English Grammar: Match the following

In this blog we will discuss important topic of English Grammar i.e. Match the Following.

The matching should be done on the basis of Grammar and Meaning. All you need to do is make a meaningful and grammatically correct sentence by joining the Rows of the two Columns. Let’s discuss some Strategies to solve it.

PRE-REQUISITES

• Grammar

• Comprehension

Question: In this question, two columns I and II and three sentences are given, which are divided into two parts. Column I (A, B and C) consist of the first half of each sentence and Column II (D, E and F) consists of the second half of each sentence. Match column I with column II, so that the sentences formed are both meaningful and grammatically correct. Choose the correct option as your answer.

1) I.

A) Market research has shown us that

B) The government has

C) Demand has outstripped

II.

D) Supplied of qualified teachers

E) People are loyal to a brand not prices

F) Reforms are entire tax system

A. C-F

B. B-D

C. A-E                                                                   

D. All of the above

E. None of the above

Solution:

• First of all, we need to if the rows are Grammatically correct.
• Only the Grammatically Correct part can be Paired with.
• D is grammatically incorrect so it will not be paired with any of the rows.
• A ends in ‘that’. After ‘that’ a sentence is required.
• In column II, only E is a complete sentence.
• Also, A-E makes a coherent sentence.
• B contains ‘has’ so it requires the third form of the verb after it.
• D has V₃ i.e. ‘supplied’ but this row is grammatically incorrect.
• C and F do not make a meaningful sentence.

Answer: C.

Only A and E can be connected to make a grammatically correct and meaningful statement.

The correct sentence is “Market research has shown us that people are loyal to a brand not prices”.

So, the correct answer is option C.

2) I.

A) The rumours of petrol

B) The body of the camera make

C) The threat of war has adversely

II.

D) Is highly resilient for indoor use.

E) Shortage turned out to be false.

F) Impacted burns as actively.

A. B-D

B. A-E

C. C-F

D. Both A-E and B-D

E. Both B-D and C-F

 Solution:

• First of all, it is required to check if all the rows are individually grammatically correct.
• B is incorrect as ‘body’ requires a singular verb i.e. ‘makes’ or it can be ‘made’.
• F is incorrect as ‘as actively’ is meaningless. It should be ‘as actively as’.
• Also, a sentence cannot end in ‘as actively as’, it requires a noun/pronoun after it.
• A cannot pair with D as ‘rumours’ requires a plural verb while ‘is’ is singular.
• A and E makes a coherent sentence.
• C contains ‘has’ so it requires V₃ after it.
• F contains V₃ but it is grammatically incorrect.

Answer: B.

Only A and E can be connected to make a grammatically correct and meaningful statement. Anything that is a rumour can be said to uncertain or doubtful truth.

The correct sentence is “The rumours of petrol shortage turned out to be false”.

Options B and D cannot connect as the sentence ends with the verb ‘make’. It cannot be followed by the verb ‘is’.

So, the correct answer is option B.

3) I.

A) Countries are willing to do

B) The effects of afforestation on

C) The scheme seeks to

II.

D) ensure a toilet in all households.

E) anything to avoid recession.

F) biodiversity need to be analysed.

A. C-F

B. B-D

C. A-E

D. All of the above

E. None of the above

Solution:

• All the rows are individually grammatically correct.
• A-E can be joined together to form a meaningful sentence.
• A end in ‘to do’. Now, we need the answer ‘to do what’.
• The answer lies in E.
• B-F can be joined together to form a meaningful sentence.
• ‘On’ is a preposition which requires a noun or pronoun after it.
• F contains a noun i.e. ‘biodiversity’.
• C-D can be joined together to form a meaningful sentence.
• ‘To’ needs the base form of the verb after it.
• D contains the verb i.e. ‘ensure’.

Answer: C.

A-E, B-F and C-D can be joined together to form a meaningful sentence. But in the options only A-E has been given. So, the correct answer is C.

The correct sentences are:

I) Countries are willing to do anything to avoid recession.

II) The effects of afforestation on biodiversity need to be analysed.

III) The scheme seeks to ensure a toilet in all households.

4) I.

A) Travelling with co-workers is a great chance

B) It is scientifically proven that

C) A jam-packed business trip doesn’t

D) to get to know them on a deeper level.

E) running is beneficial for health.

F) allowed a lot of flexibility with time.

A. B-E

B. A-D

C. C-F

D. Both B-E and C-F

E. Both A-D and B-E

Solution:

• All the rows are individually grammatically correct.
• A says that travelling is a great chance.
• The reason for ‘great chance’ is given in D.
• B ends in ‘that’. After ‘that’ a sentence is required which is there in E.
• C ends in ‘doesn’t’. After ‘doesn’t’, the base form of the verb is required.
• So, C does not pair with anyone.

Answer: E.

C and F when joined together make a meaningful sentence but it is grammatically incorrect. The verb that follows ‘does’ should be used in its base form.

The correct sentences are

(I) Travelling with co-workers is a great chance to get to know them on a deeper level.

(II) It is scientifically proven that running is beneficial for health.

5) I.

A) The national unemployment rates

B) The policy emphasizes on

C) We need to teach children to

II.

D) increasing farmer’s income.

E) make peace with your body.

F) be gentle towards fellow citizens.

A. C-D

B. B-F

C. A-E

D. All of the above

E. None of the above

Solution:

• All the rows are individually grammatically correct.
• A ends in ‘rate’ which requires a singular verb after it.
• None of the rows in column II starts with a singular verb.
• So, A does not pair with any of the rows of column II.
• B ends in a preposition i.e. ‘on’ which requires a noun or pronoun after it.
• V₄ acts as a noun and hence B-D make a coherent pair.
• C ends in ‘to’. After ‘to’ the base form of the verb is required.
• ‘Be’ is the base form of the verb.

Answer: E.

B-D and C-F can be joined to make grammatically correct and contextually meaningful sentences, but the combinations have not been provided in the options. So, the correct option is E. The correct sentences are:

(I) The policy emphasizes on increasing farmer’s income.

(II) We need to teach children to be gentle towards fellow citizens.

6) I.

A) The objective of the exercise is to

B) The problems of poverty, homelessness

C) The villagers are furious about the

II.

D) and unemployment are all interconnected.

E) decision to close the railway station.

F) nurture the imagination of children.

A. B-D

B. A-F

C. C-E

D. All of the above

E. None of the above

Solution:

• All the rows are individually grammatically correct.
• A ends in ‘to’. After ‘to’ the base form of the verb is required.
• F contains ‘nurture’ which is the base form of the verb.
• Hence, A-F makes a pair.
• B contains ‘problems’ which requires a plural verb.
• D contains ‘are’ and hence pairs with B.
• C ends in ‘the’ which is an article.
• An article needs a noun after it which is there in E.
• Hence, C-E makes a pair.

Answer: D.

All A & F, B & D and C & E can be joined to make grammatically correct and contextually meaningful sentences.

The correct sentences are:

(I) The problems of poverty, homelessness and unemployment are all interconnected.

(II) The objective of the exercise is to nurture the imagination of children.

(III) The villagers are furious about the decision to close the railway station.

 Points to ponder:

1. In match the following questions, one sentence is divided into two parts. Part1 or Column1 contains the first half of the sentence whereas Part 2 or Column2 contains the second half of the sentence. 

2. The only trick here is to match the sentences that are grammatically and contextually coherent with each other.

3. To save your time, match the sentences with the help of options. By this, you will not need to read all the sentences every time. 

I know this must have been hard to grasp. Right?

Let us discuss one question:

Direction: A sentence has been divided into two parts and placed in column1 and column2 respectively. Find the correct match for the sentences and mark the correct option.

Column1	Column2
A. As there is a golden opportunity for	D. thought towards integrating modern, innovative architecture with the mundane work of the Central government.
B. No other Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru has given much	E. an enlightened Central government has to take the lead in creating a new philosophy of architecture.
C. Meanwhile, the government has notified the Supreme Court for	F. planning to finalize by January 2020 laws regulating social media to include provisions requiring intermediaries.

Options:

1.  A-F, C-E

2. B-F, A-E

3. C-F

4. C-D

5. None of these

Explanation: Read the first sentence. It tells about a golden opportunity and ends with a conjunction ‘for’ which means the next word has to be a noun. 

Upon framing sentence as per the first option, we could see that the sentence is grammatically correct but sentence formation is not making any sense.

So, we can say that the first option is incorrect.

Let us now try with the second option, the first part ‘B’ talks about our former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. The second part as per the option should be ‘F’ that is neither grammatically nor contextually matching with the first part. 

So, option 2 is also incorrect.

The third option is “C-F”. The first part ‘C’ tells about the government’s notification to the Supreme Court. This part ends with a conjunction that means the next part must begin with a noun. The second part as per the options is F. This part fits best to form a sentence that is grammatically and contextually correct.

Hence, option 3 is correct.

That is how we answer these questions but if you want to go in the conventional way i.e. matching without the help options. It’s completely upon you.

Let us answer one more question with discussion: 

Direction: In the following question, two columns have been provided and each column consists of three sentences i.e. the column 1 consists of sentences A, B and C whereas the column 2 consists of sentences D, E and F. A sentence from column 1 may or may not connect with another sentence from column 2 to make a sentence grammatically and contextually correct. Each question consists of five options, which shows the possible sequences that can be formed. Find the correct answer and mark on the respective option provided. If none of the options are correct, mark the option ‘None of these’.  

Column1	Column2
A. Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was created through a restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015	D. making Alphabet as the world’s fourth-largest technology company by revenue and one of the world’s most valuable companies.
B. The two founders of Google assumed executive roles in the new company, with Larry Page serving as CEO and Sergey Brin as president	E. while allowing greater autonomy to group companies that operate in businesses other than Internet services.
C. The establishment of Alphabet Inc. was prompted by a desire to make the core Google business “cleaner and more accountable”	F. and became the parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries.

(i) A-D

(ii) B-D

(iii) C-F

(iv) C-E

(v) None of these

Explanation: All of the sentences in this question is based on one single passage. So, be wise and smart while marking the option.

Let us solve this question in a conventional way (because change is always good).

The first sentence ‘A’ talks about the parent company of Google i.e. Alphabet Inc providing a brief detail about it. Now, find the second part of this sentence that matches its tone, coherence, and grammar. And the sentence that fits best is ‘F’ as it continues citing the progress mentioned previously. So, the correct matching will be ‘A-F’.

Look at the options now. Since there is no option as such, so we will proceed towards the next sentence.

The sentence ‘B’ from the column 1 talks about the leaders and founders of the company. The sentence from column 2 that is coherent to this sentence is ‘D’ as it tells about the current market position of the company and most importantly, they are matching grammatically and contextually. So, the formation is ‘B-D’.

As the second option is having this match so we will mark on this option without moving ahead.

Hence, option 2 is the correct answer.