Consider the following sentences:
(i)
Everybody in the class is prepared for the exam.
(ii)
Babu invited Danish to his home because he enjoys playing
chess.
Which of the following is the CORRECT observation about the above two
sentences?
Options:
(A) (i) is grammatically correct and (ii) is unambiguous
(B) (i) is grammatically incorrect and (ii) is unambiguous
(C) (i) is grammatically correct and (ii) is ambiguous
(D) (i) is grammatically incorrect and (ii) is ambiguous
Official Answer Key:
C
Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation
### **Official Solution & Concept Analysis (GATE BT 2021 Q.3)**
**1. Governing Concept**:
- **Topic**: Verbal Ability & Grammatical Agreement / Pronoun Ambiguity
- Analyzing the two sentences:
- Sentence (i): *"Everybody in the class is prepared for the exam."* The indefinite pronoun "Everybody" takes a singular verb ("is"). Hence, sentence (i) is **grammatically correct**.
- Sentence (ii): *"Babu invited Danish to his home because he enjoys playing chess."* The pronoun "he" can refer to either Babu or Danish (unclear who enjoys playing chess). Hence, sentence (ii) suffers from **pronoun antecedent ambiguity (is ambiguous)**.
**2. Option Analysis**:
- **Option (A) is INCORRECT**: Sentence (ii) is ambiguous.
- **Option (B) is INCORRECT**: Sentence (i) is grammatically correct.
- **Option (C) [(i) is grammatically correct and (ii) is ambiguous] is CORRECT**: Perfectly analyzes the grammatical agreement and pronoun referent ambiguity.
- **Option (D) is INCORRECT**: Sentence (i) is not incorrect.
**3. Final Answer**:
- **Correct Choice**: **C**
Practice This in Real CBT Exam Interface
Test yourself with the official TCS-iON palette, virtual calculator, and immediate performance analytics.