Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting…
2023
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate option.
In the middle of her solo trip to Mizoram last month, Geeta Garud, 69, was walking on a narrow ledge, ‘‘making my way behind a waterfall, trying out something I wouldn’t have in my younger years. And I realised how travelling solo was such a liberating experience.’’
Before going on her week-long holiday, she was hesitant about travelling by herself. Garud had asked friends and family but found no takers. Yet there she was, alone, relishing a challenging trek. ‘‘Why was I being dependent on others? Being alone gives you a sense of freedom.’’
She ended up having many firsts. She danced impromptu at a festival in Reiek, waded into a river, and went horse-riding. ‘‘I had opportunities to try horse-riding when I was younger, but could not work up the courage. This time, I thought, if not now, I may not get another chance,’’ says Garud, who was an athlete in her youth and had played cricket.
She was at her farm in Koregaon during the lockdown and had felt the lack of social connections. It motivated her to travel as soon as things eased.
‘‘Travel is also about meeting people; I felt that sense of joy and freedom when I finally did it.’’ She is planning to travel to Europe next and has decided not to take a friend or relative along. She intends to revisit the joy of travelling alone and relishing a sense of freedom all over again.
‘‘And I realised how travelling solo was ..... .’’
The underlined expression is a/an _______ clause.
- A.
Adverb
- B.
Principal
- C.
Noun
- D.
Adjective
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
A sentence formed of one independent clause plus one or more dependent clauses is a complex sentence. The independent clause — traditionally called the principal (or main) clause — carries its own subject and finite verb and expresses a complete thought that can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent clause cannot stand alone: an adverb clause opens with a subordinating conjunction (because, although, when, if) and modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb; a noun clause (often introduced by that, how, what, or whether) fills a subject/object/complement slot inside another clause; an adjective clause (usually introduced by a relative pronoun such as who, which, or that) modifies a noun or pronoun.
The full quoted sentence is “And I realised how travelling solo was such a liberating experience.” Only the segment “And I realised” is underlined; the remainder of the sentence is not underlined.
Identify the subject and the finite verb inside the underlined segment: the subject is “I” and the finite verb is “realised.”
Check for a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun at the start of the segment: none is present. “And” is a coordinating conjunction, which links clauses or sentences without making either one dependent on the other.
Because “I realised” has its own subject-verb pair and is not introduced by a subordinator, it is an independent clause — the principal (main) clause of the sentence — and “And” merely coordinates it with the surrounding passage.
The remaining portion, “how travelling solo was such a liberating experience,” is a separate dependent noun clause functioning as the object of “realised,” but it lies outside the underlined segment and is not what this sub-question asks about.
Cross-check with the stand-alone test: “I realised.” is by itself a grammatically complete sentence, confirming independent (principal) clause status. The segment also fails the tests for the other labels — it has no subordinating conjunction (ruling out an adverb clause), it is not embedded as a subject/object/complement inside another clause (ruling out a noun clause), and it does not follow and modify a noun (ruling out an adjective clause). So “And I realised” is the Principal clause of the sentence.