Choose the one which conveys the meaning of the sentence correctly.
2024
Choose the one which conveys the meaning of the sentence correctly.
- A.
In thirty seven bomb blasts, fortunately only five lives were lost.
- B.
In thirty seven bomb blasts only five lives were fortunately lost.
- C.
Fortunately, in thirty seven bomb blasts, only five lives were lost.
- D.
In fortunately thirty seven bomb blasts, only five lives were lost.
Attempted by 38 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Answer: Fortunately, in thirty-seven bomb blasts, only five lives were lost.
Why this is correct:
Placing 'Fortunately' at the start makes it clear that the speaker is commenting on the whole situation — that it is fortunate only five lives were lost.
Putting 'fortunately' before 'lost' (as in the sentence that says only five lives were fortunately lost) changes the meaning and wrongly suggests that the loss itself was fortunate.
Inserting 'fortunately' between a preposition and its object (for example, between 'in' and 'thirty-seven') is ungrammatical and breaks the noun phrase.
Punctuation and style: use a comma after the sentence-initial adverb ('Fortunately,') and hyphenate compound numbers in formal writing ('thirty-seven').