Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow…
2019
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
As science progresses, superstitions ought to grow less. On the whole, that is true. However, it is surprising how superstitions linger on. If we are tempted to look down on savage tribes for holding such ideas, we should remember that even today, among most civilised nations, a great many equally stupid superstitions exist and are believed in by a great many people. Some people will not sit down thirteen at a table; or will not like to start anything important on a Friday; or refuse to walk under a ladder. Many people buy charms and talismans because they think they will bring them luck. Even in civilised nations today, many laws are made on the basis of principles which are just as much unproved. For instance, it is often held as a principle that white people are by nature superior to people of other colours. The ancient Greeks believed that they were superior to the people of Northern and Western Europe. The only way to see if there is anything in such a principle is to make scientific studies of a number of white and black and brown people under different conditions of life and find out just what they can and cannot achieve.
It is, however, true that the increase of scientific knowledge does reduce superstition and also baseless guessing and useless arguments and practices. Civilised people do not argue and get angry about what water is composed of. The composition of water is known, and there is no argument about it.
Which part of speech is the underlined word "that" in the following sentence ? On the whole that is true.
- A.
Determiner
- B.
Pronoun
- C.
Conjunction
- D.
Preposition
Attempted by 12 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Pronouns are words used in place of a noun or noun phrase so it does not have to be repeated. A demonstrative pronoun ('this', 'that', 'these', 'those') can stand alone as the subject or object of a sentence and point back to an idea, statement, or thing already mentioned, without directly modifying any noun beside it.
In the sentence 'On the whole, that is true,' the underlined word 'that' is the subject of the verb 'is' and no noun follows it. It stands in for the whole idea in the previous sentence — that superstitions ought to grow less as science progresses. Because it replaces that idea rather than modifying a noun, 'that' is functioning as a demonstrative pronoun.
This also rules out the other parts of speech offered:
Determiner — a determiner must sit directly before the noun it modifies, as in 'that statement'; here no noun follows 'that', so it cannot be a determiner.
Conjunction — a conjunction links two clauses within one sentence, as in 'I know that it is true'; here 'that' begins its own independent sentence and joins nothing, so it is not a conjunction.
Preposition — a preposition shows a relationship of place, time, or direction between a noun and another word, such as 'in' or 'on'; 'that' shows no such relationship here, so it is not a preposition.
So the underlined word functions as a pronoun, standing alone in place of the idea stated earlier.