Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumAdjective and Adverb Usage

Read the following sentence from a passage about mountaineering and answer the question:

'The mountaineering team completed its unusual rapid descent before the blizzard struck, securing their safety at the base camp.'

Which choice best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    its unusual rapid
  2. B
    it's unusually rapid
  3. its unusually rapidAnswer
  4. D
    its unusually rapid and quick

Answer

its unusually rapid
The correct option correctly uses the possessive pronoun 'its' to refer to the team, and the adverb 'unusually' to modify the adjective 'rapid' which describes the noun 'descent'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical roles of the words in the underlined phrase.
In the phrase, 'descent' is a noun, 'rapid' is an adjective modifying 'descent', and the first modifier describes the degree of rapidity.
Understanding the parts of speech helps determine whether an adjective or adverb form is required.
2
Determine the correct form of the modifier modifying 'rapid'.
Since 'rapid' is an adjective, it must be modified by the adverb 'unusually' rather than the adjective 'unusual'.
Adverbs, not adjectives, are used to modify adjectives.
3
Evaluate the choices for pronoun correctness and conciseness.
The possessive pronoun 'its' is required to show possession of the descent by the team, and adding 'and quick' creates redundant phrasing.
Using 'it's' introduces a contraction error, and adding synonym modifiers violates the rule of conciseness.

Key Concept

Adjective and Adverb Usage
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Adjective and Adverb Usage

More questions from this topic