Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: XYZ
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question is about sentence arrangement using labelled parts. The candidate is given a sentence with three fragments marked X, Y, and Z and must determine the correct sequence to produce a smooth, grammatically correct, and meaningful sentence. Questions of this type test understanding of sentence structure, logical flow, and natural word order in English. Here the full sense describes having no need to set a watch because there was nothing to fear from anybody or anything in a large empty plain.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The correct approach is to treat the sentence as having two main parts. The first part explains what there was no need to do, and the second part explains the reason. The phrase no need to must be followed by a verb phrase such as set a watch, which is fragment X. The reason clause begins with for we had nothing and must then take an object phrase that describes what there was nothing of. In natural English, this would be nothing to fear from anybody or anything in that vast untenanted plain, which is formed by fragments Y and Z in that exact order. Therefore, the full logical order of fragments is X followed by Y and then Z, corresponding to option XYZ.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Place fragment X after no need to because it gives the required verb phrase: no need to set a watch.
Step 2: Observe the next clause for we had nothing and decide what should follow.
Step 3: Fragment Y begins with to fear from anybody or, which fits immediately after nothing, forming nothing to fear from anybody or.
Step 4: Fragment Z begins with anything in that vast untenanted plain, which naturally follows the preposition or in fragment Y.
Step 5: Combine them to get for we had nothing to fear from anybody or anything in that vast untenanted plain.
Step 6: Put both parts together to reconstruct the full sentence: There was no need to set a watch, for we had nothing to fear from anybody or anything in that vast untenanted plain.
Step 7: Note that this arrangement corresponds to the order XYZ, which matches Option D.
Verification / Alternative check:
Test a different order, such as YZX. This would produce There was no need to to fear from anybody or, which is clearly ungrammatical because no need to must be followed by a base form verb like set, not by to fear. Similarly, ZXY or ZYX would place anything in that vast untenanted plain directly after no need to, producing no need to anything, which is incorrect. Only the sequence XYZ yields a grammatically correct and meaningful sentence, confirming our choice.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
ZYX would start the reason clause with anything in that vast untenanted plain from anybody or to fear, which is ill formed and confusing. ZXY would break the necessary pair to fear from anybody or anything, thus disrupting natural English word order. YZX starts with to fear from anybody or after no need to, which forces two infinitive markers together and destroys the grammar. XZY would make the second clause read nothing anything in that vast untenanted plain to fear from anybody or, again a chaotic and incorrect structure.
Common Pitfalls:
Some students ignore grammar and rely only on a rough sense of meaning, which can lead them to place fragments in an order that feels possible but is not correct in standard English. Another common pitfall is to focus only on the first part of the sentence and not carefully reconstruct the whole. The best way to solve such problems is to build the sentence steadily from left to right, checking each step for subject verb agreement and logical connectors like to, from, and or, and confirming that every fragment fits smoothly.
Final Answer:
The most logical order of the sentence parts is XYZ.
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