Four-letter overlapping progressive blocks – UGC NET Question

Each term is a block of four consecutive letters where the starting letters L, M, N and O move forward by one. The blocks heavily overlap, shifting one position to the right each time. After OPQR, the next starting letter must be P, and the block formed is PQRS. Thus PQRS continues the overlapping sliding pattern correctly.

Option A:
Option A, QRST, is a later block that would come after PQRS in the extended pattern. Its starting letter Q skips over P, which goes against the step by step increase of the starting position. Because the series does not skip any intermediate starting letters, QRST is not the immediate next term.

Option B:
Option B is correct because it starts at P, the letter immediately after O, and includes Q, R and S as the next three letters. It preserves both the length of the block and the one position slide of the starting letter. This exact match with the observed progression makes PQRS the right continuation.

Option C:
Option C, RSTU, begins at R, which is two steps beyond O and therefore jumps over P. While RSTU is a valid consecutive block, its position in the overall ordering is too far ahead. As the series moves in single letter increments, RSTU cannot be accepted here.

Option D:
Option D, MNOP, repeats an earlier group from the sequence and thus moves backward. The pattern does not indicate any repetition or looping behaviour. Therefore MNOP is not a valid next term.