Let us examine the options:
Option (a): In this sentence, "reduced" is functioning as an adjective modifying the noun "opportunities." Past participles (like "reduced") are often used as adjectives to convey a passive or completed action. In this context, "reduced" describes the state of the opportunities resulting from economic challenges and limited access to education and healthcare. The base verb "Reduce" fails to play this role in the sentence and hence renders it grammatically incorrect. The corrected sentence is: "Economic challenges, coupled with limited access to education and healthcare, can lead to reduced opportunities and overall well-being for the population."
Option (b): The phrase "fast-pace" should be "fast-paced" to act as an adjective modifying "lifestyle." The corrected sentence is: "With a fast-paced lifestyle and unforeseen challenges at every turn, stress-related lifestyles are on the rise in a rapidly changing world."
Option (c): "Not only... but also" is a correlative conjunction pair used to show parallelism between two ideas. In this case, it introduces two functions of education: as a means to impart knowledge and skills, and as a force for challenging stereotypes, promoting gender equality, and reshaping societal attitudes. Hence, the corrected sentence is: "Education is recognised not only as a means to impart knowledge and skills but also as a powerful force for challenging stereotypes, promoting gender equality and reshaping societal attitudes."
Option (d): The sentence is grammatically correct, with proper subject-verb agreement and clear structure. It effectively conveys the idea that the government acknowledges the crucial role of education in shaping individuals' destinies and has taken steps to encourage girls' enrolment and successful completion of education through financial incentives.
Hence, the correct answer is option (d).
Note: Correlative Conjunctions are pairs of words that work together to connect two parts of a sentence that hold an equal value or correlate with one another. E.g., Either/Or, Neither/Nor, Not only/But also, etc.
Participle: A word formed from a verb (e.g. going, gone, being, been) and used as an adjective (e.g. working woman, burnt toast) or a noun (e.g. good breeding). In English, participles are also used to make compound verb forms (e.g. is going, has been). Consider the sentences given below:
Dancing at the party, the women fell on the ground.
Encouraged by her parents, Rita went on to pursue her passion.
The highlighted word in the first sentence is of the form Verb + ing and is used as a present participle. It is used to denote an action that is going on or incomplete or imperfect.
The highlighted word in the second sentence is of the form verb + ed. It is used as a past participle. It denotes the completed action or state of the thing spoken of.
A past participle ends with the following: -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n.
One should take great care and never get confused between a gerund and a present participle. They use the same forms but perform different functions: a gerund is a verbal noun, while a present participle is a verbal adjective.
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