In the question below, a part of the sentence has been underlined. Below are given the alternatives to the underlined part which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. If the sentence needs no improvement, choose ‘No Improvement’ as your answer. She says she's already paid me back, but I can't remember, so I'll have to take her word .
to take her word for it
Understanding Sentence Improvement and Idioms
This question asks us to identify the best alternative to an underlined part of a sentence. The goal is to make the sentence grammatically correct, natural-sounding, and idiomatic, if necessary. Idioms are phrases or expressions whose meaning cannot be deduced simply from the literal meaning of its individual words.
The original sentence is: "She says she's already paid me back, but I can't remember, so I'll have to take her word ."
The underlined part is "to take her word". This phrase, while understandable, is not the standard idiomatic expression used in English to mean believing someone without verification because you trust them.
Analyzing the Options
Let's look at the alternatives provided:
- to take her word true
- to take her at her word
- to take her word for it
- No improvement
Evaluating Each Option
We need to determine which option correctly replaces or confirms the underlined phrase based on standard English idioms and grammar.
Option 1: to take her word true
This phrasing is not a recognized idiom in English. While "take something as true" or "believe something to be true" are correct structures, "take her word true" is grammatically awkward and does not convey the intended meaning effectively.
Option 2: to take her at her word
The idiom "to take someone at their word" means to believe that what someone says is true or will really happen, and often implies acting based on that belief. While similar to the required meaning, it is slightly different from simply accepting their statement because you can't verify it yourself. The context suggests acceptance due to lack of memory/verification rather than acting upon a firm belief based purely on their statement.
Option 3: to take her word for it
The idiom "to take someone's word for it" is used when you believe what someone says without checking to see if it is true, usually because you trust them or cannot easily verify the information yourself. The sentence perfectly fits this context: the speaker cannot remember if they were paid back, so they will accept the other person's statement (take their word) without being able to confirm it (for it).
Option 4: No improvement
As discussed, "to take her word" is not the complete standard idiom. The sentence requires the full idiomatic phrase to sound natural and correct in this context.
Conclusion: Selecting the Correct Idiom
Comparing the options, "to take her word for it" is the standard and most appropriate idiom for the situation described in the sentence. It accurately reflects the speaker's decision to believe the other person's claim because they cannot verify it themselves due to a lack of memory.
Therefore, replacing "to take her word" with "to take her word for it" improves the sentence significantly.
| Original Phrase | Alternative | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| to take her word | to take her word true | Incorrect idiom, grammatically awkward. |
| to take her word | to take her at her word | A valid idiom, but less fitting than option 3 for the specific context of accepting something without verification due to personal inability to confirm. |
| to take her word | to take her word for it | Correct and standard idiom meaning to believe someone without verifying. Fits the context perfectly. |
| to take her word | No improvement | The original phrase is not the complete idiom required here. |
Revision Table: Key English Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Take someone's word for it | Believe what someone says without verifying. | I wasn't there, so I'll have to take your word for it that the meeting was cancelled. |
| Take someone at their word | Believe that someone will do what they promised or said. | She said she would help, and I decided to take her at her word and waited for her. |
| Word of mouth | Communication passed from person to person. | Most of our business comes from word of mouth. |
| Keep one's word | To fulfill a promise. | He's a reliable person; he always keeps his word. |
Additional Information: Why Idioms Matter in English Grammar
Idioms are crucial components of natural-sounding and correct English. They add richness and specific meaning that literal translations often cannot capture. Understanding common idioms is vital for sentence improvement tasks and overall language fluency. Questions like this test your knowledge of these fixed expressions.
Using the correct idiom ensures that the sentence conveys the intended meaning accurately and sounds natural to native speakers. In this case, the idiom "to take someone's word for it" is the specific phrase used when you trust someone's statement because you lack the means or memory to verify it yourself.
Similar Questions
Directions : Each item in this section consists of a sentence with an underlined word followed by four words or group of words. Select the option that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word/words and mark your response in your Answer Sheet accordingly.
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Important Questions from Phrase Replacement
Select the most appropriate option to substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. If there is no need to substitute it, No substitution required.
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