Select the most appropriate adverb to fill in the blank in the given sentence:-
The artist stared ____ at the blank canvas, contemplating his next masterpiece.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → intently
Complete sentence: The artist stared intently at the blank canvas, contemplating his next masterpiece. The artist is "contemplating his next masterpiece", that is, thinking deeply while he looks at the canvas, so he stares at it intently.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) intently (answer) | with close attention and concentration | The students listened intently to the scientist's talk. |
| (2) admiringly | with admiration (a blank canvas has nothing on it yet to admire) | The visitors looked admiringly at the old palace. |
| (3) critically | judging the good and bad points of something (there is no work on a blank canvas to judge) | The teacher read the essay critically and marked every error. |
| (4) anxiously | with worry or nervousness (nothing in the sentence suggests worry, and contemplating a masterpiece suggests calm, focused thought) | The parents waited anxiously outside the operation theatre. |
Note: In the original NTA paper, Option 3 read "earnestly". NTA accepted this option as a correct answer as well. To leave only one correct answer and avoid confusion for students, it has been changed here to "critically".
Advice for the exam: In the real exam, mark the answer that is grammatically or factually correct. If NTA’s provisional answer key marks a different option, challenge it during the answer-key challenge window and give the reason in one or two lines.