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". It (has been pointed) out that people’s Facebook postings are not a real reflections of who they are.
no improvement
Understanding Sentence Improvement and Passive Voice
The question asks us to identify the best way to improve the bracketed part of the sentence: "It (has been pointed) out that people’s Facebook postings are not a real reflections of who they are." We need to analyze the original phrase "has been pointed" and compare it with the given options.
Analyzing the Original Phrase: "has been pointed"
The phrase "has been pointed out" is a common construction in English. It uses the verb "point out" in the passive voice, specifically in the present perfect tense.
- Tense: Present Perfect
- Voice: Passive
- Structure: Subject + has/have + been + past participle of the main verb.
In the given sentence, 'It' is the subject, 'has' is the auxiliary verb (correct for singular 'It'), 'been' is the past participle of 'be' (used in passive voice), and 'pointed' is the past participle of 'point'. The phrase 'pointed out' is a phrasal verb. The structure 'has been pointed out' correctly forms the present perfect passive of 'point out'. This structure is used to indicate an action that happened in the past but has relevance or continues into the present, and the focus is on the action itself rather than who performed it.
The sentence means that someone or something has previously pointed out this fact about Facebook postings, and that fact is being referred to now.
Evaluating the Improvement Options
Let's examine each alternative:
- has being pointed: This option uses "being" after "has". The word "being" is typically used in continuous tenses in the passive voice (e.g., 'is being pointed out' - present continuous passive, 'was being pointed out' - past continuous passive) or after certain verbs/prepositions. It is not used in the present perfect passive structure 'has/have been + past participle'. Therefore, this is incorrect.
- has been point: This option uses the base form of the verb "point" instead of the past participle "pointed". The present perfect passive requires the past participle form after "has been" or "have been". Therefore, this is grammatically incorrect.
- has been pointing: This option uses the present participle "pointing". The structure 'has been + -ing' forms the present perfect continuous tense (e.g., 'It has been pointing out...'). This tense is typically used for actions that started in the past and continue up to the present. However, the original sentence requires a passive construction because the subject 'It' (referring to the fact) is not performing the action of pointing out; the fact *is being pointed out*. 'has been pointing' is an active voice structure. Therefore, this option is incorrect in the context requiring a passive voice.
- no improvement: As analyzed earlier, the original phrase "has been pointed" (part of the phrasal verb "pointed out") correctly uses the present perfect passive voice, which is appropriate for the meaning of the sentence. No grammatical error or structural flaw exists in the original bracketed part.
Conclusion on Sentence Improvement
Based on the analysis of the original phrase and the alternative options, the original phrase "has been pointed" (out) is grammatically correct and fits the context of the sentence, requiring a passive construction in the present perfect tense. None of the alternatives provide a correct or better structure.
Revision Table: Verb Forms and Tenses
| Verb Form | Example Usage (Passive) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Form (point) | Used in infinitives (to point) or simple present (They point) | Not used after 'has been' in passive voice. |
| Present Participle (pointing) | Present Continuous Passive (is being pointing), Present Perfect Continuous (has been pointing - Active) | Incorrect for simple Present Perfect Passive. |
| Past Participle (pointed) | Simple Past Passive (was pointed), Present Perfect Passive (has been pointed), Past Perfect Passive (had been pointed) | Required for Present Perfect Passive. |
Additional Information on Passive Voice
The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or the recipient of the action rather than the performer of the action. The structure is typically 'be verb + past participle'.
Examples:
- Active: Someone points out the error.
- Passive: The error is pointed out. (Present Simple Passive)
- Active: Someone has pointed out the error.
- Passive: The error has been pointed out. (Present Perfect Passive)
In the given sentence, "It has been pointed out", 'It' represents the fact being pointed out (the recipient of the action), and the performer of the action (who pointed it out) is not specified or is less important. This confirms the need for a passive construction.
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 .
