Multiple choice

Directions: In the following sentence, three substitutions are given for each italicised part. If one of them is better than the italicised part, that should be your answer. If none of the substitution improves the sentence, the answer should be (4).

We could not help laughing.

  1. could not

  2. could help to

  3. could not help to

  4. No improvement
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

'Could not help laughing' is a standard English idiom meaning 'could not stop myself from laughing.' The structure is 'could not help + -ing form'. Adding 'to' (as in options A and C) changes the meaning and is grammatically incorrect. The original sentence is correct.

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