the grant was renewed because accounts were submitted', which changes the logic. Therefore the assertion is true, the reason is true, and the reason explains the assertion.
Q2Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence. The board approved the merger ______ several independent directors had warned that the valuation was optimistic.
The blank introduces a finite clause: 'several independent directors had warned that the valuation was optimistic.' A concessive conjunction is needed because the board approved the merger despite that warning. 'Although' correctly introduces such a clause. 'Despite' would be correct before a noun phrase or gerund, as in 'despite warnings' or 'despite being warned', but not before this finite clause. 'Because' reverses the logic by making the warning the reason for approval, and 'besides' merely adds a point without marking contrast.
Q3Assertion (A): In standard formal English, the sentence 'Although the circular was issued late, but the department implemented it immediately' is faulty. Reason (R): 'Although' already subordinates the concessive clause, while 'but' coordinates two independent clauses; using both for the same contrast usually creates an ungrammatical double marker. Choose the correct option.
The quoted sentence is faulty because it attempts to mark one contrast twice: first with 'Although' and then with 'but'. A concessive subordinate clause beginning with 'Although' is normally followed by a main clause without 'but': 'Although the circular was issued late, the department implemented it immediately.' Alternatively, a coordinate structure may use 'but': 'The circular was issued late, but the department implemented it immediately.' The reason correctly identifies the difference between subordination and coordination and therefore explains the assertion.
Q4Choose the most appropriate connective to complete the sentence. The committee accepted the audit findings, ______ it rejected the consultant's recommendation to suspend the programme immediately.
The sentence sets up a contrast between two decisions of the same committee: it accepted the audit findings but rejected the proposed immediate suspension. A concessive connective is needed to show that the second clause is surprising or contrary to what one might expect from the first. Although correctly introduces that contrast. Because would give a cause, unless would create a condition, and therefore would mark a result. None of those relations fits the logic of the two clauses.
Q5Which one of the following sentences is incorrect in its use of a conjunction or connective?
Option C is incorrect because 'unless' already carries a negative meaning: it means 'if not'. Adding 'does not' after it creates an unintended double negative. The sentence would mean, illogically, that the scholarship will not be processed if the applicant does submit the certificate. Options A and B correctly express the same condition in two different ways, and option D correctly uses 'only if' to show that submitting the certificate is necessary. In such questions, test whether the negative idea is expressed once or twice.
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More questions
6Read the Assertion and Reason carefully and choose the correct option. Assertion (A): The sentence 'Neither the finance secretary nor the district officers were willing to endorse the amended figures' is grammatically acceptable. Reason (R): When 'neither ... nor' joins subjects of different number, the verb commonly agrees with the subject nearer to it.
7Identify the sentence in which the correlative conjunction is used correctly.
8Identify the grammatically correct sentence.
9Which one of the following sentences is incorrect?
10Match List I with List II and choose the correct option. List I: 1. lest 2. inasmuch as 3. whereas 4. no sooner ... than List II: a. contrast between two clauses b. prevention of an undesirable result c. formal reason or explanatory ground d. immediate sequence of events
11Match List I with List II and choose the correct option. List I: 1. Nevertheless 2. Moreover 3. Whereas 4. Consequently List II: a. Marks a result or logical consequence b. Adds a further supporting point c. Contrasts two facts within the same sentence d. Introduces a contrast with the preceding statement
12Consider the following statements about paired connectives. Statement 1: 'No sooner had the Chairperson entered the hall than the members stood up' is grammatically correct. Statement 2: 'Hardly had the evidence been examined than the witness withdrew his statement' is grammatically correct. Statement 3: 'Whether the appeal succeeds or fails, the limitation issue must be decided first' is grammatically correct. Which of the above statements are correct?
13Which one of the following sentences uses the connective incorrectly?
14Match List I with List II. List I: 1. albeit 2. lest 3. insofar as 4. whereas List II: a. contrast between two facts b. extent or degree to which something is true c. concession, usually before an adjective or phrase d. prevention of an undesirable result Choose the correct code.
