Question

The MBA (1) is hardly a prerequisite for success, but it (2) certainly helps (3), and it has been getting more important (4) in recent years. Most (5) MBA programs equip their graduates to understand how (6) to deal with many of the important questions that their organizations will need to tackle (7) over time, and (8) that they will face in their careers. The above italicized numbered words will be correctly represented by the following parts of speech:

• A. 1-Noun, 2-Pronoun, 3-Adverb, 4-Adjective, 5-Adjective, 8-Conjunction
• B. 1-Noun, 3-Adjective, 4-Adjective, 6-Adverb, 7-Adverb, 8-Article
• C. 1-Noun, 2-Pronoun, 4-Adjective, 7-Adverb, 8-Conjunction
• D. 2-Pronoun, 3-Verb, 4-Adverb, 6-Adverb, 8-Article
• E. 2-Pronoun, 3-Verb, 4-Adjective, 7-Verb, 8-Conjunction

Hint:

For part-of-speech questions, check:
- Action words ⇒ Verb
- Naming words ⇒ Noun
- Descriptive words ⇒ Adjective
- Replacing words ⇒ Pronoun
- Connecting words ⇒ Conjunction
Breaking each sentence into clauses makes identification easier.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Word (1) — MBA.
“MBA” is the name of a degree and functions as a Noun.
Step 2: Word (2) — it.
“It” is a substitute for MBA (noun), therefore it is a Pronoun.
Step 3: Word (3) — helps.
“Helps” is the main action word (what it does), so it is a Verb.
Step 4: Word (4) — important.
“Important” describes the noun “years” by qualifying their nature ⇒ it is an Adjective.
Step 5: Word (5) — MBA (programs).
Here again, “MBA” is the noun describing the type of program. (This word was not part of answer choice alignment, hence skipped in final mapping).
Step 6: Word (6) — how.
“How to deal” functions as an adverbial clause marker, but not needed in final mapping.
Step 7: Word (7) — tackle.
“Tackle” indicates action (what the organizations will do), hence it is a Verb.
Step 8: Word (8) — and.
“And” is a connector joining two clauses, hence it is a Conjunction.
Thus, the mapping aligns as:
2-Pronoun, 3-Verb, 4-Adjective, 7-Verb, 8-Conjunction.
\[ \boxed{\text{(E) is correct.}} \]