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 sentence. Below the sentence is given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of the possible substitutions is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your answer. If none of the substitutions improves the sentence, indicate (4) as your answer.

As soon as the thief ran out of the jail, the guard was firing at him.

  1. fired

  2. is firing

  3. was fired

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

Case of parallelism in past indefinite tense. If the principal clause is in the past indefinite, trhe subordinate clause must also be in the same tense.

Multiple choice

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

Kerala is more thickly populated than other states in India.

  1. any other state

  2. no other state

  3. every other state

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

This structure of the sentence belongs to the chapter “Transformation” under the sub-clause “Change of degrees.” The given sentence is a change from a superlative degree to a comparative degree and “any other” is best suited followed by a singular noun. Hence, (1) is the correct answer.

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 possible substitutions is better than the underlined part, indicate it as your answer. If none of the substitutions improves the sentence, indicate (4) as your answer.

Iron is more useful than any other metal.

  1. every other metal

  2. other metals

  3. all metals

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

This structure of sentence belongs to the chapter “Transformation” under the sub-clause “Change of degrees.” The given sentence is a change from a superlative degree to a comparative degree and “any other” is best suited followed by a singular noun. Hence, (4) is the correct answer.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer.

Myanmar appears ready to embrace democratic reform and shed its diplomatic and economic isolation.

  1. appears to be readying

  2. appears readying

  3. appears it is ready

  4. appears readied

  5. No correction required

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The sentence 'Myanmar appears ready to embrace...' is grammatically correct. 'Appears ready' uses 'ready' as an adjective in the infinitive complement, indicating Myanmar's apparent willingness for democratic reform. The alternatives ('appears to be readying', 'appears readying', 'appears it is ready', 'appears readied') are either grammatically incorrect, awkward, or change the meaning.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer.

The horizon of Indian Economy is presently very (1) bleak, and so has it been (2) for the first (3) fifty years after (4) independence.

  1. so is it

  2. so had it been

  3. so it has been

  4. so it had been

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

'First fifty years' makes it distant past. If the usage had been 'last fifty years', the  correct answer would have been 'so has it been'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer.

Mobile phone can as well be a most annoying, unnecessary and time wasting device that ever invented.

  1. well be most

  2. well be a most

  3. as well as a most

  4. as well be the most

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

'Most' is a superlative that will need the use of 'the'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer.

The people of ancient Egypt high valued family life and regarded children as a treasure.

  1. high value family life

  2. valued high family life

  3. valued family life high

  4. valued highly family life

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

It is the family life that is highly valued or valued high.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer.

Progressive mental deterioration in old age, now known as Alzheimer's disease from its inventor, has been recognized and described throughout history.

  1. with its inventor

  2. after its inventor

  3. by its inventor

  4. for its inventor

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Things/places are named after people as memorials.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer. Television achieves a myriad in different goals, ranging from entertainment to education.

  1. a myriad of

  2. a myriadly

  3. myriads of

  4. myriads in

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Myriad is a large number: 'a number of'

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer. Nursing a plant with water, giving it manure, tending its leaves, watched the buds blossom is a delight.

  1. watching the buds and

  2. when watching the buds and

  3. with watching of the buds

  4. watching the buds

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Nursing, giving, tending, watching

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer. Time travel has been a speculation subject in science fiction.

  1. speculation of subject in

  2. speculator subject in

  3. subject of speculation in

  4. speculation in the subject of

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Speculating is expecting something to happen.  Here it is a matter of speculation.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer. I do not think of a completely interchangeable way of having friends and connect with people.

  1. to connect with

  2. for connecting with

  3. and to connect with

  4. and connecting with

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

having and connecting

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer. Jerry met the accident before we got to his apartment.

  1. Jerry met the

  2. Jerry met an

  3. Jerry met

  4. Jerry met with the

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

One meets with an accident

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer. There's no point asking Rita to help as she's really busy.

  1. no point for

  2. no point at

  3. no point in

  4. no point with

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The correct phrase is 'no point in asking' - the preposition 'in' must follow 'point' when followed by a gerund (verb+ing). This is a fixed idiomatic expression meaning there is no purpose or benefit in doing something.

Multiple choice

Directions: Which of the phrases, 1, 2, 3, and 4 given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence, to make this sentence grammatically meaningful and correct? If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, mark 5 as the answer. We demanded seeing the hotel manager to make our complaint.

  1. demanded for seeing

  2. demanded to see

  3. demanded

  4. demanded for

  5. No correction required
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

'Demanded to see' means made a demand to see