In the word ‘SUPERBLY’, how many pairs of the letters have the same number of letters between them (both forward and backward direction) in the word as in the alphabet?

The correct answer is Option Three.

To find the number of pairs of letters in the word SUPERBLY that have the same number of letters between them as in the English alphabet (in both forward and backward directions), let us analyze the positions of each letter in the alphabetical order.

Let us write the letters of the word SUPERBLY along with their corresponding positional values in the English alphabet:
S = 19
U = 21
P = 16
E = 5
R = 18
B = 2
L = 12
Y = 25

Now, let us count forward and backward for each letter to identify matching pairs:

1. Counting in the Forward direction:

• From P (16) to R (18):
Letters between P and R in the word: E (1 letter).
In alphabetical order (P, Q, R), there is also 1 letter (Q) between P and R.
Difference in positions: 18 - 16 = 2 (Number of letters between them = 2 - 1 = 1).
So, (P, R) forms 1 valid pair.

• From E (5) to L (12):
Letters between E and L in the word: R, B (2 letters).
However, in alphabetical order, there are 6 letters between E and L (F, G, H, I, J, K), so this does not match.

Checking other combinations in the forward direction shows no more matches.

2. Counting in the Backward direction:

• From R (18) to U (21):
Letters between R and U in the word backwards: E, P (2 letters).
In alphabetical order (R, S, T, U), there are 2 letters (S, T) between R and U.
Difference in positions: 21 - 18 = 3 (Number of letters between them = 3 - 1 = 2).
So, (R, U) forms 1 valid pair.

• From P (16) to S (19):
Letters between P and S in the word backwards: U (1 letter).
In alphabetical order (P, Q, R, S), there are 2 letters between P and S, so this does not match.

• From E (5) to S (19):
Letters between E and S in the word backwards: P, U (2 letters).
In alphabetical order, there are many more letters between E and S, so this does not match.

• From B (2) to E (5):
Letters between B and E in the word backwards: R (1 letter).
In alphabetical order (B, C, D, E), there are 2 letters (C, D) between B and E, so this does not match.

• From B (2) to P (16), U (21), S (19) - no match.

• From L (12) to P (16):
Letters between L and P in the word backwards: B, R, E (3 letters).
In alphabetical order (L, M, N, O, P), there are 3 letters (M, N, O) between L and P.
Difference in positions: 16 - 12 = 4 (Number of letters between them = 4 - 1 = 3).
So, (L, P) forms 1 valid pair.

Thus, we have found a total of 3 such pairs:
1. P - R (Forward)
2. R - U (Backward)
3. L - P (Backward)

Therefore, there are Three such pairs of letters.