Question

Circle the letter of the sentence in which the word in bold-faced type is used incorrectly.

A. In the Middle Ages serfs were bound in "subservience" to their lord.

B. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787 the idea of being "subservient" to a national rather than a state government frightened some of the framers of the Constitution.

C. On a plantation the "subservient" who worked in the fields had a more difficult life than those skilled in craft.

D. Although seeming "subservient" to the new regime, the people quietly resisted.

Answer 1

C.

In every other scenario "subservient" is used properly as an adjective. Option A may look tricky, but "subservience" is correct because it is a state of being and modifies how they were bound.

However, in C "subservient" is not used as an adjective, like it should be. It is incorrectly used as a noun.