Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error. If there is no error, select 'No error'. Professor Murli's eyebrows / rose a little higher and his / gaze became distinctly coldest.
gaze became distinctly coldest.
Understanding Grammatical Errors in Sentence Structure
The question asks us to find the segment in the given sentence that contains a grammatical error. Let's break down the sentence and examine each part.
The sentence is: Professor Murli's eyebrows / rose a little higher and his / gaze became distinctly coldest.
We will analyze each segment provided in the options.
Analysis of Each Segment
Let's look at the segments:
- Professor Murli's eyebrows: This is the subject of the first part of the sentence. "Professor Murli's" is a possessive noun modifying "eyebrows". This segment is grammatically correct.
- rose a little higher and his: "rose" is the verb for "eyebrows". "a little higher" is an adverbial phrase modifying "rose", indicating the manner or degree of rising. "higher" is the comparative form of "high", correctly used here to show an increase compared to a previous state. "and his" connects the action related to eyebrows with the description of his gaze. This segment is grammatically correct.
- gaze became distinctly coldest.: This segment describes Professor Murli's gaze. "gaze" is the subject, "became" is the linking verb, and "distinctly coldest" describes the state the gaze became. Here, "coldest" is the superlative form of the adjective "cold". The word "distinctly" is an adverb modifying "coldest".
Identifying the Grammatical Error
The error lies in the third segment: "gaze became distinctly coldest."
The issue is with the use of the superlative form "coldest" modified by the adverb "distinctly".
- The superlative form of an adjective (like "coldest") is used to compare three or more things or to indicate the highest degree of a quality among a group.
- The adverb "distinctly" means clearly or noticeably. It is used to intensify or modify an adjective or adverb.
When an adverb like "distinctly" is used to modify an adjective describing a state or quality, it typically modifies the positive or comparative form, not the superlative form, unless the context explicitly involves comparing to other superlative cases (which is not the case here).
For example:
- "distinctly cold" (adverb + positive adjective) - means clearly cold.
- "distinctly colder" (adverb + comparative adjective) - means clearly more cold than something else.
Using "distinctly coldest" is grammatically awkward and generally incorrect in standard English. The adverb "distinctly" emphasizes the degree of the quality "cold", making the positive form "distinctly cold" the appropriate choice in this context, assuming the intention is to say the gaze became noticeably cold.
Therefore, the segment "gaze became distinctly coldest." contains a grammatical error due to the incorrect use of the superlative form "coldest" modified by the adverb "distinctly". The correct phrasing would likely be "gaze became distinctly cold".
Conclusion
Based on the analysis, the segment that contains a grammatical error is "gaze became distinctly coldest.".
| Segment | Analysis | Grammatical Correctness |
|---|---|---|
| Professor Murli's eyebrows | Subject phrase | Correct |
| rose a little higher and his | Verb phrase, adverbial phrase, conjunction, possessive pronoun | Correct |
| gaze became distinctly coldest. | Subject, linking verb, descriptive phrase (adverb + superlative adjective) | Incorrect (Incorrect use of superlative) |
Revision Table: Understanding Adjectives and Adverbs
| Term | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | Describes a noun or pronoun. | The cold weather. |
| Adverb | Modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, providing more information about manner, place, time, or degree. | He walked slowly. It was distinctly cold. |
| Positive Degree | The basic form of an adjective or adverb, used when there is no comparison. | cold, happy, quickly |
| Comparative Degree | Used to compare two things. Formed with -er or "more". | colder, happier, more quickly |
| Superlative Degree | Used to compare three or more things or to show the highest degree. Formed with -est or "most". | coldest, happiest, most quickly |
Additional Information: Adverb Placement and Usage with Adjectives
Adverbs modifying adjectives are usually placed directly before the adjective they modify. For example, "very happy," "extremely difficult," "distinctly cold."
While adverbs of degree (like very, extremely, quite, rather) frequently modify adjectives, their usage with superlative adjectives requires careful consideration. Standard English usually prefers adverbs like "by far," "easily," or "quite" before a superlative for emphasis, e.g., "by far the coldest day," "easily the best choice." Using adverbs like "distinctly," which focus on clarity or noticeability, typically pairs better with positive or comparative forms to describe the degree of a quality attained.
In the sentence "gaze became distinctly coldest," the adverb "distinctly" aims to emphasize how cold the gaze became. However, "coldest" already represents the highest possible degree. The combination feels redundant or grammatically awkward. The intended meaning is likely that the gaze became clearly cold, making "distinctly cold" the appropriate correction.
Important Questions from Error Spotting
Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
A honest mistake (a) / is no more than that; (b) / just an honest mistake. (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
A company of five thousand soldiers , (a) / having marched tirelessly for over five days , (b) / have just moved into their cantonment . (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
Every person who believes in principles (a) / must stand up to fight (b) / for their convictions . (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
The Olympic Games reflects(a) / the highest spirit of (b) / human endeavour and achievement . (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
The principal of the school (a) / stressed the need for discipline (b) / amongst the students. (c) / No error (d)
