Completing Sentences: Choosing the Correct Adjective Form

This question asks us to complete the sentence "We stayed" by selecting the most appropriate alternative from the given options. The options all involve using the adjective "cheap" in different forms and with different articles ("a" or "the").

Let's analyze the core of the question: it's about describing the hotel where someone stayed, focusing on its cost relative to other hotels in the town. This requires understanding degrees of comparison for adjectives.

Understanding Degrees of Comparison

Adjectives have three degrees of comparison:

• Positive Degree: Describes a quality without comparison (e.g., cheap).
• Comparative Degree: Compares two things (e.g., cheaper). Usually followed by "than".
• Superlative Degree: Compares three or more things and indicates the highest or lowest degree of the quality (e.g., cheapest). Usually preceded by "the".

Analyzing the Options

Let's look at each option:

1. at the cheap hotel in the town.

   This uses the positive degree "cheap". While you can stay at a cheap hotel, saying "the cheap hotel in the town" implies there's only one cheap hotel, or perhaps a specific one known as "the cheap hotel". However, if comparing it within a group of hotels in the town, a comparative or superlative form is more likely needed to express its relative cost.

2. at the cheaper hotel in the town.

   This uses the comparative degree "cheaper". The comparative degree is used to compare two things. If we stayed at "the cheaper hotel", it would usually be in comparison to another specific hotel (e.g., "cheaper than the one we stayed at last time"). Simply saying "the cheaper hotel in the town" without specifying what it's cheaper than is grammatically awkward and incomplete in this context. It might imply comparison to some unstated alternative or a previous hotel, but it's not the most natural way to describe its rank within all hotels in the town.

3. at the cheapest hotel in the town.

   This uses the superlative degree "cheapest", preceded by the article "the". The phrase "in the town" defines the group of hotels being considered. Saying "the cheapest hotel in the town" means that among all the hotels in that specific town, the one they stayed at was the one with the lowest price. This is a common and grammatically correct way to use the superlative degree to identify a unique item (the single cheapest one) within a defined set. The article "the" is correctly used with the superlative degree.

4. at a cheapest hotel in the town.

   This option uses the superlative degree "cheapest" but incorrectly pairs it with the indefinite article "a". The superlative degree identifies a unique item (the single highest or lowest). Therefore, it must be preceded by the definite article "the", not "a". There can only be one "cheapest" hotel (or potentially a few equally cheapest hotels, but grammatically we use "the cheapest").

Comparing the Options

Based on the analysis of the degrees of comparison and article usage, option 3, "at the cheapest hotel in the town," is the most appropriate and grammatically correct way to complete the sentence. It clearly states that the hotel they stayed at was the least expensive among all hotels in the town.

Therefore, the sentence is best completed by stating that they stayed at the hotel that was the cheapest among all options in the town.

Revision Table: Sentence Completion and Adjectives

Additional Information on Article Usage

Using articles ("a", "an", "the") correctly is crucial in English grammar.

• "A" and "An": These are indefinite articles. They are used before singular, countable nouns when the noun is non-specific or being mentioned for the first time. "A" is used before consonant sounds, "an" before vowel sounds.
• "The": This is the definite article. It is used before singular or plural nouns, countable or uncountable, when the noun is specific or has already been mentioned or is unique in the context. With superlative adjectives, "the" is used because the superlative identifies a specific, unique item (e.g., *the* cheapest, *the* tallest, *the* most interesting).

In the sentence "We stayed at the cheapest hotel in the town," "the" is used because "cheapest hotel" refers to a specific, unique hotel that holds the rank of being the least expensive within the defined group ("in the town").