Episode 8 — Aptitude and Reasoning / 8.27 — Sentence Improvement
8.27 -- Practice MCQs: Sentence Improvement
Instructions: In each question, a part of the sentence is bold. Choose the option that best replaces the bold part. If the sentence is already correct, choose "No improvement."
Target Time: 30--45 seconds per question.
Questions
Q1.
He has been working in this company since 2018.
(a) is working (b) was working (c) had been working (d) No improvement
Q2.
The teacher told to the students to complete the assignment by Friday.
(a) told the students (b) said to the students (c) told for the students (d) No improvement
Q3.
She is more smarter than her classmates in mathematics.
(a) most smart (b) smarter (c) much more smarter (d) No improvement
Q4.
If I was the Prime Minister, I would reform the education system.
(a) were (b) am (c) had been (d) No improvement
Q5.
He could not cope up with the pressure of the new job.
(a) cope along with (b) cope with (c) cope for (d) No improvement
Q6.
The committee members discussed about the budget in detail.
(a) discussed on (b) discussed (c) discussed upon (d) No improvement
Q7.
Walking down the street, the buildings appeared magnificent.
(a) While walking down the street (b) Walking down the street, I found the buildings (c) As walking down the street (d) No improvement
Q8.
The news are very disturbing for the investors.
(a) is (b) were (c) have been (d) No improvement
Q9.
He returned back all the borrowed books to the library.
(a) returned (b) returned again back (c) had returned back (d) No improvement
Q10.
She prefers tea than coffee in the morning.
(a) prefers tea over (b) prefers tea to (c) prefers tea from (d) No improvement
Q11.
The principal said that the earth revolved around the sun.
(a) the earth revolves (b) the earth has revolved (c) the earth is revolving (d) No improvement
Q12.
He has visited Paris last summer and enjoyed the trip.
(a) visited (b) had visited (c) was visiting (d) No improvement
Q13.
I would rather to die than beg for mercy.
(a) would rather dying (b) would rather die (c) would rather dead (d) No improvement
Q14.
The furniture in the office are old and need to be replaced.
(a) is (b) were (c) have been (d) No improvement
Q15.
This product is superior than all other brands in the market.
(a) superior from (b) superior over (c) superior to (d) No improvement
Q16.
In spite of the fact that he was tired, he continued working.
(a) Despite the fact (b) Although (c) Inspite of (d) No improvement
Q17.
She availed the opportunity to study abroad.
(a) availed herself of the opportunity (b) availed of the opportunity (c) availed with the opportunity (d) No improvement
Q18.
The book was wrote by a famous Indian author.
(a) was written (b) has wrote (c) was being wrote (d) No improvement
Q19.
He is one of the best player who has represented the country.
(a) one of the best players (b) one of the better players (c) one of the best playing (d) No improvement
Q20.
She made me to wait for more than an hour.
(a) made me waited (b) made me wait (c) made me waiting (d) No improvement
Q21.
The manager, along with his team members, were present at the meeting.
(a) along with his team members, was (b) along with his team members, has been (c) with his team members, were (d) No improvement
Q22.
He insisted to go to the market despite the heavy rain.
(a) insisted on going (b) insisted for going (c) insisted upon to go (d) No improvement
Q23.
No sooner did she enter the room when everyone stood up.
(a) than (b) that (c) then (d) No improvement
Q24.
She likes reading, to swim, and painting in her free time.
(a) reading, swimming, and to paint (b) to read, to swim, and to paint (c) reading, swimming, and painting (d) No improvement
Q25.
Each of the boys have completed their assignment.
(a) Each of the boys has (b) Each of the boy has (c) Every boys have (d) No improvement
Q26.
He is a honest and trustworthy person.
(a) an honest (b) the honest (c) one honest (d) No improvement
Q27.
The reason for his failure is because he did not study hard enough.
(a) that he did not (b) since he did not (c) because of he did not (d) No improvement
Q28.
Less people attended the conference this year compared to last year.
(a) Fewer people (b) Lesser people (c) Little people (d) No improvement
Q29.
He told me that he will come to the office the next day.
(a) would come (b) shall come (c) comes (d) No improvement
Q30.
She is senior than me in this organisation by three years.
(a) senior to me (b) more senior than me (c) senior from me (d) No improvement
Q31.
The plan comprises of three distinct phases.
(a) comprises with (b) is comprised of (c) comprises (d) No improvement
Q32.
Being a rainy day, we decided to stay indoors.
(a) It being a rainy day (b) Having been a rainy day (c) Been a rainy day (d) No improvement
Q33.
He suggested me to apply for the scholarship immediately.
(a) suggested that I should apply (b) suggested me for applying (c) suggested me that I apply (d) No improvement
Q34.
The scenery of Kashmir are breathtakingly beautiful.
(a) is (b) were (c) have been (d) No improvement
Q35.
She completed the project well ahead of the deadline and received praise from the management.
(a) before the deadline (b) prior to deadline (c) ahead the deadline (d) No improvement
Answer Key
| Q | Answer | Improvement Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (d) | No improvement |
| 2 | (a) | Verb Pattern |
| 3 | (b) | Double Comparative |
| 4 | (a) | Subjunctive Mood |
| 5 | (b) | Idiom/Phrase |
| 6 | (b) | Preposition (Transitive Verb) |
| 7 | (b) | Dangling Modifier |
| 8 | (a) | Subject-Verb Agreement |
| 9 | (a) | Redundancy |
| 10 | (b) | Preposition (prefer...to) |
| 11 | (a) | Universal Truth Tense |
| 12 | (a) | Tense (Simple Past) |
| 13 | (b) | Verb Form (would rather) |
| 14 | (a) | Subject-Verb Agreement |
| 15 | (c) | Preposition (superior to) |
| 16 | (b) | Wordiness |
| 17 | (a) | Idiom (avail oneself of) |
| 18 | (a) | Past Participle |
| 19 | (a) | Noun Number |
| 20 | (b) | Causative Verb |
| 21 | (a) | Subject-Verb Agreement |
| 22 | (a) | Verb Pattern (insist on) |
| 23 | (a) | Correlative Conjunction |
| 24 | (c) | Parallelism |
| 25 | (a) | Subject-Verb Agreement |
| 26 | (a) | Article |
| 27 | (a) | Redundancy/Logic |
| 28 | (a) | Fewer vs Less |
| 29 | (a) | Reported Speech Tense |
| 30 | (a) | Preposition (senior to) |
| 31 | (c) | Transitive Verb |
| 32 | (a) | Dangling Modifier |
| 33 | (a) | Verb Pattern (suggest) |
| 34 | (a) | Subject-Verb Agreement |
| 35 | (d) | No improvement |
Detailed Explanations
Q1. Answer: (d) No improvement
Explanation: "Has been working...since 2018" is correct. "Since" requires the present perfect or present perfect continuous tense. The sentence is already grammatically perfect.
Q2. Answer: (a) told the students
Explanation: "Tell" is a transitive verb that takes a direct object without "to." The correct structure is "told + person + to do something." "Told to the students" is incorrect; "told the students" is correct.
Q3. Answer: (b) smarter
Explanation: "Smarter" is already the comparative form of "smart." Adding "more" creates a double comparative ("more smarter"), which is grammatically incorrect. The correct form is simply "smarter."
Q4. Answer: (a) were
Explanation: In the subjunctive mood (hypothetical/unreal conditions), "were" is used for all subjects, including "I." "If I were the Prime Minister" is the correct construction.
Q5. Answer: (b) cope with
Explanation: The correct idiom is "cope with" (not "cope up with"). "Up" is unnecessary and incorrect in this phrase.
Q6. Answer: (b) discussed
Explanation: "Discuss" is a transitive verb that takes a direct object. No preposition is needed. "Discussed the budget" is correct; "discussed about the budget" is wrong.
Q7. Answer: (b) Walking down the street, I found the buildings
Explanation: The original sentence has a dangling modifier. "Walking down the street" must modify a person, not "the buildings." The corrected version inserts "I found" so that the subject doing the walking is clear.
Q8. Answer: (a) is
Explanation: "News" is an uncountable noun and always takes a singular verb. "The news is" is correct.
Q9. Answer: (a) returned
Explanation: "Return" already means "to give back." Adding "back" is redundant. "He returned all the borrowed books" is correct.
Q10. Answer: (b) prefers tea to
Explanation: The correct structure is "prefer A to B" (not "prefer A than B" or "prefer A over B"). "She prefers tea to coffee" is correct.
Q11. Answer: (a) the earth revolves
Explanation: Universal truths remain in the simple present tense even in reported speech. The Earth revolving around the Sun is a permanent scientific fact, so "revolves" is correct.
Q12. Answer: (a) visited
Explanation: "Last summer" is a definite past time marker, which requires the simple past tense. "Has visited" (present perfect) is incorrect with a specific past time reference. "He visited Paris last summer" is correct.
Q13. Answer: (b) would rather die
Explanation: "Would rather" is followed by the bare infinitive (base form of the verb without "to"). "Would rather die" is correct; "would rather to die" is wrong.
Q14. Answer: (a) is
Explanation: "Furniture" is an uncountable noun and always takes a singular verb. "The furniture is old" is correct.
Q15. Answer: (c) superior to
Explanation: "Superior," "inferior," "senior," "junior," "prior," and "posterior" are followed by "to," not "than." "Superior to all other brands" is correct.
Q16. Answer: (b) Although
Explanation: "In spite of the fact that" is a wordy way of saying "Although" or "Despite the fact that." The most concise and elegant replacement is "Although." Note: "Inspite" (one word) in option (c) is not a real word -- the correct spelling is "In spite" (two words).
Q17. Answer: (a) availed herself of the opportunity
Explanation: The correct idiom is "avail oneself of" (something). "She availed herself of the opportunity" is the correct construction. You cannot just say "availed the opportunity."
Q18. Answer: (a) was written
Explanation: The past participle of "write" is "written" (not "wrote"). In the passive voice, the correct form is "was written."
Q19. Answer: (a) one of the best players
Explanation: After "one of the," the noun must be plural because you are selecting one from a group of many. "One of the best players" is correct; "one of the best player" is wrong.
Q20. Answer: (b) made me wait
Explanation: The causative verb "make" is followed by the bare infinitive (base form without "to"). "Made me wait" is correct; "made me to wait" is wrong.
Q21. Answer: (a) along with his team members, was
Explanation: When the subject is connected by "along with," "together with," or "as well as," the verb agrees with the first subject only. "The manager" is singular, so the verb should be "was."
Q22. Answer: (a) insisted on going
Explanation: "Insist" is followed by "on + gerund" (not "to + infinitive"). "Insisted on going" is the correct construction.
Q23. Answer: (a) than
Explanation: The correct correlative structure is "No sooner...than" (not "No sooner...when"). "No sooner did she enter the room than everyone stood up" is correct.
Q24. Answer: (c) reading, swimming, and painting
Explanation: All items in a list must be in the same grammatical form (parallelism). The original mixes gerunds and infinitives. "Reading, swimming, and painting" (all gerunds) is parallel and correct.
Q25. Answer: (a) Each of the boys has
Explanation: "Each" is always singular, regardless of the plural noun that follows. "Each of the boys has completed" is correct; "have" is wrong with "each."
Q26. Answer: (a) an honest
Explanation: The "h" in "honest" is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound (/ɒnɪst/). "An" is required before vowel sounds. "An honest" is correct; "a honest" is wrong.
Q27. Answer: (a) that he did not
Explanation: "The reason is because" is redundant -- both "reason" and "because" indicate cause. The correct structure is "The reason is that." "The reason for his failure is that he did not study hard enough" is correct.
Q28. Answer: (a) Fewer people
Explanation: "Fewer" is used with countable nouns (people, items, books). "Less" is used with uncountable nouns (water, time, money). Since "people" is countable, "fewer people" is correct.
Q29. Answer: (a) would come
Explanation: In reported speech, when the reporting verb is in the past tense ("told"), "will" changes to "would." "He told me that he would come" is correct.
Q30. Answer: (a) senior to me
Explanation: "Senior" is followed by "to," not "than." "She is senior to me" is the correct construction. (Note: "more senior than" is sometimes used in informal English but "senior to" is the standard formal form tested in exams.)
Q31. Answer: (c) comprises
Explanation: "Comprise" is a transitive verb that means "consists of" or "includes." It does not take "of." "The plan comprises three phases" is correct. Note: "is comprised of" (option b) is used colloquially but is considered incorrect in formal grammar -- "is composed of" would be the correct passive form.
Q32. Answer: (a) It being a rainy day
Explanation: The original "Being a rainy day" is a dangling modifier. "We" were not a rainy day. Adding "It" as the subject of the participial phrase fixes the error. Alternatively, "Since it was a rainy day" would also work, but that option is not given.
Q33. Answer: (a) suggested that I should apply
Explanation: "Suggest" does not take the pattern "suggest + object + to-infinitive." The correct structures are:
- "suggested that I (should) apply"
- "suggested my applying"
- "suggested I apply" (subjunctive)
"Suggested me to apply" is incorrect.
Q34. Answer: (a) is
Explanation: "Scenery" is an uncountable noun and takes a singular verb. "The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful" is correct.
Q35. Answer: (d) No improvement
Explanation: "Ahead of the deadline" is a correct and natural English expression. The sentence is grammatically perfect and does not need any change.
Improvement Type Distribution in This Set
| Improvement Type | Questions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Subject-Verb Agreement | Q8, Q14, Q21, Q25, Q34 | 5 |
| Tense Correction | Q11, Q12, Q29 | 3 |
| Preposition/Idiom | Q5, Q6, Q10, Q15, Q17, Q22, Q30, Q31 | 8 |
| Verb Form/Pattern | Q2, Q13, Q20, Q33 | 4 |
| Modifier Correction | Q7, Q32 | 2 |
| Parallelism | Q24 | 1 |
| Redundancy | Q9, Q27 | 2 |
| Article | Q26 | 1 |
| Wordiness | Q16 | 1 |
| Double Comparative | Q3 | 1 |
| Subjunctive | Q4 | 1 |
| Correlative Conjunction | Q23 | 1 |
| Fewer vs Less | Q28 | 1 |
| Past Participle | Q18 | 1 |
| Noun Number | Q19 | 1 |
| No Improvement | Q1, Q35 | 2 |
Scoring Guide:
- 30--35 correct: Excellent -- you are exam-ready.
- 24--29 correct: Good -- revise the rules for the types you missed.
- 18--23 correct: Average -- re-read the Concepts file thoroughly.
- Below 18: Needs work -- study each rule with examples and re-attempt.