In these series, you will be looking at both the letter pattern and the number…

In a four-letter compound series, each of the four character positions can carry its own independent pattern — one position might stay fixed while another advances a set number of places through the alphabet with every term. Solving such a series means isolating each position separately across the given terms, identifying its own rule, and then reading off the value at each position for the missing term.

Applying this to the given series (ELFA, GLHA, ILJA, ____, MLNA):

1. 1st letter across the terms: E, G, I, __, M — each one is 2 places ahead of the previous in the alphabet (E→G→I→K→M), so the 1st letter of the missing term is K.

2. 2nd letter across the terms: L, L, L, __, L — it stays fixed at L in every term, so the 2nd letter of the missing term is also L.

3. 3rd letter across the terms: F, H, J, __, N — each one is 2 places ahead of the previous (F→H→J→L→N), so the 3rd letter of the missing term is L.

4. 4th letter across the terms: A, A, A, __, A — it stays fixed at A in every term, so the 4th letter of the missing term is also A.

Cross-check: the given 5th term, MLNA, continues the same +2 step from the computed missing term in both the 1st position (K→M) and the 3rd position (L→N), confirming the pattern holds consistently across all five terms.

Combining all four positions — K, L, L, A — gives the missing term KLLA.