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GATE 2020 IN GA Q.2: solution and answer

GATE 2020 · INGA Q.2 · 1 mark · MCQ

Jofra Archer, the England fast bowler, is______than accurate.

  1. (A)

    more fast

  2. (B)

    faster

  3. (C)

    less fast

  4. (D)

    more faster

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Answer and solution

ANSWER

(A) more fast. The sentence reads: "Jofra Archer, the England fast bowler, is more fast than accurate."

Official answer: ASource: Official answer key, GATE 2020 IN (IIT Delhi)

  1. The sentence compares two qualities of the same person: how fast Archer is and how accurate he is. It does not compare Archer's speed with anyone else's.

  2. Rule: when two qualities of one person or thing are compared, English uses "more + positive form of the adjective" ... than ..., however short the adjective is. For example, "He is more brave than wise." The "-er" comparative is not used in this construction.

  3. (B) "faster than accurate" breaks this rule. The "-er" form compares one quality across two people or things ("Archer is faster than Broad"), not two qualities of one person.

  4. (D) "more faster" is a double comparative, "more" together with "-er", and is always wrong.

  5. (C) "less fast than accurate" has the correct form, but it says pace is Archer's weaker quality. That goes against the appositive "the England fast bowler", which introduces him by his pace. The sentence is built to set his defining trait, pace, against his accuracy.

  6. So the blank is "more fast": "Jofra Archer, the England fast bowler, is more fast than accurate." That is, his pace is greater than his accuracy.

KEY IDEA

When you compare two qualities of the same subject, use "more + positive adjective ... than ...", even for a short adjective like "fast". The "-er" form (faster) is for comparing one quality across two different subjects.

WATCH OUT FOR

Choosing (B) "faster", because "fast" normally takes "-er". That form is right for "Archer is faster than Broad" but wrong when one person's speed is compared with his own accuracy. (D) "more faster" is a double comparative and is never correct.

From the GATE 2020 IN paper. Every question of this paper · Download the full paper · All 32 Grammar & vocabulary questions, with notes

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