Rearrange the given parts of the sentence in the correct order to form a meaningful statement: This may be essential at P) where the market fails to deliver Q) swath of an economy R) times, but there is a wide.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: RQP

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Sentence rearrangement questions test a learner's ability to understand sentence structure, logical flow, and coherence. Here, short labelled parts P, Q, and R must be arranged after the opening phrase "This may be essential at" to form a meaningful and grammatically correct sentence about markets and the economy.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Fixed beginning: "This may be essential at"
  • P: "where the market fails to deliver"
  • Q: "swath of an economy"
  • R: "times, but there is a wide"
  • We must find the correct order of P, Q, and R to complete the sentence logically.


Concept / Approach:
We need to look for a natural continuation of "This may be essential at" and then see how the remaining pieces can form a smooth, meaningful sentence. The phrase "at times" is a common collocation in English. Only R begins with "times," so "at times" is formed when "R" follows the opening. The remaining idea talks about "a wide swath of an economy where the market fails to deliver." The phrase "a wide swath of an economy" should come as one unit, so "swath of an economy" (Q) must follow something like "a wide." R already contains "but there is a wide," so the natural order after R is Q, followed by P, which explains where the market fails.


Step-by-Step Solution:

Step 1: Attach R after the opening: "This may be essential at times, but there is a wide..." This is a familiar phrase and sounds correct. Step 2: After "a wide," we need a noun phrase; Q, "swath of an economy," fits perfectly to give "a wide swath of an economy." Step 3: Finally, P, "where the market fails to deliver," logically qualifies "a wide swath of an economy." Step 4: Combined, we get: "This may be essential at times, but there is a wide swath of an economy where the market fails to deliver." Step 5: Therefore, the correct order is R Q P, which is written as RQP.


Verification / Alternative check:
Check other orders quickly. Starting with Q after the opening would give "This may be essential at swath of an economy," which is clearly wrong. Starting with P would give "This may be essential at where the market fails to deliver," which is ungrammatical. Only R creates the natural phrase "at times." Once R is fixed, Q must follow "a wide," and P must logically follow "swath of an economy." Hence, no other order produces a coherent and grammatically correct sentence.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Option A (QRP): gives "at swath of an economy," which is not grammatical. Option C (QPR): suffers from the same initial problem and breaks the structure of the sentence. Option D (PRQ): begins "at where the market fails to deliver," which is incorrect, and later misplaces "swath of an economy." Option E (RPQ): would produce "a wide where the market fails to deliver swath of an economy," which is ungrammatical and illogical.


Common Pitfalls:
Many students focus only on local grammatical correctness of each part without looking at the full flow. Another mistake is ignoring fixed expressions such as "at times," which strongly guide the correct order. When doing such questions, always search for obvious collocations and then see which remaining pieces can be connected meaningfully.


Final Answer:
The correct order of the parts is RQP, forming the sentence: "This may be essential at times, but there is a wide swath of an economy where the market fails to deliver."

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