Sentence Improvement and Construction

If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

For example –

• Manav is playing in the playground. – "Manav" is singular, so the verb is singular.
• The parents know how to handle their naughty kids. – "Parents" is plural, so the verb is plural.
• He is taller than you. – "He" is singular, so the verb is singular.
• Both Sunita and Rita love chocolates. – Two subjects joined by "and" take a plural verb.

Additional notes on agreement:

• Subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb unless they form a single idea (e.g., "bread and butter is my breakfast").
• Expressions like "one-third," "half," "each of" may be singular or plural depending on whether they refer to a unit or to separate items — treat carefully.
• Indefinite pronouns such as someone, anyone, everybody are usually singular and take singular verbs.

Modifier: A modifier provides additional information about a word or phrase (for example, adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs).

Examples:

1. She is very excited for her first day at college. – "very" modifies "excited".
2. The room was beautifully decorated for Sam's birthday party. – "beautifully" modifies "decorated".
3. Ramesh was a good fit to be the CR of the class. – "good" modifies "fit".
4. She practiced her session in the auditorium. – the prepositional phrase "in the auditorium" modifies where she practiced.

Misplaced Modifiers

Modifiers must be placed next to the word they modify. A misplaced modifier can change meaning or create ambiguity.

1. Incorrect: Her father bought a pet dog for his daughter named Jimmy. — implies the daughter is named Jimmy.
2. Correct: Her father bought a pet dog named Jimmy for his daughter. — implies the dog is named Jimmy.

Limiting Modifiers

Limiting modifiers restrict or limit the meaning: just, almost, hardly, only, always, etc. Placement affects meaning:

• Only Jhony loves to paint. (Only Jhony does this.)
• Jhony only loves to paint. (Jhony loves painting and nothing else.)

Parallelism requires that items in a list or series use the same grammatical form.

Examples:

1. Maria loves to cook, dance and sing. — all verbs are in the base form.
2. Maria loves cooking, dancing and singing. — all verbs are gerunds.
3. Some people love to sit and relax during travel, while others like to work. — consistent verb forms improve clarity.
4. Neither the weather in Mumbai nor the weather in Delhi is improving. — maintain structure around "neither...nor".

Parallel construction improves readability and consistency.

Redundancy repeats an idea unnecessarily. Avoid redundant pairs or phrases in formal writing.

Common redundant expressions:

• foreign imports
• bald-headed
• drop down
• end result
• few in number
• follow after
• general public
• hurry up
• chase after
• but yet
• collaborate together

Examples:

1. Three files of monthly statistics were combined into one. — "into one" is redundant because "combined" implies the result.
2. This question is repeated again in the semester. — "again" is redundant with "repeated".
3. The dog followed after him. — "after" is redundant; "followed" suffices.

Redundancy is more problematic in formal writing than in speech.

A pronoun must clearly refer to a single, unmistakable antecedent (the noun it replaces).

Problem example: Jane put the shoes in the rack but it slid down.

"it" is ambiguous — does it refer to the shoes or the rack?

Fixes:

• Jane put the shoes in the rack and the shoes slid down.
• Jane put the shoes in the rack and the rack slid down.

Common pronoun-reference errors

• Too many antecedents: Multiple possible references confuse the reader.
• Hidden antecedents: The pronoun's antecedent is unclear or omitted.
• No antecedent at all: The pronoun appears with no prior noun to refer to.

Be careful with pronouns like "this", "that", "which" — ensure their antecedent is explicit.

Question 1:

Which of the phrases given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold to make it grammatically correct? If the sentence is correct as it is, mark ‘E’ as the answer.

Only one third of the task are complete.

a. have complete

b. has complete

c. is complete

d. had complete

e. No correction required

Answer: C (is complete)

Explanation – "one-third" is considered singular here (one part out of three), so a singular verb "is" is required.

Question 2:

Which of the phrases given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold to make it grammatically correct? If the sentence is correct as it is, mark ‘E’ as the answer.

He is too important for tolerating any delay.

a. to tolerate

b. to tolerating

c. at tolerating

d. with tolerating

e. No correction required

Answer: A (to tolerate)

Explanation : The construction "too ... to" requires the infinitive ("to tolerate").