Sentence Correction: Finding the Right Verb Substitution

The original sentence provided is: "One of my friends is gone to Goa for a holiday." The underlined segment is "is gone". We need to find the most appropriate option to substitute this segment.

Let's analyze the sentence structure first. The subject of the sentence is "One of my friends". Even though it refers to a group of friends, the actual subject performing the action is "One", which is singular. Therefore, the verb must agree with a singular subject.

The phrase "is gone" uses the verb 'be' ('is') and the past participle of 'go' ('gone'). While "be gone" can be used as an idiom meaning 'absent' or 'departed', when referring to movement to a place like Goa, the standard and more appropriate tense is usually the present perfect tense, formed with 'have' or 'has' + past participle.

Analyzing the Options for Verb Substitution

Let's examine each option provided:

1. has gone: This uses the auxiliary verb 'has' (singular form of 'have') and the past participle 'gone'. 'Has gone' is the present perfect tense. The present perfect is used to describe an action that started in the past (going to Goa) and has a result in the present (being in Goa now, or having completed the journey). This fits the singular subject "One" and the context of someone having traveled to a place for a holiday.
2. are gone: This uses the auxiliary verb 'are'. 'Are' is the plural form of the verb 'be'. Since the subject "One of my friends" is singular, using 'are' creates a subject-verb agreement error.
3. gone: This is just the past participle of 'go'. A past participle cannot function as the main verb of a sentence without an auxiliary verb (like 'is', 'are', 'has', 'have', 'was', 'were', etc.) preceding it.
4. were gone: This uses the auxiliary verb 'were'. 'Were' is the plural form of the verb 'be' in the past tense. Similar to 'are gone', this creates a subject-verb agreement error because the subject "One" is singular. Also, 'were gone' would typically imply a past state of absence, whereas the sentence describes a current state or recent action related to a holiday.

Determining the Most Appropriate Substitution

Based on the analysis, the option that correctly uses a singular verb form and the appropriate tense to indicate movement to a place is "has gone". The sentence "One of my friends has gone to Goa for a holiday" means that one friend went to Goa and is now either there or has completed the trip recently, which is the intended meaning in the original sentence's context.

Therefore, the most appropriate option to substitute the underlined segment "is gone" is "has gone".

Revision Table: Key Concepts in Verb Forms

Additional Information: 'Is gone' vs. 'Has gone'

While "has gone" is the standard present perfect form indicating movement to a place, "is gone" can sometimes be heard in informal contexts or dialects with a similar meaning. However, in formal or standard English, "has gone" is preferred for this purpose. "Is gone" is more commonly used where 'gone' functions as an adjective meaning 'absent', 'dead', or 'lost'. For example, "The milk is gone" means the milk is finished or absent. "He is gone from the house" means he is absent from the house.

When referring to a person traveling to a location and currently being there or having completed the journey, the present perfect using 'has/have gone' is the grammatically correct and idiomatic choice.