John's PARENTS have received the letters.

Analyze the question

This is an emphasis and stress question. The capitalised word, PARENTS, is the focus of the sentence. The capitalised word shows what is new or being corrected in the answer. The rest of the sentence repeats information already given in the question.

The concept

When a word is stressed in an answer, the question that prompted it must have contained a wrong or uncertain detail at that exact position. The answer then corrects or supplies that detail.

Step-by-step solution

The answer is: "John's PARENTS have received the letters."

The stressed word is parents, so the question must have asked about someone other than parents, or asked who received the letters. Let's test each option:

• A. "Have John's parents sent the letters?" The doubtful word here is sent, not parents. The answer would stress received. ✗
• B. "Have John's friends received the letters?" The doubtful detail is friends. The answer corrects it: "No, John's PARENTS have received the letters." The stress falls on parents. ✓
• C. "Have John's parents received the scripts?" The doubtful word is scripts. The answer would stress letters. ✗
• D. "Have William's parents received the letters?" The doubtful word is William's. The answer would stress John's. ✗

Correct answer: B

Tip: Find the capitalised word in the answer, then look for the option that has a different word in that same position. That swapped word is what the answer is correcting. Everything else in the question should match the answer exactly.