Understanding the Sentence Correction Task

The question asks us to find the most appropriate phrase to replace the underlined segment "Last before year" in the sentence: "Last before year, Shirley got very good grades." This requires us to identify a grammatically correct and natural-sounding English phrase that conveys the intended meaning, which is likely the year before the previous year.

Analyzing the Underlined Segment: "Last before year"

The phrase "Last before year" is not a standard or grammatically correct way to express a point in time in English. It appears to be a literal or incorrect translation of how time might be expressed in another language, or simply an error in constructing the phrase.

Evaluating the Options

Let's examine each option to see which one correctly and appropriately substitutes the underlined segment.

• Option 1: The last year before

  This phrase is grammatically structured but is awkward and doesn't clearly indicate a specific time relative to the present or the previous year. "The last year before" what? It is incomplete or used incorrectly in this context.

• Option 2: Before last year

  This phrase is grammatically correct and can mean any time prior to last year. However, it is less specific than "the year before last year" which refers to the year that occurred two years ago. In many contexts, "Before last year" might be acceptable, but the options suggest a more precise idiom is available.

• Option 3: The year before last year

  This is a common and idiomatic English phrase used to refer specifically to the year that preceded last year. It clearly and unambiguously means two years ago. For example, if the current year is 2024, last year was 2023, and the year before last year was 2022. This phrase fits the likely intended meaning.

• Option 4: Before year last

  This phrase is grammatically incorrect. The word order is unnatural in English. "Last year" functions as a unit or phrase, and "before" precedes it when used correctly in phrases like "before last year".

Why "The year before last year" is Correct

"The year before last year" is the standard and most appropriate phrase in English to mean two years ago. It is a specific and clear way to refer to that particular past year. The original phrase "Last before year" seems to be a broken attempt to construct this common idiom.

Using the correct phrase, the sentence becomes: "The year before last year, Shirley got very good grades." This sentence is grammatically correct and easily understood.

Revision Table: Common Time Phrases

Additional Information: Time Adverbials in English

Time adverbials are words or phrases that tell us when something happened, how long it lasted, or how often it occurred. They can be single words (like 'yesterday', 'now', 'soon') or phrases (like 'last week', 'in the morning', 'the year before last year').

Correctly using time adverbials is important for clear communication. Phrasing like "Last before year" is incorrect because it does not follow the established patterns and idioms for expressing time in English. Learning common time phrases like "last year," "the year before last year," or "two years ago" helps ensure your sentences are grammatically sound and easily understood by native speakers.