Cheatsheet: Sentence Completion
Theory
"Sentence completion" is simply a "fill in the blanks" problem, where a sentence is given with multiple blanks and you have to figure out the correct word in that sentence. There are certain confusing options in these problems and you need to have a decent vocabulary in order to solve these problems.
Tips
There are certain points which are required to be kept in mind while solving the problems based on sentence completion.
- Read carefully: In sentence completion problems, there are certain answers which are implied in the given sentence. You have to read the sentence carefully in order to find the correct answer.
- Build a decent vocabulary: The most essential requirement of solving the sentence completion is to build a decent vocabulary so that the meaning of the words appearing in the options can be gauged.
- Look for grammatical hints: Look for the articles just before or after the blank. Also check for the tense used in the sentence because if it follows a particular tense, then the answer should also follow that same tense. For example, if the article just before the blank is 'an', then all the options that take either 'a' or 'the' get eliminated.
- Tone of the sentence: Check the tone of the sentence and choose the option which is consistent with that tone. For eg if the tone of the author is satirical, your answer should be consistent with that tone and if the tone of the author is serious, then the answer should be consistent with the serious tone.
Solved Example
Try yourself: Direction: In each question a sentence is given followed by a blank. You are provided with three fragments I, II and III. You have to identify which statement/statements can carry forward the given sentence in the most logical way so as to make the sentence coherent and contextually correct. The auto sector has been _______________ pollution and the need to switch over to electric vehicles (EVs) over the next decade, occupying the centre-stage.
I. understanding the effect of pollution on the health of the human beings
II. downward due to the fact that the government is not able to contain
III. skyrocketing in the recent years without any proper background story
Try yourself: Direction: In each question a sentence is given followed by a blank. You are provided with three fragments I, II and III. You have to identify which statement/statements can carry forward the given sentence in the most logical way so as to make the sentence coherent and contextually correct. The consultation paper floated by the two leading stock exchanges has renewed the debate about the heavy tilt in the listed stocks universe towards a few sectors _______________. I. and the inability of the Indian stock exchange to act as a mirror of the economy
II. making it difficult for the indices to reflect the true picture of the Indian economy
III. which distort the weightage of the various sectors in the Indian economy
Try yourself: Direction: In each question a sentence is given followed by a blank. You are provided with three fragments I, II and III. You have to identify which statement/statements can carry forward the given sentence in the most logical way so as to make the sentence coherent and contextually correct. _______________ such as the bankruptcy code and GST has failed to keep growth going in a period of benign commodity prices. I. The government that has introduced progressive reforms
II. It is ironic that a government that introduced sweeping reforms
III. The parliament could not hold the moves
Try yourself: Direction: In each question a sentence is given followed by a blank. You are provided with three fragments I, II and III. You have to identify which statement/statements can carry forward the given sentence in the most logical way so as to make the sentence coherent and contextually correct. The amount of pension and rules vary on the basis of years of service of an employee and nature of retirement, _______________.
I. be it voluntary or after reaching age of superannuation, among others
II. i.e. it should be natural retirement only and not voluntary retirement
III. and the amount of hard work put by others during the career
