Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow. Usually the…
2024
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.
Usually the first question I ask a newbie birder is, “What do you think is the most important physical requisite to be a birder? Your eyes, your ears, your nose or any other?”
Most often, the answer is “eyes”, but several do home into what is the most important faculty—at least, according to me: your ears. Spotting birds in foliage is hard enough, but if you hear them, you know they are there.
But early the other morning, I realised it went much beyond that. The first bird call I heard as I left the house for my walk was the madcap ringing laugh of the black-rumped flameback, earlier known as the golden-backed woodpecker. It was a wild, exultant laugh that set the tone and mood for the entire day. And then I realised that every bird call evokes a different reaction, memory or emotion in the listener.
Indian mynas, for example, invariably remind me of people in Delhi—always ready to argue and pick a fight, belligerent and in your face. Yet, they taught me not to make sweeping generalisations because when a pair perch on the window sill in the afternoons, they have meaningful, civilised conversations with each other. There is inquiry, humour and affection in their voices.
‘It was a wild exultant laugh....’
The underlined word is a/an __________.
Answer: D. Adjective — ConceptA word’s part of speech is determined by the grammatical function it performs in its sentence, not merely by its dictionary meaning. An adjective…
- A.
Noun
- B.
Verb
- C.
Adverb
- D.
Adjective
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
A word’s part of speech is determined by the grammatical function it performs in its sentence, not merely by its dictionary meaning.
An adjective attributes a quality to a noun, whereas an adverb typically modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Application
In the noun phrase “a wild exultant laugh”, “laugh” is the noun. Both “wild” and “exultant” describe the quality of that noun.
Contrast
Noun: “laugh” is the naming word and the head of the noun phrase.
Verb: “was” expresses the state in the clause; “exultant” does not carry the clause’s action or state.
Adverb: an adverb would modify an action or another modifier; the related manner form would be “exultantly”, as in “laughed exultantly”.
Adjective: “exultant” stands before and describes the noun “laugh”.
Cross-check
Replacing “exultant” with another quality word gives “a joyful laugh”, which preserves the same adjective-before-noun structure.
Result
Therefore, “exultant” is an adjective.