Sentence Improvement

About Sentence Improvement

A sentence improvement question prints a sentence with one part marked and asks which of four wordings should stand in its place. The fault is already located, so nothing has to be searched for; what is being tested is whether you can put the right form into a position whose requirements you can state.

What you need to understand

Only the marked part is at issue. The rest of the sentence is sound, and an option that changes anything outside the marked part is not the answer.

The tense is fixed by the cue the sentence carries: every day means the simple present, yesterday the simple past, tomorrow the future, already the present perfect, and at the moment the continuous.

A fault of form is wrong whatever the tense is, which is why the wrong options are wrong by form rather than by tense.

A helper verb takes the past participle, a modal takes the base form, and the be-verb of the continuous takes the form ending in ing.

The helper verb must agree with the doer: has with a singular doer, have with a plural one.

One of the options is usually the wording already printed. It is there to be rejected, and rejecting it is part of the question.

How to work through these questions

Read the sentence and find the cue that fixes the tense. Write down which tense it is before looking at the options.

Decide what form that tense requires in the marked position: a participle after a helper, the base form after a modal, the ing form after the be-verb.

Check the doer as well. A plural doer takes have where a singular doer takes has.

Compare each option with the form you have worked out, and reject the ones that differ from it.

Ignore any option that changes something outside the marked part, however well it reads.

Read the finished sentence back with your choice in place, and check that the tense still matches the cue.

Mistakes that cost marks

Choosing an option that improves the sentence in some other place as well, which was never the question.
Reading the cue and then ignoring it, so that the tense drifts from the one the sentence established.
Assuming the printed wording must be right because the sentence reads smoothly with it.
Mixing up the past form and the past participle, which is the fault these questions most often use.
Correcting the verb but leaving the helper verb disagreeing with the doer.

Worked example

The workers have sang the songs at the market already. Replace the bold part with the correct wording.

The cue is already, which fixes the present perfect.
The present perfect is formed from the helper verb have or has together with the past participle.
The doer is the workers, which is plural, so the helper verb is have, and that part is already right.
The verb here is sing, whose principal parts are sing, sings, sang, sung.
The past form is sang, which is what is printed, and the past participle is sung, which is what the position requires.
The wording that belongs there is have sung.

Answer: have sung

Practice questions with answers

A few Sentence Improvement questions with the full solution shown, so you can see how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.

Question 1

Replace the bold part with the correct wording: The gardener is repair a machine inside the temple at the moment.

A has repairing
B is repairing
C is repair
D is repaired

Answer: Option B — with explanation

As printed, the base form follows the be-verb where the -ing form belongs.\nThe wording that belongs there is 'is repairing': in this sentence the continuous is used, so the -ing form follows the be-verb.\nEach of the other options is a different fault in the same place. Common mistakes - the helper verb is used where the be-verb belongs: has repairing - the past form follows the be-verb where the -ing form belongs: is repaired - the base form follows the be-verb where the -ing form belongs: is repair

Question 2

Replace the bold part with the correct wording: The engineers are write a letter along the river at the moment.

A have writing
B are writing
C are wrote
D are write

Answer: Option B — with explanation

As printed, the base form follows the be-verb where the -ing form belongs.\nThe wording that belongs there is 'are writing': in this sentence the continuous is used, so the -ing form follows the be-verb.\nEach of the other options is a different fault in the same place. Common mistakes - the base form follows the be-verb where the -ing form belongs: are write - the past form follows the be-verb where the -ing form belongs: are wrote - the helper verb is used where the be-verb belongs: have writing

Question 3

Choose the option that should replace the bold part: The engineers should sends a document behind the tower.

A should send
B should sending
C should sent
D should sends

Answer: Option A — with explanation

As printed, the third person form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form.\nThe wording that belongs there is 'should send': in this sentence a modal verb is used, so the base form follows it.\nEach of the other options is a different fault in the same place. Common mistakes - the -ing form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form: should sending - the past form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form: should sent - the third person form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form: should sends

Question 4

The part in bold is wrong. Choose the wording that should replace it: The children have grew a garden at the market already.

A have grown
B have grow
C are grown
D have grew

Answer: Option A — with explanation

As printed, the past form follows the helper verb where the past participle belongs.\nThe wording that belongs there is 'have grown': in this sentence a helper verb is used, so the past participle follows it.\nEach of the other options is a different fault in the same place. Common mistakes - the be-verb is used where the helper verb belongs: are grown - the base form follows the helper verb where the past participle belongs: have grow - the past form follows the helper verb where the past participle belongs: have grew

Question 5

The part in bold is wrong. Choose the wording that should replace it: The gardener should writes the songs inside the temple.

A should write
B should writing
C should writes
D should wrote

Answer: Option A — with explanation

As printed, the third person form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form.\nThe wording that belongs there is 'should write': in this sentence a modal verb is used, so the base form follows it.\nEach of the other options is a different fault in the same place. Common mistakes - the -ing form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form: should writing - the past form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form: should wrote - the third person form follows a modal verb, which takes the base form: should writes

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from correcting a sentence?

Here the faulty part is already marked, so nothing has to be found. In a correction question the fault is somewhere in a printed sentence and locating it is part of the work.

What if the printed wording seems acceptable?

Assume it is not. These questions always print a faulty wording, and one of the options is the same wording offered so that the reader who trusts the printed sentence has somewhere to go.

Do I need to know the name of the tense?

It helps, but the important thing is which form the position requires. A helper verb takes the past participle whatever the tense is called.

Can two options both be correct?

Not in a well-set question. The wrong options each carry a definite fault, so once you know what the position requires only one option matches it.