Directions: Correct the following sentences (if necessary) and give reasons for your corrections.
Question 1: He is doing his best to propitiate his master, whom he fears may be seriously offended by what has happened.
Answer: He is doing his best to propitiate his master, who he fears may be seriously offended by what has happened. [Pronoun Case]
Question 2: The Board was united in their support of the company’s legal actions and appeals.
Answer: -The Board was united in its support of the company’s legal actions and appeals. OR
-The Board were united in their support of the company’s legal actions and appeals.
[Subject-Verb Agreement]
Question 3: The poems which he occasionally deigned to regale the fashionable world were invariably bad—stereotyped, bombastic, and even ludicrous.
Answer: The poems with which he occasionally deigned to regale the fashionable world were invariably bad—stereotyped, bombastic, and even ludicrous. OR
-The poems which he occasionally deigned to regale the fashionable world with were invariably bad—stereotyped, bombastic, and even ludicrous. [Use of Prepositions]
Question 4: The volunteer worker is a retired school teacher who is extremely concerned of the appallingly low rate of adult literacy in her community.
Answer: The volunteer worker is a retired school teacher who is extremely concerned about the appallingly low rate of adult literacy in her community. [Use of Prepositions]
Question 5: The reviewers agree that this is one of the most interesting novels that has recently been issued.
Answer: The reviewers agree that this is one of the most interesting novels that have recently been issued.
[Subject-Verb Agreement]
Question 6: Unlike the children of a century ago, compulsory education today caters for every child up to the age of fifteen.
Answer: Unlike the children of a century ago, the children of today are catered for by compulsory education up to the age of fifteen. [Parallelism with Comparative Structures]
Question 7: Our next-door neighbours are extremely noisy, but even more so are they quarrelsome.
Answer: Our next-door neighbours are extremely noisy, but they are even more quarrelsome.
[Parallelism with Clauses]
Question 8: No sooner had he arrived, when he was taken straight up to the stranger.
Answer: No sooner had he arrived, than he was taken straight up to the stranger. [Use of Conjunctions]
Question 9: The new committee arranged everything as it was before, except the weekly meetings were discontinued.
Answer: The new committee arranged everything as it was before, except that the weekly meetings were discontinued. [Use of Relative Pronouns]
Question 10: The recent heat-wave was certainly hotter, or at any rate equal to, any we have experienced in the last ten years.
Answer: The recent heat-wave was certainly hotter than, or at any rate equal to, any we have experienced in the last ten years. [Faulty Ellipsis]
Question 11: He was very disciplined in all his actions, such as in the case of never being late for an appointment.
Answer: He was very disciplined in all his actions, as in never being late for an appointment.
[Parallelism with Comparative Structures]
Question 12: It would be fair to say that William’s work, if you exclude one failed attempt at light comedy, is darkly tragic, even when the textual surface is briefly lightened with verbal wit.
Answer: It would be fair to say that William’s work, if you exclude one failed attempt at light comedy, is darkly tragic, even when the textual surface is briefly lightened up with verbal wit. [Use of Phrasal Verbs]
Question 13: I shall now use an example which I hope you will know what it means.
Answer: I shall now use an example whose meaning I hope you will know. [Use of Relative Pronouns]
Question 14: Between you and I, I must confess the whole arrangement worries me.
Answer: Between you and me, I must confess the whole arrangement worries me. [Pronoun Case]
Question 15: Neither the players nor the trainer were in the locker room when the thief broke in.
Answer: Neither the players were nor the trainer was in the locker room when the thief broke in.
