Choose the correct sentence:
No sooner had he reached home than the phone rang.
The structure 'No sooner ... than' has two strict requirements:
(i) Inversion: when a sentence begins with 'No sooner', the auxiliary verb (had / did) must come before the subject.
(ii) Correlative: 'No sooner' is always followed by 'than' (never 'when').
(iii) After 'had', the main verb must be in the past participle form (reached), not the bare infinitive.
Examining each option:
(A) 'No sooner had he reached home than the phone rang.' — inversion ✓, 'than' ✓, past participle 'reached' ✓. Correct.
(B) 'No sooner he had reached home than the phone rang.' — no inversion. Wrong.
(C) 'No sooner did he reach home when the phone rang.' — uses 'when' instead of 'than'. Wrong.
(D) 'No sooner had he reach home than the phone rang.' — uses bare infinitive 'reach' instead of past participle 'reached'. Wrong.
Hence, the correct sentence is option 1.
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Important Questions from Sentence Improvement
A sentence/a part of the sentence is underlined. Four alternatives are given to the underlined part which will improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative and click the button corresponding to it. In case no improvement is needed, click the button corresponding to "No improvement".
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She has an ability for Mathematics.A sentence/a part of the sentence is underlined. Four alternatives are given to the underlined part which will improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative and click the button corresponding to it. In case no improvement is needed, click the button corresponding to "No improvement".
I was impressed of it.A sentence/a part of the sentence is underlined. Four alternatives are given to the underlined part which will improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative and click the button corresponding to it. In case no improvement is needed, click the button corresponding to "No improvement".
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