Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word.
If your plane has crashed high in the mountains, it's best ___ close to the plane. Rescuers have got a better chance of ____ the plane than one person alone.
Know your College Admission Chances Based on your Rank/Percentile, Category and Home State.
Get your JEE Main Personalised Report with Top Predicted Colleges in JoSA
This question tests your understanding of verb patterns and sentence structure in English. Let's analyze the sentence step by step:
Step 1: Analyze the first blank
The structure "it's best ___" requires an infinitive form. We use "to + verb" after expressions like "it's best," "it's important," or "it's necessary."
Correct pattern: it's best + to keep
Step 2: Analyze the second blank
The phrase "have got a better chance of" requires a gerund (verb + -ing form) after the preposition "of."
Correct pattern: chance of + finding
Step 3: Verify meaning
The complete sentence should read: "If your plane has crashed high in the mountains, it's best to keep close to the plane. Rescuers have got a better chance of finding the plane than one person alone."
This makes logical sense because staying near the crashed plane increases the likelihood of being found by rescuers.
Related Grammar Concepts:
Verb Patterns: Different verbs and expressions require specific patterns - some take infinitives (to + verb), some take gerunds (verb + -ing), and some can take both with different meanings.
Prepositions: Prepositions like "of" are always followed by nouns or gerunds, never infinitives.
Common Expressions: "It's best to..." is a fixed expression that always takes the infinitive form.
Final Answer: The correct option is "to keep / finding"