Analyzing the Sentence Improvement Question

The question asks us to find the best way to improve the bracketed part of the sentence: "Thus we (going) back to what might be termed as old values." The bracketed part "(going)" is grammatically incorrect as it stands. A participle ("going") cannot function as the main verb of a sentence without a helping verb (like 'am', 'is', 'are', 'was', 'were', 'have', 'has', 'had').

Evaluating the Improvement Options

Let's examine each of the given options to see which one provides a grammatically correct and contextually appropriate improvement.

• Option 1: Went

  If we replace "(going)" with "Went", the sentence becomes: "Thus we went back to what might be termed as old values." "Went" is the simple past tense of "go". This makes the sentence grammatically correct. It implies that the action of returning to old values is something that happened in the past.

• Option 2: Gone

  If we replace "(going)" with "Gone", the sentence becomes: "Thus we gone back to what might be termed as old values." "Gone" is the past participle of "go". It requires a helping verb like "have" or "had" to form a correct verb phrase (e.g., "we have gone", "we had gone"). Without a helping verb, "gone" is grammatically incorrect in this context.

• Option 3: Was going

  If we replace "(going)" with "Was going", the sentence becomes: "Thus we was going back to what might be termed as old values." This option uses the past continuous tense ("was going"). However, the subject "we" is plural, while "was" is a singular helping verb. The correct form for a plural subject in the past continuous is "were going". So, "was going" is grammatically incorrect here.

• Option 4: No improvement

  As discussed, the original bracketed part "(going)" is grammatically incorrect on its own as the main verb. Therefore, improvement is needed.

Determining the Best Fit

Comparing the grammatically correct options: "Went" is the only grammatically sound choice among the provided options that improves the sentence. It forms a clear and complete sentence using the simple past tense, indicating a completed action of returning to old values.

Therefore, replacing "(going)" with "Went" provides the necessary grammatical correction and fits the likely meaning of the sentence, which is presenting a conclusion or observation about a past trend or action.

The corrected sentence is: Thus we went back to what might be termed as old values.

Based on the analysis, "Went" is the correct option for improving the sentence.

Revision Table: Sentence Improvement

Additional Information: Verb Forms and Tenses

Understanding different verb forms and tenses is crucial for sentence improvement questions. Let's quickly review the basic forms of the verb "go":

• Base form: go (e.g., I go)
• Third person singular present: goes (e.g., He goes)
• Present Participle: going (Used in continuous tenses, e.g., I am going, They were going)
• Simple Past Tense: went (e.g., I went, We went)
• Past Participle: gone (Used in perfect tenses, e.g., I have gone, They had gone)

In the original sentence, "(going)" was used without a necessary helping verb, creating a grammatical error. Option 1 correctly uses the simple past tense "went" as the main verb, resolving this error.