Q27
1 markFill in the BlankSection C

  1. In the following paragraph, one word has been omitted in each line. In your answer sheets, remember to write the missing word along with the word that comes before and after it, as shown below. The first one has been done as an example (e.g. Greenhouse gases trap heat the earth’s atmosphere — Word before: heat, Word Omitted: in, Word after: the). (i) atmosphere. They released mainly from

Grammar
Editing — Word Omission (line i)
Official Answer

Word before: They | Word Omitted: are | Word after: released — required to complete the passive construction 'They are released...' with a plural, present-tense subject.

areThey are releasedpassive voiceauxiliary verbword omissioneditingbefore: Theyafter: released

Marking Scheme

  • 11 mark only if the correct missing word 'are' is given AND placed correctly between 'They' and 'released' (i.e. before: They, after: released). No mark for the word without the before/after context, and no mark for a wrong auxiliary such as 'were' or 'is'.

Hint

The past participle 'released' + 'from' signals passive voice — a plural, present-tense auxiliary 'be' is missing before it.

Quick Oral Answer

The missing word is 'are': 'They are released mainly from...' — 'released' with 'from' is passive voice, and the plural present-tense subject 'They' needs the auxiliary 'are'.

Analysis & Explanation

Word-omission (editing) task: identify the missing auxiliary that completes a passive-voice verb.


Concept

  • Line: 'They released mainly from' → reconstructed as 'They are released mainly from burning fossil fuels.'
  • 'released ... from' signals passive voice (be + past participle), and the auxiliary 'be' has been dropped.

Key points

  • Subject 'They' (= greenhouse gases) is plural; paragraph is in simple present → correct auxiliary is 'are'.
  • CBSE format demands the word immediately before and after the missing word, not just the word itself.

Common mistakes

  • Reading 'released' as a complete past-tense active verb and leaving the gap unnoticed, or inserting the wrong tense ('were').

Real-world

  • Reinforces that greenhouse gases are continuously released by human activity (burning fossil fuels), a key fact in climate-change writing.

Common Mistakes

  1. 1Reading 'released' as a complete active past-tense verb and leaving the line unchanged, missing the passive-voice auxiliary.
  2. 2Inserting 'were' or 'is' instead of 'are' — 'were' is wrong tense (passage is present) and 'is' is singular, but the subject 'They' is plural.

Previously Asked

2025Section CQ254 marks

Word omitted exercise: ii. This depends the physical / iii. conditions under the material forms. / iv. This results a wide range of colours...

2017Section BQ224 marks

Editing: Walt Disney was our hero. He | e.g. was | Correction: is. (a) left me a legacy that can (b) be enjoy time and again. He (c) knew who to entertain us so well. (d) He developed a process in creating animated films.

Interesting Facts

Omission questions almost always target 'small' function words — articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, or conjunctions — because these are the words the eye skips most easily while reading.

The passive voice (be + past participle) is very common in scientific/factual writing like this climate paragraph, which is exactly why the missing auxiliary 'are' fits the register.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I write the answer in the correct format?

You must give three parts: the word before, the missing word, and the word after. For line (i) it is — Word before: They, Missing word: are, Word after: released.

Why 'are' and not 'were'?

The whole paragraph is written in the simple present tense (gases 'trap' heat, 'leads to' global warming). So the passive must also be present: 'are released', not the past 'were released'.