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Sentence completion is a tricky and important part in every competitive examination. Let us see what kind of strategies you can use to master sentence completion. When it comes to sentence completion, the word that does not appear is the key to the meaning of the sentence. The words that appear offer clues to the missing word. If you can find out how the words that appear are connected, you can find the correct answer. This means that you must know more than just the meaning of the words involved. You must also understand the logic of the sentence. Follow this procedure:

1. Read the entire sentence saying 'blank' for the blank(s).
2. This gives you an overall sense of the meaning of the sentence and helps you figure out how the parts of the sentence relate to each other.
3. If an answer occurs to you before you even look at the choices, you may have a synonym for the answer or the answer itself.
4. Pay special attention to structure words- but, although, however, yet, even though-because they are key to forming the logical structure of the sentence.
5. Be sure your choice is both logical and grammatically correct.

Tips:

1. If you don't know some words use elimination.
2. Eliminate one or more of the choices as definitely wrong.
3. Remember, you'd rather look for reasons to eliminate choices than look for reasons to justify a correct answer.
4. While answering dual blanks both words in the choice must be correct in order for you to pick it - if one choice is wrong, the whole choice is wrong. So if you can eliminate a choice based on one of the words, it doesn't matter even if you don't know the other word!
5. Guess the answer choice.
6. Guessing from context is the appropriate way as words can best be understood in context.

PRACTICE SET

1. She hadn't eaten all day, and by the time she got home she was -------.
   a. blighted
   b. brazen
   c. ravenous
   d. ostentatious
   e. blissful
   
2. The movie offended many of the parents of its younger viewers by including unnecessary ------- in the dialogue.
   a. vulgarity
   b. verbosity
   c. vocalizations
   d. garishness
   e. tonality
   
3. His neighbors found his ------- manner bossy and irritating, and they stopped inviting him to backyard barbeques.
   a. insentient
   b. magisterial
   c. soothing
   d. restorative
   e. modest
   
4. Pramod is always ------- about showing up for work because he feels that tardiness is a sign of irresponsibility.
   a. Legible
   b. Tolerable
   c. Punctual
   d. Literal
   e. Belligerent
   
5. Being able to afford this luxury car will ------- getting a better paying job.
   a. maximize
   b. recombinant
   c. reiterate
   d. necessitate
   e. reciprocate
   
6. Shakespeare, a(n) ------- writer, entertained audiences by writing many tragic and comic plays.
   a. numeric
   b. obstinate
   c. dutiful
   d. prolific
   e. generic
   
7. I had the ------- experience of sitting next to an over-talkative passenger on my flight home from Germany.
   a. satisfactory
   b. commendable
   c. galling
   d. acceptable
   e. acute
   
8. After making ------- remarks to the President, the reporter was not invited to return to the pressroom.
   a. hospitable
   b. itinerant
   c. enterprising
   d. chivalrous
   e. irreverent
   
9. Her ------- display of tears at work did not impress her new boss, who felt she should try to control her emotions.
   a. maudlin
   b. meritorious
   c. precarious
   d. plausible
   e. schematic
   
10. It is difficult to believe that charging 30% on an outstanding credit card balance isn't -------!
    a. bankruptcy
    b. usury
    c. novice
    d. kleptomania
    e. flagrancy
    
11. The ------- weather patterns of the tropical island meant tourists had to carry both umbrellas and sunglasses.
    a. impertinent
    b. supplicant
    c. preeminent
    d. illustrative
    e. kaleidoscopic
    
12. The city council formed a committee to simplify several dozen ------- city ordinances that were unnecessarily complicated and out-of-date.
    a. feckless
    b. empirical
    c. byzantine
    d. slovenly
    e. pedantic
    
13. After a brief and violent ------- that ousted the president, the General declared himself the dictator of the country.
    a. Nuance
    b. Coup
    c. Solicitation
    d. Upbraiding
    e. Lament
    
14. Most people felt the punishment was far too ------- for the crime: what the culprit did was so despicable, even -------, as to warrant a far more severe reprimand.
    a. permissive ... dormant
    b. regal ... august
    c. tolerant ... pompous
    d. draconian ... nefarious
    e. lenient ... heinous
    
15. All of the features added to the new model of the automobile seemed totally ------- and did not add anything of import or practicality to the car.
    a. obnoxious
    b. superfluous
    c. pretentious
    d. mundane
    e. prescient
    
16. Though the play was only two hours long, it was so ------- that it seemed to last eons.
    a. erroneous
    b. tedious
    c. enthralling
    d. enigmatic
    e. tantalizing
    
17. One might think that a great actor's death would be surrounded by much -------, but the man actually died in -------.
    a. equanimity… obeisance
    b. publicity… obscurity
    c. fanfare… scandal
    d. balderdash… uncertainty
    e. surprise… penitence
    
18. My neighbor is both ------- and -------; he keeps himself and has great fear of anyone who isn't from our town.
    a. callous… predisposed
    b. misanthropic… tolerant
    c. insular… xenophobic
    d. ignorant… biased
    e. prejudiced… obstinate
    
19. Practical applications of computer programs are ------- and include sorting numbers, maintaining records, and directing email.
    a. restricted
    b. infrequent
    c. widespread
    d. enormous
    e. holistic
    
20. Almost all measures of the efficiency of a government are linked to national economic ------- and to the prosperity of the public.
    a. derogation
    b. ennui
    c. physiognomy
    d. proficiency
    e. fusillade
    
21. He was raised in a ------- religious home, and so he found ------- in prayer and personal meditation.
    a. zealously --- confusion
    b. obsessively --- distraction
    c. devoutly --- peace
    d. retentive --- enjoyment
    e. compassionate --- anger
    
22. One of the most effective ways to resolve conflict is to seek an outside mediator, someone who can hear both sides of the argument and attempt to ------- the angered parties.
    a. inflame
    b. pacify
    c. outwit
    d. bolster
    e. entice
    
23. Almost every nation in the world has a holiday to ------- its birth, and the U.S. A is no exception.
    a. disparage
    b. sacrifice
    c. malign
    d. worship
    e. observe
    
24. The helicopter ------- over the scene of the accident and lingered at a low altitude.
    a. soared
    b. hovered
    c. excelled
    d. collided
    e. stormed
    
25. Harish's mother and father both had to ------- him from his sleep because he had slept through his alarm.
    a. fluctuate
    b. deliver
    c. lull
    d. tremble
    e. rouse
    

Answers:
1) c; 2) a; 3) b; 4) c; 5) d;
6) d; 7) c; 8) e; 9) a; 10) b;
11) e; 12) c; 13) b; 14) e; 15) b;
16) b; 17) b; 18) c; 19) e; 20) d;
21) c; 22) b; 23) e; 24) b; 25) e

Published date : 15 May 2014 04:01PM