Question

Direction: This question presents a sentence, part of which or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find four ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other three are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others. The administration discussed whether the number of students studying European languages was likely to decline when the senior lecturer retired.

• A. whether the number of students studying European languages was likely
• B. whether the number of students studying European languages likely
• C. if the students studying European languages were likely
• D. if the number of European language students were likely

Hint:

When dealing with complex sentence structures, ensure subject-verb agreement and clarity in the phrasing.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The original phrasing is grammatically correct as it clearly conveys that the administration discussed the likelihood of a decline in students. The other options either disrupt the sentence structure or are grammatically incomplete.
Step 2: Conclusion.
The correct answer is (A).