Sentence correction — degrees of comparison & connectives MCQ — 14 Practice Questions with Answers

Explanation

Fixed correlative pairs must be matched exactly. The cues are the opening words in List I: 'No sooner' takes 'than', equality uses 'as ... as', 'Not only' takes 'but also', and 'Preferable' takes 'to'. Therefore only Option A gives the correct matching: 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b.

Explanation

The fixed connective pair is 'no sooner ... than', and initial 'no sooner' requires auxiliary-subject inversion. The cue in the assertion is 'No sooner had the bell rung than'. Therefore, A is true, R is true, and R correctly explains why A is grammatical.

Explanation

When two things are compared, a short adjective normally takes the comparative form and is followed by 'than'. The cue is the comparison between 'this question' and 'the previous one'. Therefore, 'easier than' is the only correct structure.

Explanation

When 'no sooner' begins a sentence, standard usage requires subject-verb inversion and the connective 'than'. The cue is the opening phrase 'No sooner'. Option C alone is incorrect because it has no inversion in 'the bell rang' and wrongly uses 'when' instead of 'than'. Options A, B, and D correctly use the fixed patterns 'no sooner ... than', 'hardly ... when', and 'scarcely ... when'.

Explanation

In 'one of the + superlative + noun', the noun must be plural, so sentence 1 matches a. After the paired connective 'both ... and', linked words must be parallel, so sentence 2 matches b. When only two persons are compared, the comparative degree is required, so sentence 3 matches c. Therefore, the only correct matching is 1-a, 2-b, 3-c.