Sentence Improvement
About 6 min · English Language · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 440 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
The format is straightforward: a sentence contains an underlined portion, and you must decide whether that portion is grammatically correct or should be replaced with one of the given alternatives. One option is always "No improvement required" or "No correction required."
Key ideas
- Subject-Verb Agreement: The verb must match the subject in number (singular/plural). Intervening phrases between subject and verb often create confusion.
- Tense Consistency: A sentence should maintain logical tense flow. Random shifts between past, present, and future tenses are incorrect unless the meaning demands it.
- Correct Use of Modifiers: Modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, phrases) must clearly relate to the word they modify. Misplaced or dangling modifiers create ambiguity or absurdity.
- Parallel Structure: Items in a list or comparison must follow the same grammatical form (all nouns, all gerunds, all infinitives).
- Correct Preposition with Verbs/Adjectives: Many verbs and adjectives take specific prepositions. "Interested in" not "interested for"; "comply with" not "comply to."
Watch out for
- Ignoring the "No improvement" option: Students often force-select a replacement when the original sentence is already correct. If you cannot identify a clear error, the sentence may need no improvement.
- Choosing based on sound rather than grammar: Some options "sound better" but introduce new errors. Always verify that your chosen replacement follows grammatical rules, not just ear appeal.
- Missing hidden subjects: In sentences like "The quality of the products have declined," students miss that "quality" (singular) is the subject, not "products." The verb should be "has declined."
Quick reference
- "Each/Every/Neither/Either" + singular verb + singular pronoun
- Time markers like "yesterday/last week/in 1990" demand simple past, not perfect tenses
- "More" never combines with -er adjectives: "more better" is always wrong
- When in doubt about an idiom, trust the fixed form—idioms don't follow logic
- Redundancy check: if a word can be removed without losing meaning, it should be
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. The committee has decided to postpone the meeting until next week because many members are not able to attend it today. Which of the following is the best replacement for the underlined part 'are not able to attend it'?
2. Despite of facing numerous challenges, the team successfully completed the project within the deadline. Which of the following is the best replacement for the underlined part 'Despite of facing'?
3. She is one of those students who has always excelled in academics and sports. Which of the following is the best replacement for the underlined part 'who has always excelled'?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 21 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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