CAT Questions | CAT Sentence Correction Questions

The question is from CAT Sentence Correction. CAT exam has not been testing Sentence Correction for the past 5 years. It is still important to better understand English Grammar. Solve CAT Questions from Sentence Correction to get more practice and 2IIMs CAT questions bank provides you with CAT questions from Sentence Correction that can help you gear for CAT Exam.

Question 36: Mother dolphins whistle to their calves frequently after birth so that the calves will learn recognising their distinctive whistle.

1. learn recognising their distinctive whistle.
2. learn to recognise their distinctive whistle.
3. will learn to recognise their distinctive whistle.
4. learn to recognise their mother's distinctive whistle.

Explanatory Answer

Method of solving this CAT Question from Sentence Correction:

The verb in the main clause is 'whistle', which is in simple present form. It is incorrect to pair this with the future tense verb 'will learn'. The simple present form, 'learn', is the one to be used instead.

The usage 'learn recognising' is incorrect. Only an infinitive can follow the verb 'learn'. The correct usage is 'learn to recognise'.

Finally, there is some ambiguity in the use of the pronoun 'their' in the given sentence. Does this pronoun refer to the mother dolphins or the calves? This is resolved by explicitly stating the noun: their mother's distinctive whistle.

The question is " Choose the grammatically correct option "

Hence, the answer is option D

Choice D is the correct answer.