English: Phrase Replacement/ Sentence Improvement Set 77

Directions(1-10): In the given question, a part of the sentence is given in brackets. Below the sentence, alternatives to the bracketed part are given as (A), (B), (C) and (D), which may help improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative out of the given five options. In case the given sentence is correct, your answer will be (E), i.e., “No correction required”.

1. No matter what experience you had had with forest fires, (if you would have witnessed) the fire roaring down through the canyon, you would have been terrified.
   If you witnessed
   If you had witnessed
   If you could witness
   If you would had witnessed
   No correction required
   Option B
   When using the third conditional, we use the past perfect (i.e., had + past participle) in the if-clause. The modal auxiliary (would, could, should, etc.) + have + past participle in the main clause expresses the theoretical situation that could have happened. Hence, “would have” must be changed to “had”. Hence, option B is the correct replacement.

    

2. Many employers now believe that the advancement in technology has improved the environment for the workers who can now work up to eighteen hours a day and still do not feel physically tired.
   has improved the environment with the workers who can now work up to eighteen hours a day and still does
   have improved the environment for the workers which can now work up to eighteen hours a day and still does
   have improved the environment for the worker who can now work up to eighteen hours a day and still do
   has improved the environment for the workers who can now work up to eighteen hours a day and still do
   No correction required
   Option D
   The issues with the following statements are:
   In option A, the use of pronoun ‘with’ is incorrect used after environment.
   In option B, ‘which’ is used for non-living things and thus, wrongly used.
   In option C, the sentence in the question speaks about more than one worker.

    

3. Modern films have a detrimental effect on child psychology (forth they make the children think that violence is justifiable).
   Because they make the children think that violence is justifiable.
   For these films make them think that violence was justifiable.
   For they make them think that violence is justifiable.
   For they make those children think that violence is justifiable.
   No correction required
   Option A
   In option A, ‘because’ is a more suitable connector in the given sentence to convey that the latter is the reason of the former.
   In option B, ‘was’ has been used in the place of ‘is’. So we cannot take this option.
   In option C, ‘they think’ does not clear the meaning of the sentence. So this is discarded.
   In option D, ‘those children’ is wrong because we are not pointing out to any particular group of children.

    

4. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is keen to acquire India’s third-biggest fuel HPCL (around a Rs 42,254 Crore deal at finding) Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) too expensive to buy.
   In a Rs 42,254 crore deal after finding
   Among a Rs 42,254 Crore deal after
   In a Rs 42,254 Crore deal after
   In a Rs 42,254 crore deal as
   No correction required
   Option A
   

    

5. (Rather than using to describe) a type of activity, the term has often been used politically as a term of abuse or denunciation, both by non-state groups and by governments against each other.
   Rather than use to describe
   Rather than uses to describe
   Rather than being used to describe
   Rather than to be used to describe
   No correction required
   Option C
   The highlighted part is grammatically incorrect as the doer of the action cannot be identified from the sentence as given. Here, we are talking about the term and the usage of ‘using’ with respect to it is grammatically incorrect. Also, note that the part after the comma states “the term has often been used”, which means that the term is the thing that is used. Thus, the highlighted part should be in the passive voice and should be rewritten as “Rather than being used to describe…”.

    

6. The political masters of health care system have not listened to professional health planners because it (has not been profitable for them to do that thing).
   Has not been profitable for them to do so.
   Has not been profitable for them to do that things.
   Have been unprofitable for them to do that thing.
   Has been unprofitable for the professionals to do so.
   No correction required
   Option A
   

    

7. The reconstruction of the bathroom cost them an arm and a leg, all because the construction (worker cuts corners and tries to finish the job quickly).
   Worker cut corners and tried to finish the job quickly
   Worker will be cutting the corners and tried to finish the job quickly
   Worker has cut corners and tries to finish the job quickly
   Worker cut corners and will be too tired to finish the job quickly
   No correction required
   Option A
   

    

8. Since the advent of cable television, at the beginning of (this decade, the entertainment industry took) a giant stride forward in our country.
   this decade saw the entertainment industry taking
   this decade, the entertainment industry has taken
   this decade, the entertainment industry had taken
   this decade, the entertainment industry took
   No correction required
   Option B
   ‘Since’ indicates the requirement of present perfect tense. The statement starts with ‘since’, which means that a timeline is being talked about with a starting datum point and an action that started is in continuation from that datum; thus the statement needs to be in present perfect tense i.e the verb form should be ‘has taken’. So, the correct answer is option B.

    

9. (Hectic campaigns in the second) phase of state assembly elections will come to an end next week, in 67 Assembly constituencies spread over 11 districts.
   Hectic campaigning for the second
   Having hectic campaigning for the second
   Hectic campaigning from the second
   Hectic campaigns for a second
   No correction required
   Option A
   “Will come to an end” shows that the statement is in continues tense, therefore, we can eliminate statement D. ‘Having’ is a perfect participle which more or less expresses an action that has been just completed thus, the correct construction is having + (verb+ed). Thus we can eliminate statement B. In option C, instead of ‘from’, ‘for’ is the correct preposition to denote that the activity going to end is related to the elections. So, the correct answer is option A.

    

10. The detectives criticized the victims in court by testifying that they were (prone to be a hyperbole and invent details of events that didn’t happen).
    prone to hyperballize and invent details of events that didn’t happen
    prone to hyperbolize and being inventors of details of events that didn’t happen.
    prone to hyperbolizing and inventing details of events that didn’t happen.
    prone to hyperbolize and invent details of events that weren’t just happening
    No correction required
    Option C
    ‘Hyperbole’ refers to exaggerated statements or claims and therefore cannot refer to person. They are actually statements or claims made by a person. The appropriate replacement for the highlighted part is ‘prone to hyperbolizing and inventing details of events that didn’t happen.’ ‘Hyperbolize’ means to represent something as being larger, better, or worse than it really is; exaggerate and de􀁽nes an act. Accordingly, to maintain parallelism in the sentence, we need to change the verb ‘invent’ to its present participle form i.e. ‘inventing’.
    So, the correct answer is option C.

     

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