Quote:
States have changed the way they finance education, allocating funds in extreme specified manners rather than in large chunks.
A. allocating funds in extreme specified manners
B. allocating funds in extremely specific manners
C. allocating funds in extremely specified manners
D. allocating funds in extreme specific manners
E. allocating funds for extreme specified manners
The right answer here should be
B imo. These shorter sentences can sometimes be very tricky, so its best to look for errors and go about eliminating options
The sentence talks about the manner of allocating funds, not what those funds are going to be used for. Hence, "allocating funds for..." in
Option E is
incorrect.
The next point of issue is with specific/specified. The key here is with the meaning of the sentence, and in particular, the non underlined portion. We see that a contrast is drawn against "large chunks". Hence, we're looking for the word 'specific', which deals with minute amounts, over 'specified', which simply means stated. This subtle shift in meaning allows us to
eliminate options A and D.
Finally, the toss up between B and C can be solved by the difference between an adjective and adverb. The extremity being spoken of applies to the specific nature of the manner. "Specific" is an adjective that refers to the manner, but "extreme(ly)" refers to the specific nature, and should therefore be an adverb. Hence, extremely wins out, and we can
eliminate Option D.
This leaves us with
B, which is the correct option.
- Matoo
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Crackverbal Prep Team
www.crackverbal.com