956. Baker was perhaps not the most gifted soloist in the orchestra, but the conductor felt what was lacking in his technical skill was more than made up by the passion with which he played the music.
(A) what was lacking in his technical skill was more than made up by
(B) what he lacked in technical skill was more than made up by
(C) whatever was lacking in his technical skill was more than made up by
(D) whatever he lacked in technical skill was more than made up for by
(E) whatever he lacked in technical skill he more than made up by
Solution:
Logical
Here, 'what' is more appropriate than 'whatever'.
'Whatever' is generally used as an indefinite - i.e., to refer to potential things/events that haven't been realized yet.
You can get whatever you might need for your project at the drugstore. à You don't yet know what you need.
You can get what you need for your project at the drugstore. à You (and even the speaker) know exactly what you need.
It is logical that 'what he lacked...' is a KNOWN quantity, so 'what' must be used here instead of 'whatever'.
Therefore, C, D, and E are incorrect because of the use of whatever.
A: Baker was not gifted(active voice), but the conductor felt what was lacking in his(passive voice) technical skill was more than made up by the passion with which he played the music.
The sentence opens with active voice and then changes to passive. Hence, incorrect
B: Baker was not gifted, but the conductor felt what he lacked(active voice) was more than made up by the passion with which he played B is the best choice.
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution:
(A) what was lacking in his technical skill was more than made up by
(B) what he lacked in technical skill was more than made up by
(C) whatever was lacking in his technical skill was more than made up by
(D) whatever he lacked in technical skill was more than made up for by
(E) whatever he lacked in technical skill he more than made up by
Solution:
Logical
Here, 'what' is more appropriate than 'whatever'.
'Whatever' is generally used as an indefinite - i.e., to refer to potential things/events that haven't been realized yet.
You can get whatever you might need for your project at the drugstore. à You don't yet know what you need.
You can get what you need for your project at the drugstore. à You (and even the speaker) know exactly what you need.
It is logical that 'what he lacked...' is a KNOWN quantity, so 'what' must be used here instead of 'whatever'.
Therefore, C, D, and E are incorrect because of the use of whatever.
A: Baker was not gifted(active voice), but the conductor felt what was lacking in his(passive voice) technical skill was more than made up by the passion with which he played the music.
The sentence opens with active voice and then changes to passive. Hence, incorrect
B: Baker was not gifted, but the conductor felt what he lacked(active voice) was more than made up by the passion with which he played B is the best choice.
Sentence Correction - 1000 Questions with Solution: