Grammar: Identifying Incorrect Sentences

This question tests the correct usage of articles ('a' and 'an') in English sentences, specifically concerning words that begin with a vowel letter but have a consonant sound.

Article Usage Rules

• Use 'an' before words that begin with a vowel sound (e.g., an apple, an hour).
• Use 'a' before words that begin with a consonant sound (e.g., a book, a car).
• The choice between 'a' and 'an' depends on the sound of the word's beginning, not just the letter itself. For instance, 'university' and 'European' begin with a 'y' sound, which is a consonant sound, requiring the article 'a'.

Sentence Analysis

• Sentence 1: $
  He is of Asian origin.
  $ is grammatically correct. 'Asian' functions as an adjective describing origin.
• Sentence 2: $
  They belonged to Africa.
  $ is grammatically correct. The preposition 'to' is correctly used with 'belonged' to indicate geographical association.
• Sentence 3: $
  She is an European.
  $ is grammatically incorrect. The word 'European' starts with a consonant sound ('y' sound). Therefore, the correct article to use is 'a', not 'an'. The sentence should be: $
  She is a European.
  $
• Sentence 4: $
  They migrated from India to Australia.
  $ is grammatically correct. The prepositions 'from' and 'to' are correctly used to indicate the direction of migration.

Conclusion

The grammatically incorrect sentence is the one that misuses the article before a word starting with a consonant sound.