Question

Read the excerpt from Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. “Tenente,” Passini said. “We understand you let us talk. Listen. There is nothing as bad as war. We in the auto-ambulance cannot even realize at all how bad it is. When people realize how bad it is they cannot do anything to stop it because they go crazy. There are some people who never realize. There are people who are afraid of their officers. It is with them the war is made.” In typical Hemingway style, the excerpt
contains a number of abstract nouns and many adjectives.
contains a large amount of punctuation and few adjectives and adverbs.
contains many strong nouns and adjectives but few verbs and adverbs.
contains few adjectives and adverbs but many strong verbs and concrete nouns.

Answer 1

Answer: I would contend that the right answer is the D) It contains few adjectives and adverbs but many strong verbs and concrete nouns.

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that there are no abstract nouns, a large amount of punctuation, or a lack of verbs in this excerpt, so options A, B, and C can be discarded. The passage features just a few adjectives and adverbs—bad, crazy, afraid—but a significant amount of strong verbs (understand, talk, listen, realize, stop, make) and concrete nouns (people, we, war, auto-ambulance, officers), which help create more concise and precise sentences.