Verbal Ability - Question Of The Day

Mark the error(s) in the following sentences.


For many years, (i) it was thought about all of our brain cells (neurons) (ii) are produced before birth, or exceptionably, up to one or two years after birth, but then the process supposedly stopped. From then on, most brain scientists believed, brain circuits (iii) could only be modified by altering the synapses, or contacts between existing cells. In this view,  the total complement of cells, (iv) anatomically organised by function and forming major pathways, (v) constituted the brain’s “hardware.”

OPTIONS

1) i, ii, iv
2) ii, iii, v
3) i, ii
4) i, iii, v
5) ii, iv,

Solution

There is no error in phrases iii, iv and v.
There are grammatical errors in phrases i and ii.
In phrase i, the error is in the use of the preposition ‘about’ after ‘thought’. In this sentence, the correct usage would have been ‘thought that’. This is because ‘that’ introduces the main clause in the sentence.
In phrase ii, while making an adverb from the adjective ‘exceptional’, one has to only add ‘–ly’ to make ‘exceptionally’. ‘Exceptionably’ is wrong usage.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.