Sentence reconstruction (PQRS) — Arrange the parts to express that the duty of a captain is to save all the lives entrusted to his care and then to save himself, preserving logical priority.

Given data

• P: ‘‘and then to save himself’’
• Q: ‘‘was to save all the lives’’
• R: ‘‘entrusted to his care’’
• S: ‘‘the duty of a captain’’

Concept/ApproachIntroduce the subject phrase (S), state the primary duty (Q + R), then add the secondary duty (P) with ‘‘and then’’.

Step-by-step constructionS: ‘‘the duty of a captain …’’Q: ‘‘… was to save all the lives …’’R: ‘‘… entrusted to his care …’’P: ‘‘… and then to save himself.’’Full sentence: ‘‘He knew that the duty of a captain was to save all the lives entrusted to his care and then to save himself.’’

Why other orders are wrongPutting P earlier inverts the moral priority; SQRP keeps the hierarchical duty order intact.

Common pitfallsEnsure the relative phrase ‘‘entrusted to his care’’ follows the noun it qualifies (‘‘lives’’).

Final AnswerSQRP