Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions by…
2019
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
The other day I received an unusual and very gratifying gift : I was given a tree. Or rather, I was given half-a-dozen trees, which would be planted on my behalf. I had been invited to give a talk to an organisation. After such events, the speaker is usually given a token gift. Sometimes the gift is that of a pen, or something useful. Often, the gift is in the form of a plaque or similar commemorative token. However well-meant, such gifts are destined to gather dust in forgotten corners. Which is why I was agreeably surprised to be given a scroll which attested that, in a designated plantation established for the purpose, six trees would be added in my name, as part of ‘green’ movement being sponsored by the organization.
In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, the gift of a living tree or plant makes for a perfect present. The tradition of giving and receiving gifts has increasingly become a highly evolved marketing exercise. Apart from festivals like Diwali, Holi, Christmas, Eid and others, a whole new calendar of celebratory events has been created to promote the giving of gifts : Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Teacher’s Day, Valentine’s Day and so on and on.
What do you give to people – friends, relatives, spouses, children, parents, employees, clients, well-wishers who have more or less everything, or at least everything that you could afford to give them as a gift ? Another shirt or kurta ? Another bottle of scent or after shave ? Another box of chocolates ? Or anything else ?
Name the part of speech of the underlined word in the following clause.
which is why I was agreeably surprised.
- A.
Preposition
- B.
Adjective
- C.
Pronoun
- D.
Adverb
Attempted by 5 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
A relative pronoun is a word — such as who, whom, whose, which, or that — that stands in place of a noun or an entire idea already stated, connecting it to the clause that follows. When a sentence or clause opens with 'which' pointing back to something just said, that 'which' is functioning as this connecting pronoun, not as a preposition, an adjective, or an adverb.
In the passage, the previous sentence states that ordinary token gifts 'are destined to gather dust in forgotten corners.' The next sentence begins: 'Which is why I was agreeably surprised...' Here, the underlined word 'which' stands for that whole idea — gifts being forgotten — and it is the grammatical subject of the verb 'is' in 'which is why'. Because it replaces a previously stated idea and acts as the subject of the clause, 'which' is classified as a Pronoun.
Preposition: a preposition links a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence (as 'in', 'on', or 'after' do). 'Which' is not linking a following noun to another word here — it is itself standing in for the earlier idea and acting as the subject, so it does not fit this category.
Adjective: an adjective modifies a noun by describing its quality or quantity. 'Which' does not describe or modify any noun that follows it in this clause — it replaces an idea rather than qualifying one, so it does not fit this category.
Adverb: an adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, describing manner, time, or place. 'Which' is not modifying the verb 'is' here — it is the subject that the verb 'is' belongs to, so it does not fit this category.
Since 'which' replaces the previously stated idea and serves as the subject of 'is' in 'which is why', it is a Pronoun.