Question

Fill in the blank with the most suitable adverb of the highlighted or bracketed words.
The exam was ___________ easy. (Surprise)

a)Surprises
b)Surprised
c)Surprisingly
d)None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Adverbs are those words that add on to the meaning of a verb in a sentence. You can put each option in the blank and see which suits best.

Complete step-by-step answer:

‘Surprise’ is the state of amazement caused by an unexpected event or situation. We shall follow the stepwise understanding and analysis of each option to derive at our desired correct alternative.

Option a is incorrect because ‘surprises’ is the plural of the word given to us in question, ‘surprise’. This means a series of ‘surprise’ or multiple ‘surprise’, since the blank has to be filled with a singular adverb, ‘surprises’ is not the answer.

‘Surprised’ is a verb and explains the act of being amazed in a particular situation and since we need to fill the blank with an adverb and not a verb, option b is also incorrect.

‘Surprisingly’ is the correct word to fill in the blank space given in the question, as it is an adverb i.e. it is adding on to the elaboration of the kind of exam it was apart from just being easy.
Since option c is the correct answer, option d which says that none of the above options are suitable to fill the blank automatically stands incorrect.

Note: The answer to this question, Surprisingly is an adverb of manner.