Question

Fill in the blank [17] in the given paragraph with an article or a determiner choosing from the options given.

• A. A
• B. His
• C. This
• D. The

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

The

Option D is the correct answer as 'the', apart from being a definite article, is also used with or as part of a title to mark a proper noun or to refer to something well-known. (Eg. The Queen of England, Napolean the Conqueror, the Everest and so on.) It is a fact that Ashoka was a great emperor of India and thus Ashoka the Great is an apt title.

'A' is an indefinite article that is used when the noun to be referred is not specified or ambiguous. Since we are specifically dealing with Ashoka, the great emperor of India, option A is incorrect.

'His' is used to show belongingness or association of something with something. Since using 'his' would give the sentence no possible meaning, it would be grammatically incorrect to use option B.

'This' is used preceding a noun to refer to something or someone near us. Hence option C would be a grammatical misfit if used in blank [17].