English Language

Sentence Improvement

821 Questions
All Tense and Time Sequence 181 Verb-Governed Prepositions 145 Lexical Confusables 75 Subject-Verb Agreement 59 Modifiers 48 Determiners and Quantifiers 47 Infinitive vs. Gerund 47 Correlative and Paired Conjunctions 35 Conditional Sentences 30 Pronoun Case and Agreement 24 Redundancy 24 Parallel Structure 20 Question Tags 10 Reported Speech 8

Sentence Improvement Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

My son is as tall as, if not taller, than the other boys in his class.

  1. My son is taller

  2. My son is very tall

  3. My son is tallest

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as the degree of adjectives used in the sentence makes sense. ‘As tall as, if not taller’ are used in their correct form as positive and comparative.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

Ever I have seen such an exhibition of ill manners!

  1. Never have I

  2. Never I have

  3. Ever have I

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as ‘ever’ is used in interrogative sentences. ‘Never have I’ is the correct way of positioning because ‘never’ always comes before the main verb. Thus, ‘never and I’ cannot be subsequent in positioning.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

He was found guilty for manslaughter.

  1. guilty from

  2. guilty of

  3. guilty by

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as the preposition ‘of’ indicates the relationship between two things and in this context, the preposition 'of' context refers to the relationship between him and manslaughter.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

Due to its remoteness, this island is sometimes visited by the tourists.

  1. normally

  2. seldom

  3. constantly

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct option as ‘seldom’ here implies doing something not often; rarely. Here, due to its remoteness, the island is not often visited by the tourists.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

There is no water in our colony for the past six days.

  1. There has been no water

  2. There will have been no water

  3. There are no water

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as the verb ‘is’ is used to indicate the present tense. However, the given context is in past tense and thus, this is in tense disagreement with the rest of the sentence.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

The Commissioner gave awards to such men as deserved them.

  1. was giving awards

  2. will be giving awards

  3. awarded

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as all the verbs in a sentence should be in the same tense. In this context the correct tense for the verbs is the past tense.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

The people regarded him as an impostor and will have been calling him a villain.

  1. would be calling

  2. called

  3. would have called

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as there is tense agreement between the verb ‘called’ and the sentence which is in past tense.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

The strikers at the automobile units in Manesar seem determined, and are not likely to give out.

  1. to give forth

  2. to give in

  3. to give off

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer. ‘To give in' means to submit or yeild. This is the correct answer as the context refers to the strikers submitting and accepting defeat. 

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

Everyone was present at the party, along with Rahul as he stayed back at the hostel.

  1. as well as

  2. in addition to

  3. except for

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct option. ‘Except for’ is used to imply not including someone’ other than someone. Here, not including Rahul, everyone was present at the party as he stayed back at the hostel.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

My mother impressed with us the value of discipline.

  1. at

  2. on

  3. by

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The preposition ‘on’ indicates that something is grounds for a statement, way of thinking, or action. This is the correct answer in this context as ‘the value of discipline’ is a way of thinking for us.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

Shalu was given a cold shoulder by the rest of the class as they believe that her behaviour was an embarrassment to the entire class.

  1. as they have believed

  2. as they are in belief

  3. as they believed

  4. no improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as the previous verb in the sentence is in past tense. Thus, the correct tense of the verb 'belief' will be past also as the realisation that Shalu's behaviour was an embarrassment must have occurred before she was ostracised. 

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

I spent two days in Jaipur, one of the most attraction cities in Rajasthan.

  1. the most attracted

  2. the most attractive

  3. the most attracting

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The adjective ‘attractive’ means something appealing to the senses or mind through beauty, form, character, etc. This is the correct answer in this context as the city is attractive to others or appeals to others.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the following sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your response. Otherwise, ‘No improvement’ will be the answer.

The consequence of his carelessness was that the game had been lost.

  1. the game was lost

  2. the game was being lost

  3. the game has been lost

  4. No improvement

  5. .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The sentence is in simple past tense and the verb has to agree with this. Both the verbs are in past tense and thus, this is correct.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of the substitutions improves the sentence, indicate it as your answer. If none of the substitutions improves the sentence, indicate (4) as your answer.

The tremors from India's nuclear explosions barely subsided before the finger-pointing in Washington began.

  1. had barely subsided

  2. hadn't barely subsided

  3. was barely subsided

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

Case of past perfect tense. Whenever two incidents occur in the past (one after the other), we use had with the former one in time. Word 'before' is the clue here. Thus, option 1.

Multiple choice

Directions: Look at the underlined part of the sentence. Below the sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of the substitutions improves the sentence, indicate it as your answer. If none of the substitutions improves the sentence, indicate (4) as your answer.

Had they been known the reality, they would not have signed the documents.

  1. If they would have known

  2. If had they known

  3. If they had known

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

Case of past perfect tense. Usage of 'been' is redundant, and it should be either - 'Had they known' or 'If they had known'. Thus, option 3.