11.21.9 Word Meaning: GATE2016 EC-1 GA-2 The policeman asked the victim of a theft, "What did you ___ ?" A. Loose B. Lose C. Loss D. Louse

GATE 2016 · General Aptitude · Word Meaning · medium

Answer: The correct answer is B. Lose. The policeman is asking 'What did you lose?' - a base-form verb fitting the auxiliary 'did' and the theft context perfectly.

1. Identify grammatical structure: The sentence is 'What did you ___?' which is a question in simple past tense using auxiliary 'did'. After 'did', the main verb must be in its base form (infinitive).
2. Evaluate each option: A. Loose - adjective/verb meaning not tight or to release. 'What did you loose?' is grammatically possible but means 'release' not relevant to theft. C. Loss - noun, cannot follow 'did you'. D. Louse - noun (parasite), cannot follow 'did you' sensibly. B. Lose - verb meaning to be deprived of. 'What did you lose?' is grammatically correct and contextually perfect.