Episode 8 — Aptitude and Reasoning / 8.27 — Sentence Improvement

8.27.a -- Concepts and Rules: Sentence Improvement

1. What Is Sentence Improvement?

In Sentence Improvement questions, you are given a sentence with a bold or underlined portion. You must choose the best replacement for that portion from the given options. One option is always "No improvement" or "No change needed," meaning the sentence is already correct.

Example:

The teacher told to the students to complete their homework.

(a) told the students (b) said the students (c) told for the students (d) No improvement

Answer: (a) -- "Tell" takes a direct object without "to." Correct: "told the students."

2. Sentence Improvement vs Error Identification

Feature	Error Identification	Sentence Improvement
Format	Sentence divided into parts; find the wrong part	Sentence with one underlined/bold part; choose the best replacement
Focus	Locating the error	Fixing the error with the best option
Skills tested	Grammar rules	Grammar + clarity + conciseness + idiom usage
"No Error" option	Identifies the sentence as correct	"No improvement" serves the same purpose
Difficulty	Moderate	Slightly higher (must evaluate multiple options)

3. Improving Clarity

A clear sentence says exactly what it means with no ambiguity.

Rule 1: Remove Ambiguous Pronouns

Unclear: When Ravi met Suresh, he was very happy. Clear: When Ravi met Suresh, Ravi was very happy.

Rule 2: Place Modifiers Next to the Words They Modify

Unclear: She almost drove her kids to school every day. Clear: She drove her kids to school almost every day.

Rule 3: Use Specific Language Instead of Vague Words

Vague: The thing about the plan is that it is nice. Clear: The advantage of the plan is that it is cost-effective.

Rule 4: Avoid Double Negatives

Unclear: He is not unaware of the situation. Clear: He is aware of the situation.

4. Fixing Wordiness

Concise writing is always preferred. Remove unnecessary words without changing the meaning.

Common Wordy Phrases and Their Concise Replacements

Wordy (Avoid)	Concise (Use)
In spite of the fact that	Although / Despite
Due to the fact that	Because / Since
At this point in time	Now / Currently
In the event that	If
For the purpose of	To / For
In order to	To
In the near future	Soon
On a daily basis	Daily
Has the ability to	Can
Make a decision	Decide
Give consideration to	Consider
Come to a conclusion	Conclude
Take into consideration	Consider
Is in a position to	Can
In the course of	During
With the exception of	Except
In the vicinity of	Near
A large number of	Many
At the present time	Now
Prior to	Before
Subsequent to	After
In connection with	About / Regarding
In the absence of	Without
On the occasion of	When
By means of	By / Through
With regard to	About / Regarding
In view of the fact that	Because / Since

Examples

Wordy: He could not come due to the fact that he was ill. Concise: He could not come because he was ill.

Wordy: She has the ability to solve complex problems. Concise: She can solve complex problems.

Wordy: We need to make a decision quickly. Concise: We need to decide quickly.

5. Active vs Passive Voice

Active voice is generally preferred because it is clearer, more direct, and more concise.

Structure

Voice	Structure	Example
Active	Subject + Verb + Object	The dog bit the man.
Passive	Object + was/were + Past Participle + by Subject	The man was bitten by the dog.

When to Use Active Voice

When the doer of the action is important.
When you want the sentence to be direct and forceful.
In most writing situations (default choice).

Passive (Weak): The match was won by our team. Active (Strong): Our team won the match.

Passive (Weak): The cake was eaten by the children. Active (Strong): The children ate the cake.

When Passive Voice Is Acceptable

When the doer is unknown: "The window was broken last night."
When the doer is unimportant: "The road is being repaired."
In scientific/formal writing: "The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions."
When the receiver is more important: "The President was assassinated in 1963."

Common Exam Pattern

Exams often give a passive sentence and ask you to choose the active version:

Given: A book was written by the author on climate change. Improved: The author wrote a book on climate change.

6. Correct Idioms and Phrases

Many sentence improvement questions test whether you know the correct form of common idioms and phrases.

Frequently Tested Idioms

Incorrect	Correct	Meaning
By hook or by cook	By hook or by crook	By any means necessary
A far cry to	A far cry from	Very different from
At the spur of moment	At the spur of the moment	On impulse
Bag and baggage	Bag and baggage (correct as is)	With all belongings
Bear the burnt	Bear the brunt	Suffer the main impact
Call a spade a spade	Call a spade a spade (correct)	Speak plainly
Carry the day	Carry the day (correct)	Win / succeed
Cut a sorry figure	Cut a sorry figure (correct)	Make a poor impression
Give someone the cold shoulder	Give the cold shoulder (correct)	Ignore deliberately
In the nick of time	In the nick of time (correct)	Just in time
Keep one's finger crossed	Keep one's fingers crossed	Hope for the best
Leave no stone unturned	Leave no stone unturned (correct)	Try every possibility
Make both the ends meet	Make both ends meet	Manage with limited money
Nip in the bud	Nip in the bud (correct)	Stop at an early stage
Pull someone's leg	Pull someone's leg (correct)	Joke with someone
See eye to eye with	See eye to eye (correct)	Agree completely
Take a leaf out of someone book	Take a leaf out of someone's book	Imitate someone
Turn over a new leaf	Turn over a new leaf (correct)	Make a fresh start
Under his nose	Under his very nose (emphatic)	Right in front of him

Commonly Tested Phrase Corrections

Incorrect Phrase	Correct Phrase
Avail the opportunity	Avail oneself of the opportunity
Dispose the waste	Dispose of the waste
Cope up with	Cope with (no "up")
Accompanied with	Accompanied by
Acquainted to	Acquainted with
Angry on someone	Angry with someone
Anxious of	Anxious about
Apologise for	Apologise for (correct)
Blind of	Blind to
Congratulate for	Congratulate on
Die from a disease	Die of a disease
Different than	Different from
Eligible to	Eligible for
Good in something	Good at something
Listening at music	Listening to music
Married with	Married to
Object on	Object to
Popular among	Popular among (correct)
Prevented to go	Prevented from going
Proud on	Proud of
Supply someone the goods	Supply the goods to someone
Sympathise for	Sympathise with
Warn about	Warn against / Warn about (both acceptable depending on context)

7. Formal vs Informal Language

Competitive exams always expect formal Standard English. Common informal constructions that need improvement:

Informal to Formal Conversions

Informal (Avoid in Exams)	Formal (Use in Exams)
gonna	going to
wanna	want to
gotta	have got to / must
kinda	kind of / somewhat
lots of	many / much / a great deal of
a lot	much / significantly / considerably
OK / okay	acceptable / satisfactory
stuff / things	items / matters / aspects
get	obtain / receive / become
pretty good	quite good / fairly good
big	large / significant / substantial
start	begin / commence
end	conclude / terminate
show	demonstrate / indicate / reveal
try	attempt / endeavour
need	require / necessitate
help	assist / facilitate
use	utilise / employ

Contractions (Avoid in Formal Writing)

Contraction	Full Form
don't	do not
can't	cannot
won't	will not
shouldn't	should not
it's	it is
they're	they are
we've	we have

8. Commonly Tested Improvements

8.1 Tense Corrections

Given (Incorrect)	Improved (Correct)	Rule
He is working here since 2015.	He has been working here since 2015.	"Since" requires perfect tense
If I would have known, I would have helped.	If I had known, I would have helped.	Type 3 conditional
He told that he was tired.	He said that he was tired.	"Tell" needs an object; "say" does not
She did not went to school.	She did not go to school.	After "did," use base form
I have visited Paris last year.	I visited Paris last year.	"Last year" = definite past = simple past

8.2 Subject-Verb Agreement Corrections

Given (Incorrect)	Improved (Correct)	Rule
Each boy and girl have arrived.	Each boy and girl has arrived.	"Each" = singular
Bread and butter are his breakfast.	Bread and butter is his breakfast.	Single combination
The quality of mangoes were poor.	The quality of mangoes was poor.	Subject = "quality" (singular)

8.3 Voice Corrections

Given (Passive/Awkward)	Improved (Active/Clear)
The letter was written by her.	She wrote the letter.
The work has been completed by him.	He has completed the work.
A mistake was made by the manager.	The manager made a mistake.

8.4 Wordiness Corrections

Given (Wordy)	Improved (Concise)
He is in the process of writing a book.	He is writing a book.
She came at a time when everyone had left.	She came when everyone had left.
It is absolutely essential that we act now.	It is essential that we act now.
The fact of the matter is he lied.	The fact is he lied. / He lied.

8.5 Idiom and Phrase Corrections

Given (Incorrect)	Improved (Correct)
He availed the opportunity.	He availed himself of the opportunity.
She could not cope up with the pressure.	She could not cope with the pressure.
They discussed about the problem.	They discussed the problem.
The plan comprises of three parts.	The plan comprises three parts.
This is superior than that.	This is superior to that.

8.6 Modifier Corrections

Given (Incorrect)	Improved (Correct)
Running quickly, the finish line was reached.	Running quickly, he reached the finish line.
Having completed the exam, the results were awaited.	Having completed the exam, the students awaited the results.
He only eats rice in the evening.	He eats only rice in the evening.

8.7 Parallelism Corrections

Given (Incorrect)	Improved (Correct)
She likes reading, to swim, and painting.	She likes reading, swimming, and painting.
He is not only smart but he also works hard.	He is not only smart but also hardworking.
The job requires patience, skill, and to be dedicated.	The job requires patience, skill, and dedication.

8.8 Comparison Corrections

Given (Incorrect)	Improved (Correct)	Rule
He is more taller than his brother.	He is taller than his brother.	No double comparative
She is the more intelligent of all.	She is the most intelligent of all.	Superlative for 3+
This is the most unique design.	This is a unique design.	"Unique" is absolute
He runs more faster than me.	He runs faster than me.	No double comparative

9. Sentence Improvement Decision Framework

When you see a sentence with an underlined part, ask yourself these questions in order:

Question 1: Is there a grammar error?

Check: subject-verb agreement, tense, pronoun case, article, preposition.

Question 2: Is there an idiom/phrase error?

Check: is the expression used correctly? (cope with, comprise, avail oneself of, etc.)

Question 3: Is the sentence wordy?

Check: can the underlined part be made more concise without losing meaning?

Question 4: Is the voice appropriate?

Check: would active voice be better? Is the passive justified?

Question 5: Is the modifier correctly placed?

Check: does the opening phrase modify the right subject?

Question 6: Is the sentence parallel?

Check: are list items and correlative conjunctions balanced?

Question 7: Is the language formal enough?

Check: are there slang, contractions, or colloquial expressions?

If all checks pass, the answer is "No improvement."

Summary: Types of Improvements by Frequency

Improvement Type	Frequency in Exams	Difficulty
Tense correction	Very High	Easy to Moderate
Preposition/Idiom correction	Very High	Easy to Moderate
Subject-Verb Agreement	High	Easy
Wordiness reduction	High	Moderate
Modifier correction	Moderate	Moderate to High
Voice correction (passive to active)	Moderate	Moderate
Parallelism	Moderate	Moderate
Degree correction	Moderate	Easy
Formal language	Low to Moderate	Easy

Key Takeaway: Sentence improvement is not just about finding errors -- it is about choosing the best way to express an idea. The best option is always the one that is grammatically correct, clear, concise, and idiomatic.