Choose the Correct - Incorrect Sentence Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The key gives Dear Sirs.

When a formal letter is written to an organisation or firm as a whole rather than to a named person, the traditional salutation is 'Dear Sirs' (or now 'Dear Sir or Madam'), because the letter is addressed to the body of people who run it.

'Dear Sir' is used for a single official whose name is not known. 'My dear Sir' and 'My dear Sirs' are too familiar for a business letter; 'My dear' belongs to personal correspondence.

Answer: B

The sentence needs a mark of interrogation.

'When will you complete your work' is a direct question: it begins with the question word when and inverts the subject and auxiliary (will you). Every direct question ends with a question mark: 'When will you complete your work?'

A full stop ends a statement, an exclamation mark expresses strong feeling, and a semicolon joins two closely related clauses within a sentence. None fits a direct question.

Answer: A

The correct sentence is 'He is trying to grow vegetables nowadays'. The word 'nowadays' points to a present, continuing activity, which the present continuous tense expresses. 'He try' breaks the subject-verb agreement because the third person singular needs 'tries'. 'He has tried' and 'He had tried' are perfect tenses that describe a completed action, and they do not fit the habit or current phase suggested by nowadays.

Answer: C

The correct form is 'Though I like him, I cannot excuse his offence.'

'Though' shows contrast between liking him and not excusing his offence. 'Even then' is wrongly used here as a conjunction.

'Before', 'whether' and 'when' do not express the contrast and make the sentence illogical.

The sentence has a contrast between the two parts, so a word of concession is needed. 'Though' means despite the fact that, and the correct sentence reads 'Though I like him, I cannot excuse his offence'. The phrase 'even then' means 'despite that' and cannot join two clauses.

Answer: C

Correct answer: If you had told me that you were in Bombay I would have certainly contacted you instead of getting bored there.

A third conditional: past perfect in the if clause, would have + past participle in the result. Instead of then names what actually happened.

Why the others fail:

• I had certainly contacted by you - a past perfect where would have is needed, and a stray passive by.
• despite getting bored there - despite reverses the relation; being bored was the alternative, not an obstacle.
• If you would have told me - would in the if clause.

Answer: C

Correct answer: With a frown on his face, the teacher asked the student to leave the room.

With a frown on his face describes the teacher, and fronting it puts it immediately before the noun it modifies.

Why the others fail:

• The teacher asked the student with a frown on his face - the frown now belongs to the student.
• The teacher asked with a frown on his face the student… - the phrase splits the verb from its object.
• …to leave the room with a frown on his face - this makes the frown the manner of leaving.

Answer: C

Correct answer: As soon as the holidays begin this beach will become very crowded.

In a clause of time the present tense carries future meaning, so begin is right, and the main clause takes will.

Why the others fail:

• As soon as… than - as soon as takes no correlative.
• Since the holidays being started - no finite verb.
• No sooner did the holidays begin than this beach will become… - a past auxiliary with a future result.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Our school would have won the match if only we had concentrated.

This is a third conditional - a past possibility that did not happen. Its fixed shape is if + past perfect in the condition and would have + past participle in the result.

Why the others fail:

• Our school had won the match if only we have concentrated - both halves are in the wrong tense.
• if we would have concentrated - would never appears in the if clause of a conditional.
• Our school would win the match only if we had concentrated - mixing a present result with a past condition, so the sentence no longer refers to the match that was lost.

Answer: B

No correction is required.

His yesterday's performance is acceptable - the possessive attaches to yesterday, and performance is singular, so was is right. Each alternative either drops the possessive or puts a plural verb with a singular noun.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Eggs are sold by a dozen.

In this idiom the definite article is fixed: things are sold by the dozen, by the kilo, by the yard.

The other three are sound:

• The captain with his soldiers was killed - with does not add to the subject, so the verb stays singular.
• Why did you absent yourself from your classes? - absent as a verb is reflexive.
• He acquiesced in my proposal - acquiesce in is correct.