Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: pillages
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This is a spelling recognition question. Out of the four given options, you must find the word that matches standard English spelling. These questions often include one correct word and three distractors that are slightly altered versions of real words. Your task is to rely on visual memory of proper spellings and your knowledge of vocabulary frequently seen in reading comprehension or general awareness articles.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
"Pillage" is a verb and noun meaning to rob a place using violence, especially in war, and "pillages" is a correct inflected form. The other three options show missing letters or altered vowels. A systematic check of each option against likely real words reveals that only "pillages" corresponds exactly to a proper English word as found in dictionaries and serious texts.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine "pillages". It comes from the base verb "pillage". Adding "s" makes either the third person singular form (he pillages) or the plural noun form (acts of pillage), both of which are correct.
Step 2: Look at "spliter". This seems to be a distorted version of "splinter". The standard spelling includes "n" after "i", so "spliter" is not correct.
Step 3: Consider "palenes". The likely real word is "paleness", which refers to a lack of colour in the face. The correct spelling uses double s at the end and an extra s before e, so "palenes" is wrong.
Step 4: Check "bloting". This looks like a mistaken form of "blotting". The verb "blot" forms "blotting" with double t when adding the ing ending. Therefore, "bloting" is incorrect.
Step 5: Since "pillages" lines up perfectly with a known word, it must be the correctly spelt one.
Verification / Alternative check:
Use example sentences for confirmation. "The army pillages the villages during war" is grammatically and orthographically correct. If we try "spliter" in place of "splinter", the error becomes obvious: "He got a spliter in his thumb" looks wrong to any reader familiar with basic English. Similarly, "palenes of her face" and "ink bloting paper" are clearly misspelt compared to "paleness" and "blotting". This confirms that only "pillages" matches standard spelling.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"Spliter" is missing the letter "n" and therefore does not match the correct word "splinter".
"Palenes" omits one of the letters "s" and changes the formation of the abstract noun "paleness".
"Bloting" drops one of the consonants and should instead be "blotting" with double t.
Common Pitfalls:
In spelling questions, examinees may focus only on how the word sounds, which can be misleading with English spelling. Many errors arise from missing double consonants or misplacing vowels. It helps to visualise where you have seen the word in print. Reading newspapers, novels, and non fiction regularly builds this mental dictionary, making such questions much easier over time.
Final Answer:
The correctly spelt word among the options is "pillages".
Discussion & Comments