In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the bracketed part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select 'no improvement'. There was hardly any traffic and my father told us the history of the place we (is trekking) to.
were trekking
Understanding Sentence Improvement Questions
Sentence improvement questions test your knowledge of grammar rules like tense, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, etc. You are given a sentence with a part bracketed and asked to choose the best alternative to replace the bracketed part or select 'no improvement' if the original is correct.
Analyzing the Original Sentence
The given sentence is: "There was hardly any traffic and my father told us the history of the place we (is trekking) to."
The bracketed part is "(is trekking)". We need to evaluate if this part is grammatically correct in the context of the entire sentence.
Evaluating the Bracketed Part "(is trekking)"
Let's look at the key elements around the bracketed part:
- The main sentence is in the past tense: "There was hardly any traffic", "my father told us the history".
- The subject of the bracketed part is "we", which is a plural pronoun.
- The verb used is "is trekking". "is" is a singular form of the verb 'to be' in the present tense. "is trekking" is in the present continuous tense.
Issues with "(is trekking)":
- Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject "we" is plural, but the verb "is" is singular. This is a violation of subject-verb agreement. A plural subject needs a plural verb.
- Tense Consistency: The rest of the sentence is in the past tense ("was", "told"). Using the present continuous tense ("is trekking") for an action happening in the past (the trekking must have happened before or concurrently with the father telling the history) creates tense inconsistency.
Therefore, the bracketed part "(is trekking)" is grammatically incorrect and needs improvement.
Examining the Improvement Options
Let's analyze each option provided to find the correct replacement for "(is trekking)".
-
was trekking
This uses the past continuous tense ("was trekking"). However, the subject is "we" (plural), and "was" is the singular past form of 'to be'. This option fails the subject-verb agreement rule.
-
were trekking
This uses the past continuous tense ("were trekking"). The subject is "we" (plural), and "were" is the plural past form of 'to be'. This option satisfies both the subject-verb agreement (plural subject "we" with plural verb "were") and the tense consistency (past continuous "were trekking" fits the past context of the sentence). The action of trekking was ongoing in the past when the father told the history.
-
were trek
This option uses "were", which is the plural past form of 'to be', correctly agreeing with the subject "we". However, "trek" is the base form of the verb. The past continuous tense is formed with "were" + the present participle (verb + -ing), which is "trekking". So, "were trek" is grammatically incorrect for forming a continuous tense.
-
no improvement
As established earlier, "(is trekking)" is grammatically incorrect due to subject-verb agreement and tense issues. Therefore, improvement is needed.
Concluding the Best Improvement
Based on the analysis, the option that correctly replaces the bracketed part, ensuring proper subject-verb agreement and tense consistency within the sentence, is "were trekking". This forms the past continuous tense "we were trekking", which correctly describes a past action happening over a period.
Revision Table: Analyzing Sentence Improvement Options
| Option | Proposed Replacement | Grammar Analysis | Correctness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | was trekking | Subject "we" (plural) with verb "was" (singular) - Subject-Verb Agreement Error. | Incorrect |
| 2 | were trekking | Subject "we" (plural) with verb "were" (plural) + Present Participle ("trekking") - Correct Subject-Verb Agreement and Past Continuous Tense. | Correct |
| 3 | were trek | Incorrect verb form ("were" + base verb "trek") for past continuous tense. | Incorrect |
| 4 | no improvement | Original "is trekking" has Subject-Verb Agreement and Tense errors. | Incorrect |
Additional Information on Verb Tenses and Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement
A verb must agree in number (singular or plural) with its subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is usually singular (e.g., He walks). If the subject is plural, the verb is usually plural (e.g., They walk). The verb 'to be' is a common source of errors, especially in past tense:
- Singular Past: I was, He was, She was, It was, You were (note: 'you' is always treated as plural for verb agreement)
- Plural Past: We were, They were, You were
Past Continuous Tense
The past continuous tense is formed using 'was' or 'were' (past tense of 'to be') + the present participle (verb + -ing). It is used to describe an action that was ongoing in the past at a specific time or when another action happened. In the given sentence, "we were trekking" describes the ongoing activity that was happening when the father "told" the history.
- Structure: Subject + was/were + Verb-ing
- Example: They were playing when it started raining.
- Example: At 3 PM yesterday, I was studying.
Understanding these basic grammar rules is crucial for sentence improvement tasks.
Important Questions from Phrase Replacement
In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the underlined part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select “No improvement”
My old teacher gave many poor students money in spite of he was poor.
In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the underlined part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select “No improvement”.
You should to read the newspaper regularly if you want to be well-informed.
In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the underlined part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select “No improvement”.
If he had listening to me he would not have got lost.
In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the underlined part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select “No improvement”
He asked for a bank loan also he didn't have sufficient resources.
In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the underlined part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select “No improvement”.
I went to the shop to buy some stationeries .
