Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow…
2023
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate option.
A majority of people think that their dream job is too hard to achieve, too competitive and believe that it is all a matter of luck. All this is true actually, but why should that stop anyone from trying to get the job they really want ? A really determined person will always succeed and, in many ways, will need other people to give up trying so that he can succeed.
Many job seekers feel limited by the choices they made at college. They may think that because they studied marketing, all they can ever do is work in marketing. All the evidence shows that, in fact, employers are less interested in acquired knowledge than the ability to think and learn. It is also very difficult to predict the needs of society. For example, if a person chose to study dentistry because there was a lack of dentists when he was in high school, that may not be the case when he graduates. The needs of employers and the economy can change very quickly, and often unexpectedly.
Of course, if it is a very tough time economically, it is hard to find employment straight after university, but it is by no means impossible. It might take several months longer to find a job after graduating, but there is work out there. A really key piece of advice is never to get downhearted by rejection because there will probably be a lot you can do to achieve your dream job, whatever it is. You must never give up. Be prepared to work hard and for long hours without necessarily climbing up the career ladder. There is a lot to be said for learning your trade from the bottom up. At the start, there will probably be little money, but it will be worth it in the end. The best jobs are not supposed to be easy — that is what makes them challenging. And if you like a challenge, just keep your head down and go for it.
Identify the underlined words (parts of speech) in the following sentence :
A majority of people think that their dream job is too hard to achieve.
- A.
noun, adjective
- B.
adjective, noun
- C.
adverb, noun
- D.
noun, adverb
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept: Parts of speech classify a word by its grammatical job in a sentence. A noun names a person, place, thing, group, or idea and can head a subject or object phrase (e.g. "a group", "the team"). An adjective describes or qualifies a noun and very often appears as the complement right after a linking verb such as "is/are/was" (Noun + is + ADJECTIVE), stating a quality of that noun. An adverb, by contrast, modifies a verb of action, an adjective, or another adverb, describing how, when, or to what degree something is done (e.g. "worked hard", "finished quickly").
Application: In “A majority of people think that their dream job is too hard to achieve,” the first underlined word, “majority,” heads the subject phrase “A majority of people” — it names a quantity/group, so it functions as a noun. The second underlined word, “hard,” appears inside the clause “their dream job is too hard to achieve”, directly after the linking verb “is”: it is the complement that states a quality of “job” (job = hard), which is exactly the adjective test. So the pairing is noun, then adjective.
Cross-check: Swap in a synonym to confirm: “the job is difficult” — “difficult” is unambiguously an adjective in that same slot, confirming “hard” behaves the same way here. Also, “too + [word] + to-infinitive” (“too hard to achieve”) is a standard adjective-phrase pattern (compare “too hot to touch”) — an adverb would instead need to modify an action verb, e.g. “worked hard”, which is not the structure here.
Checking why each other pairing fails:
A pairing that calls the subject phrase's head word a describing word, and calls the quality-word after “is” a naming word, reverses both grammatical roles.
A pairing that treats the subject phrase's head word as modifying an action ignores that it is the noun phrase's head, not a modifier of any verb; and it wrongly calls the quality-word after “is” a naming word.
A pairing that correctly reads the subject phrase's head word as a noun still mis-assigns the quality-word after “is” as modifying an action verb — but it follows a linking verb and describes “job”, not any action, so it is not that kind of modifier.