1. Skills required

1.1 Vocabulary

A good vocabulary is essential to solve FIB questions. Focus on the meaning and grammar. Keep punctuation in mind. Make sure that you understand the meaning of the given sentence/paragraph correctly. Some words might have idiomatic usage, so please learn as many idioms as you can – you'll find many idioms in the Analogies lesson. Please read through the Synonyms and Antonyms and Word Usage lesson for more practice on the meaning of words.

Example 5

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words from the options.

In Coordinated Universal Time, the precise __________________ of a second is ________________ by the completely stable electromagnetic transitions in a caesium atom.

(1) time, calculated
(2) stop, arbitrated
(3) duration, stopped
(4) duration, determined

Solution

A second is a unit of time. Duration means time span and hence is the correct option for the first blank, as the other two are logically inconsistent.

For the second blank, we must choose between stopped or determined.

A second is a unit of time, and time cannot be stopped, therefore, we can eliminate stopped. Note that you might have read of time stopping, but that is metaphorical usage (e.g., time stops when Lionel Messi has the ball). In direct and scientific usage, we know that time cannot be stopped.

Determined means ascertained or calculated, which is logically and grammatically correct.

Answer: (4) duration, determined

Example 6

Choose the correct option for the blank
. [SNAP 2010]

A baby deer is called a ________.

(1) Foal (2) Fawn (3) Calf (4) Joey

Solution

This question can be answered based on knowledge of vocabulary. A fawn is a baby deer. A foal is a baby horse, a calf is a baby bovine (cow or buffalo) and a joey is a baby kangaroo.

Answer: (2) Fawn

A list of animal baby forms has been given in the Analogies lesson, please read through them and memorise as many as possible.

Example 7

Read the following paragraph and choose the correct alternative for the blanks:

Since their domestication, some 5000 years ago, horses have been ____________ inextricably/inexorably tied to human development. They enabled people to travel great distances and gave different cultures the chance to trade and exchange ideas and technology. _____________ Asinine/Equine strength and agility meant that horses could also carry cargo, plough farmland and even clear forests. Perhaps most influential of all, horses changed the nature of war. Nothing was more feared than a horse-drawn chariot or a mounted warrior, and societies that mastered the use of cavalry typically prevailed in battle.

Solution

Let us consider the first blank. Inextricably means inseparably, whereas inexorably means impossible to prevent. Logically, we can select inextricably, based on the usage of linked. The paragraph’s meaning is then logical, explaining that horses have been a part of man’s development for the last 5000 years.

Similarly, we can select equine (of horses) instead of asinine (stupid) from the context of the paragraph.

Answer: inextricably, equine

Example 8

Read the following paragraph and choose the correct alternative for the blanks:

Postmodernists do not simply support aesthetic 'isms', or _______________ avant-gard/ avant-garde movements, such as minimalism or conceptualism. They have a distinct way of seeing the world as a whole, and use a set of philosophical ideas that not only support an aesthetic but also analyse a late-capitalist cultural condition of post-modernity. This condition is supposed to _______________ affect/effect all of us, not just through art, but on a more fundamental level.

Solution

The first blank should be filled with avant-garde. The word means new and experimental ideas and methods in art, music, or literature in the noun form. In this sentence, the word is used in its adjective form, meaning favouring or introducing new and experimental ideas and methods. The other option is misspelt.

The second blank should be filled with affect. Affect, meaning have an effect on, is the verb form, which is required in this blank (as the sentence is about the condition of post-modernity affecting us on a fundamental level). Effect, meaning change, result or impact, is the noun form. The correct usage of effect would have been this condition is supposed to have an effect on all of us.

Answer: avant-garde, affect

1.1.1 Commonly misspelled words

Accidentally	Fulfil	Millennium
Accommodate	Gauge	Mischievous
Achieve	Gist	Misspelled
Acknowledgement	Guarantee	Neigh
Acquaintance	Harassment	Neighbour
Acquire	Heir	Noticeable
Aggression/aggressive	Hierarchy	Nuisance
Amateur	Humorous	Omission Occurrence Occasionally
Apparently	Idiosyncrasy	Parallel
Assassination	Ignominious	Perseverance
Bellwether	Immaculate	Phenomenon
Bizarre	Inadvertent	Playwright
Buoyant	Indispensable	Possession
Camouflage	Inoculate	Prerogative
Cemetery	Interrupt	Privilege
Changeable	Irrelevant	Queue
Changeable	Irrelevant	Queue
Colleague	Irritable	Referred, referring, reference
Column	Jewellery	Relevant/ relevance
Committee	Liaison	Repetition
Comparison	Irresistible	Rheumatism
Conscientious	Irritable	Rhythm
Deductible	Jewellery	Rendezvous
Dilemma	Leisure	Supersede
Disappear	Liaison	Superfluous
Embarrassment	License	Twelfth
Fahrenheit	Maintenance	Unforeseen
Fiasco	Manoeuvre	Vacuum
Fluorescent	Memento	Weird

1.1.2 Homophones

Homophones are words that sound similar but have different spellings or meanings. Some examples are given here, but you will learn more as you read and focus on words.

I was conscious throughout my knee-replacement operation.	My conscience will not let me perform this act.
We must keep researching more efficient forms of energy.	Human are yet to find effective
His company has gone farther than any other in this field.	Nothing could be further from the truth.
Please throw the cheese away, it’s past the expiration date.	It's a lovely day.
I quit the company on principle.	The principal gave a stirring speech to the students.
Humans are wired to be curious.	This is a weird, bizarre coincidence.

Please go through the Synonyms and Antonyms and Word Usage Match lesson to learn homographs as well.

Example 9

Choose the option with all the correct words and their correct accent (underlined syllable) which fits the blanks
[XAT 2017]

The suspension of the captain may ___________ the number of spectators who turn up for the match.
Transportation costs will directly ___________ the cost of retail goods.
Grandmother's advancing age could ___________ her ability to take care of the house.
She ___________ a texan accent throughout the interview.

(1) affect, effect, effect, effected
(2) affect, effect, affect, affected
(3) affect, affect, affect, affected
(4) effect, affect, effect, effected
(5) effect, affect, effect, affected

Solution

In order to solve this question, we need to know the meaning of affect and effect. Affect is usually used in the verb form, and it means to have an impact on, use or assume something (usually falsely). Effect is usually used in the noun form, meaning result, impact, impression. In the verb form, effect means achieve, accomplish, bring about.

For example:
Her story affected me deeply.
Drugs can have a lethal effect.
The monarch effected many positive changes.

In the first sentence, we need a verb for the blank (as the suspension will impact the number of spectators). Therefore, this should be filled by affect.

The second sentence is also similar, and the blank can be filled with affect. Note that we can proceed with option (3) as this point, as this is the only one which has affect as the first and second fillers.

The third statement also requires a verb meaning impact, and therefore, we can use affect for this.

In the last statement, we should use affect in the second meaning (pretend or assume falsely). In all these statements, the emphasis should be on fect, as this syllable is emphasised in the verb form. The syllable af is emphasised in the noun form.

Thus, option (3) is the correct choice.

Answer: (3) affect, affect, affect, affected

1.2 Grammar

Some blanks will require you to select the correct part of speech, testing your vocabulary. For instance, a blank before a verb or an adjective must be filled by an adverb. Preposition fillers are asked as Multiple FIB questions or Cloze Passages. When solving these questions, before seeing the options let your mind guide you first. In many cases you will know the preposition(/s) to be filled even before you see the option. Please read through Parts of Speech and Grammar Rules lesson to ensure that you are choosing the grammatically correct word.

Example 10

Five prepositions are missing in the text. From the options select the cluster of prepositions which are in the order of blanks as they appear in the text:
[FMS 2009]

Here at Fortune Factories we take pride ________ the fact that management really cares ________ their staff. This according to us is the key ________ a good working environment. However, last year there was all round salary cut due to financial difficulties faced by the company, even though many people did not agree this was the solution ________ the problem. This year due to improved sales, there is better cash flow and the company has announced a hefty bonus ________ all its employees.

(1) in, about, to, to, for
(2) with, for, to, for, to
(3) in, for, to, to, for
(4) none

Solution

In order to solve this question, we must know the correct usage of the prepositions provided.

The first blank should be filled with in. This is because the common usage is take pride in.

The second blank can be filled with either about or for, depending on the meaning. Caring about someone implies that one is concerned or interested in them, whereas caring for someone implies taking care of them. Since this paragraph uses the first meaning (the management is concerned about the staff or the staff is important to the management), about is the suitable choice.

The next two blanks should be filled with to (the key to a good working environment and the solution to the problem).

The last blank should be filled with for (bonus for employees).

Answer: (1) in, about, to, to, for

Example 11

Which among the following set of words appropriately fits in the blank spaces in the sentence?

The focus of game theory is the game, which serves as a model of an interactive situation among _____________ players. The key to game theory is that one player's payoff is _____________ on the strategy implemented by the other player. The game identifies the players' identities, preferences, and available _____________ and how these strategies affect the _____________. Depending on the model, various other requirements or assumptions may be necessary.

(1) competing, dependent, resources, game
(2) societal, based, strategies, result
(3) interested, related, resources, win
(4) rational, contingent, strategies, outcome

Solution

In this paragraph, the author is discussing game theory. Let us consider the blanks.

The first blank can be filled with competing, interested or rational. Societal players does not make sense as the paragraph is describing a competitive situation (based on usage of words such as payoff and strategy ). There is no mention of society throughout the paragraph. As such, we can eliminate option (2).

The second blank can be filled with either dependent or contingent, as both mean the same. Related can be eliminated, as it would be grammatically incorrect – the preposition following it should be to and not on. Thus, we can eliminate option (3).

Both strategies and resources are grammatically suitable for the third blank. However, the usage of these strategies after the blank leads us to infer that strategies has to be introduced before these words – otherwise the author cannot use these strategies. Thus, we can select strategies for the third blank, eliminating option (1).

The last blank can be filled with outcome, and therefore, option (4) is the correct choice. Note that this blank can be filled with any of the four options, but we have already eliminated the first three.

Answer: (4) rational, contingent, strategies, outcome

Example 12

Which among the following set of words appropriately fits in the blank spaces in the sentence?

Anthropology is a broad field that has long __________ on issues having to do with social organisation, cultural meaning and human behaviour. And as a professor of history and anthropology, I __________ how classic fieldwork methods of ethnography — based on close observation of patterns and structures of social meaning — have __________ important insights into why modernity has __________ enormous variation of thought and behaviour.

(1) focussed, seen, revealed, accommodated
(2) focussing, saw, revealed, accommodates
(3) focussed, have seen, revealed, accommodated
(4) focuses, saw, reveal, accommodate

Solution

We need to choose the correct verb tense variant to answer this question.

The first sentence tells us about anthropology dealing with social, cultural and behavioural aspects. Here we can select focussed in the past tense, because of the words has long, which imply that anthropology has been focussing on these issues in the past as well. Focusses would have been correct if the sentence was anthropology...field that focusses on issues...

Based on this, we can eliminate options (2) and (4). The words revealed and accommodated are common in options (1) and (3), and hence, we need to select the correct choice based on the second blank. The correct usage in the first person is I have seen, as the word have is essential here. Thus, option (3) is the correct choice, and we can eliminate option (1).

I saw would have also been grammatically correct, but we have already eliminated options (2) and (4). the answers to the last two blanks are also not correct in these two options – we can eliminate option (2) as both reveal and accommodate have to be in the same tense. The tense itself should be the past tense (as the words have and has precede the blanks respectively). Thus, we can eliminate option (4) as well.

As the second sentence is quite long, you can try shortening it and reading it out in your mind to choose the correct forms (As a professor of anthropology, I have seen firsthand how classical methods have revealed important insights into why modernity has accommodated variation of thought and behaviour.)

Answer: (3) focussed, have seen, revealed, accommodated