Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: PRQ
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Sentence reordering questions test your ability to recognise natural English word order and logical flow of ideas. In this item, the base clause is The government should, followed by three labelled fragments P, Q, and R. Your job is to choose the order that produces a clear and grammatically correct statement about health insurance and people who cannot buy it themselves.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Fixed beginning: The government should
- P: provide health insurance
- Q: to buy their own
- R: for those unable
- Options: PQR, RPQ, QRP, PRQ.
- We assume the intended message is that the government should provide health insurance for people who cannot afford to buy it themselves.
Concept / Approach:
The key idea is to link each fragment so that they form meaningful phrases. The predicate should first introduce what the government should do, and then specify for whom. The phrase provide health insurance is a natural completion of The government should. Next, the recipient group is specified by for those unable, which must be joined to an infinitive phrase to buy their own. The combination for those unable to buy their own is a standard way of expressing inability or lack of resources. Putting these pieces together in the order P, R, Q yields a smooth and clear sentence.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Verification / Alternative check:
Test the other orders. For PQR we get The government should provide health insurance to buy their own for those unable, which is grammatically wrong because health insurance cannot buy its own something. For RPQ we get The government should for those unable provide health insurance to buy their own, which is clumsy and still misplaces the phrase to buy their own. For QRP we get The government should to buy their own for those unable provide health insurance, which is clearly incorrect. Only PRQ gives a clear and natural sentence.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
PQR wrongly attaches to buy their own directly to provide health insurance and places for those unable at the end, breaking the logical link between unable and to buy their own. RPQ and QRP both produce sentences that are ungrammatical and confusing, with infinitive and prepositional phrases in the wrong positions. They fail to keep the natural cluster for those unable to buy their own together.
Common Pitfalls:
Many learners try to follow the given order without checking whether the resulting sentence sounds natural. Another common error is ignoring how certain words, such as unable, require specific complements like infinitive phrases. To avoid mistakes, identify pairs of fragments that clearly belong together, such as for those unable and to buy their own, and then arrange the sentence so that these pairs are not separated.
Final Answer:
The correct order of the parts is PRQ, giving the sentence: The government should provide health insurance for those unable to buy their own.
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