Question Details

Read the following sentence carefully and select the pair of words from the given choices that appropriately fills the two blanks to render the statement grammatically correct and meaningful.



One consequence of Sarah’s anxiety _________________ that she was unable to focus __________________ to finish her exam.

Options

A

suggested, through

B

clarified, further

C

signified, stopped

D

meant, long enough

E

deduced, merely

Show Answer

Correct Answer :

Option D

meant, long enough

Solution :

The correct choice to fill in the blanks is meant, long enough.

Let us analyze the sentence step-by-step to understand why this pair of words makes the statement grammatically correct and meaningful:

Step 1: Analyzing the First Blank
The subject of the sentence is "One consequence of Sarah’s anxiety", which establishes a cause-and-effect context.
• The verb placed in the first blank must link this consequence to the clause explaining what happened.
• The word meant (past tense of mean) functions as "resulted in" or "signified as an outcome". Stating "One consequence of Sarah’s anxiety meant that..." properly connects the subject to the explanatory clause that follows.

Step 2: Analyzing the Second Blank
The second half of the sentence discusses her ability to perform a task: "...she was unable to focus __________________ to finish her exam."
• The blank requires a phrase indicating duration or degree to complement the verb "focus" in relation to the infinitive phrase "to finish".
• The phrase long enough indicates the necessary duration of focus required to complete the exam. Therefore, "focus long enough to finish her exam" is grammatically precise and meaningful.

Step 3: Complete Sentence
Combining both words gives the complete sentence:
"One consequence of Sarah’s anxiety meant that she was unable to focus long enough to finish her exam."

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