Question 1

Sentence improvement: remove the double negative and keep the advised infinitive form  Original sentence: "Because of his ill health, the doctor has advised him not to refrain from smoking."  Select the correction that produces a clear, affirmative …

Accepted Answer

Given data Main verb: "has advised him". Current complement: "not to refrain from smoking" (double negative → advises him to smoke unintentionally). Concept/Approach After advise, use an infinitive with to: "advise someone to do something". To tell him not to smoke, we must say "advise him to refrain from smoking" (one clear negative). Option analysis to refrain from — correct infinitive complement; removes the double negative. ✅to not refrain from — retains double negative, reversing the intended meaning.to resort to — wrong verb; changes meaning.to be refrained from — passive/awkward; unidiomatic after advise.No correction required — incorrect because the original has faulty logic. Final Answer "The doctor has advised him to refrain from smoking."

Question 2

Sentence improvement: verify the superlative noun phrase is already correct  Original sentence: "They have a scheme of rewarding the best of the performers every year."  Decide whether any correction is required.

Accepted Answer

Why the original works The partitive construction "the best of the performers" is grammatical and idiomatic, referring to the single top performer from the set of "the performers". Option analysis (errors) a best performer — article "a" clashes with superlative "best".the best among the performer — number mismatch (singular "performer" with "among").a best among performer — malformed noun phrase.the best of the performer — singular head after "of" is wrong. Final Answer No correction required.

Question 3

Sentence improvement: convert the indirect question to the correct past form  Original sentence: "What happens to all those travellers on the ship was not known?"  Select the option that forms a correct content clause.

Accepted Answer

Given data Matrix clause: "… was not known." Embedded wh- clause should be a statement, not a direct question. Concept/Approach In indirect questions/content clauses, we use normal statement word order and match the time frame: with "was not known", we need past reference: "What happened to … was not known." Also, no question mark is needed for the overall declarative sentence. Option analysis What happened to — correct preposition "to" with "happen" and correct tense/order. ✅What happened of — wrong preposition; not idiomatic.What happened in — wrong preposition.What is that happens to — present tense; unnecessary "that". Final Answer What happened to all those travellers … was not known.

Question 4

Sentence improvement: maintain parallel structure in comparison (gerund vs. infinitive)  Original sentence: "Making friends is more rewarding than to make enemies."  Choose the option that restores parallelism.

Accepted Answer

Concept Parallel structure demands that forms on both sides of a comparison match. Since the first element is a gerund ("Making friends"), the second should also be a gerund: "… than making enemies." Option analysis making enemies — exact parallel form; correct. ✅Other options change the meaning or the grammatical form (infinitives/adjectival phrases) and break parallelism. Final Answer "Making friends is more rewarding than making enemies."

Question 5

Sentence improvement: choose the correct predicate adjective after “were”  Original sentence: "The moment they saw me, they were delight."  Select the grammatically correct completion.

Accepted Answer

Concept Linking verbs like be take predicate adjectives: "were delighted" (past participle used adjectivally). "were delight" (noun) is incorrect. Option analysis were delighted — correct simple past with predicate adjective. ✅had delighted — active perfect; would require an object.are delighted / have been delighted — wrong tense given the time marker "The moment they saw me". Final Answer were delighted.

Question 6

Sentence improvement: modal perfect form with “should” (should + not + have + past participle)  Original sentence: "He should not had done it."  Choose the correct modal construction.

Accepted Answer

Concept The correct form after a modal is always the base infinitive, so the past counterfactual uses should not have + past participle: "should not have done". Option analysis should not have — correct sequence with "done" implied. ✅had not / should had not — misuse of "had" after a modal.should have — lacks "not"; changes meaning. Final Answer should not have (done it).

Question 7

Sentence improvement: inversion after “No sooner … than …” in the past  Original sentence: "No sooner do the bells ring than the curtain rose."  Select the option that corrects the tense and inversion.

Accepted Answer

Concept The correlative structure is No sooner + auxiliary + subject + base verb … than + simple past. For a past event: "No sooner did the bells ring than the curtain rose." Option analysis did the bells ring — correct inversion and number agreement (bells). ✅did the bell ring — singular "bell" mismatches "bells".had the bell rang / had the bell rung — past perfect is not idiomatic here; also "rang" after "had" is wrong form. Final Answer No sooner did the bells ring than the curtain rose.

Question 8

Sentence improvement: use a concise nominal phrase for disciplinary action  Original sentence: "The moment the manager came to know fraudulent action of his assistant, he order immediately dismissed him."  Choose the best correction.

Accepted Answer

Given data Manager reacts upon learning about fraud. We need a natural expression for firing/dismissal. Concept/Approach English prefers a compact noun phrase for formal personnel actions: "order his immediate dismissal." This also places "immediate" next to the noun it modifies ("dismissal"). Option analysis ordered his immediate dismissal — concise, correct collocation and word order. ✅immediately ordered his dismissed — wrong form ("dismissed" as adjective without noun).immediately order dismissal of his — wrong tense and possessive placement.ordered for immediately dismissal of him — unidiomatic "ordered for" and clumsy phrasing. Common pitfalls Misplacing adverbs like "immediately" away from the noun they modify. Final Answer He ordered his immediate dismissal.

Question 9

Sentence improvement: choose the correct verb pattern with “attend” (no “to”)  Original sentence: "The meeting was attended to by all invitees."  Select the option that yields the standard passive construction.

Accepted Answer

Concept Attend is a transitive verb meaning "be present at" and does not take "to" in this sense. The correct passive is "was attended by all invitees." Option analysis attended by all — correct verb + agent phrase in the passive. ✅Other options wrongly insert "to" or are ungrammatical. Final Answer "The meeting was attended by all invitees."

Question 10

Sentence improvement (tense and article/collocation): Choose the best replacement for the underlined part.  Original sentence: "If he has to spend five hours in the queue, it was really a wastage."  Select the most appropriate correction.

Accepted Answer

Given data Condition in present: "has to spend". Main clause wrongly in past: "was". Concept/Approach Maintain tense agreement: a present-time condition takes a present-time result ("is").Common collocation is "a waste" (more idiomatic than "a wastage"), but we must choose from the given options. Step-by-step Replace "was" → "is" to match the present condition.Keep the remainder per available options: "really a wastage".Corrected: "If he has to spend five hours in the queue, it is really a wastage." Option analysis D fixes tense and word order. A/B/C are ungrammatical; E keeps the tense mismatch. Final Answer is really a wastage

Question 11

Sentence improvement (quantifier with singular/uncountable noun): Choose the best replacement for the underlined word.  Original sentence: "The world has seen small real attempt at population and resource planning."  Pick the correct determiner.

Accepted Answer

Given data Head noun: "attempt" used in a mass/abstract sense (lack of effort). Intended meaning: hardly any real attempt. Concept/Approach Little modifies uncountable or abstract singular nouns to mean "hardly any".Few/a few require the plural "attempts". Step-by-step Replace "small" with the quantifier "little".Corrected: "The world has seen little real attempt …" Option analysis B matches the singular/uncountable use and intended sense. A/D need plural; C ("less") is comparative without a standard of comparison; E leaves an awkward/incorrect adjective. Final Answer little

Question 12

Idiom correction: Choose the best replacement for the underlined phrase.  Original sentence: "My hair stood off ends when I saw the horrible sight."  Select the most appropriate correction.

Accepted Answer

Given data Intended idiom: hair rises in fright. Concept/Approach The standard idiom is hair stood on end (singular end after the fixed phrase). Among the choices, using the correct preposition "on" is key. Step-by-step Replace wrong preposition "off" with "on".Closest available choice: "stood on ends". (Note: idiomatic form is "on end", but this is the best match among the options.) Option analysis B is the closest correct idiomatic repair. A/C/D are wrong in preposition or tense; E keeps the error. Final Answer stood on ends

Question 13

Idiom accuracy: Choose the correct fixed expression.  Original sentence: "The long or short of it is that I do not want to deal with that new firm."  Select the correct idiom.

Accepted Answer

Concept/Approach The fixed idiom is the long and short of it meaning "the essence" or "in summary". Option analysis A is the correct idiom; B/C/D misuse prepositions or words; E leaves an incorrect form ("or"). Final Answer The long and short of it

Question 14

Indirect question (word order): Choose the best replacement for the underlined clause.  Original sentence: "Can you tell me why did you not speak the truth?"  Select the correct embedded question order.

Accepted Answer

Given data Main clause question embedding a wh- clause. Concept/Approach In indirect (embedded) questions, use statement word order: why + subject + auxiliary + verb, not inversion. Step-by-step Use "why you did not speak the truth", not "why did you not speak …". Option analysis C has correct order. A/D use wrong inversion/verb form; B adds unnecessary "that"; E retains the error. Final Answer why you did not speak

Question 15

Idiom and collocation: Decide whether a change is required.  Original sentence: "The people generally try to curry favour with the corrupt but influential person."  Choose the best option.

Accepted Answer

Concept/Approach Curry favour with is a correct and widely used idiom meaning "to try to gain someone's favour by flattery". Option analysis E is correct. A is meaningless; B changes the idiom (not wrong in isolation but the original is already idiomatic); C/D are inappropriate collocations. Final Answer No correction required

Question 16

Article/quantifier with uncountable noun in a negative clause: Choose the best replacement.  Original sentence: "I have got some tea, but I do not have a sugar."  Select the correct determiner for "sugar".

Accepted Answer

Given data "Sugar" is an uncountable noun. Second clause is negative: "do not have …". Concept/Approach Use any with uncountable nouns in negatives: "do not have any sugar".The article "a" cannot be used with uncountables. Step-by-step Replace "a" → "any" in the second clause.Corrected: "…, but I do not have any sugar." Option analysis D is correct. A/B/C are unrelated to the error; E keeps the mistake. Final Answer any

Question 17

Third conditional with inversion: Decide whether the sentence requires correction.  Original sentence: "Had I realised how close I was to the edge of the valley, I would not have carried the bags there."  Choose the best option.

Accepted Answer

Concept/Approach This is a correct third conditional using inversion in the if-clause: "Had I realised …, I would not have …". Option analysis E is correct. A uses a wrong passive; B is the common but incorrect "would have" in the if-clause; C changes meaning/time; D is ungrammatical doubling of "had". Final Answer No correction required

Question 18

Comparative parenthetical ("as … as, if not …"): Choose the best phrasing.  Original sentence: "Most of the Indian workers are as healthy as, if not healthier than, British workers."  Select the most appropriate correction.

Accepted Answer

Given data Comparison between two groups. Parenthetical comparative. Concept/Approach Use the pattern: as + adjective, if not comparative, than …Punctuation: set the parenthetical off with commas. Step-by-step Phrase the predicate as "as healthy, if not healthier, than British workers". Option analysis C provides the correct correlative structure. A/B/D are ungrammatical or illogical; E leaves clumsy comma placement. Final Answer as healthy, if not healthier

Sentence Correction Questions