Cheat Sheets – Sentence Improvement

In sentence improvement questions, a sentence is given or underlined with a word or

phrase in bold letters. The candidate has to find an error in the part that is bold or underlined.
Then the correct answer has to be found from the options. The candidate should have
knowledge of concepts of tense, verb, adjective, model, combination, proposition, article, etc.
to solve these questions. Also, these questions are present in the exam in multiple-choice
format.
Some commonly tested errors are:
● Modifier Error
● Comparison Error
● Parallelism Error
● Pronoun Antecedent Error
● Subject Verb Agreement Error
● Determiner Error
● Verb-Time Sequence Error
So now, you are aware of the errors that may occur in questions based on sentence
improvement. The next step should be to devise a strategy to answer these questions in an
accurate and timely manner.
Keep the following things in mind while tackling a sentence correction/improvement question:
 Identify the concept
 Find if there are any similar answer choices and try to eliminate
 Treat all options equally
 Pay attention to the non-underlined part
 Substitute the selected answer – and then figure out whether it makes sense

PRACTICE EXERCISE
Choose the best alternatives for the underlined parts.
1. In the 20th century, the average life span in India for a working class family was 12 years less
than a member of the aristocracy.
A. A member of the aristocracy.
B. Of a member of the aristocracy.
C. That of a member of the aristocracy.
D. Those of members of the aristocracy.
E. No improvement needed
2. Importantly recognizing that foreign banks in India today control more than fifteen percent
of the banking business.
A. Important to recognize
B. The importance of recognizing

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Cheat Sheets – Sentence Improvement
C. Importantly recognition
D. It is important to recognize
E. No correction required
3. It is unfair to expect myself to take a decision in this matter because I am unaware of the
exact nature of the transaction.
A. My taking on
B. Myself taken
C. Me to take
D. I have taken
E. No correction required
4. In the area of genetics, geneticists have thoroughly analyzed the human gene and its ability
to shape certain characteristics to select and pre-determine an increasing impressive
number of physiological traits in the womb, each “ready” to parents’ choice.
A. increasing impressive number of physiological traits in the womb, each
B. increasingly impressive number of physiological traits in those in the womb, and
each one
C. increasing impressive number of physiological traits in those womb who are
D. increasingly impressive number of physiological traits in the womb, all of them
E. increasingly impressive number of physiological traits in the womb
5. Russians give pity of place to the value of communal freedom, and we find especial
unintelligible the infliction of suffering on the innocent.
A. especial unintelligible the infliction of suffering
B. especially unintelligible the infliction of suffering
C. especially unintelligible suffrage that is inflicted
D. especially unintelligible the suffering that is inflicted
E. especially unintelligible the inflicting to suffer
SOLUTIONS
1. Option – C
Comparison Error. The best answer is C. Choices A and D illogically compare the average life
span to a member. Option C, the best choice, uses the singular pronoun that, to stand for life
span thus establishing a logical comparison.
2. Option - D
Here important is to be used as an adjective. Since, there is no explicit object, a dummy object
‘it’ is being used (Like “It is raining”)
3. Option – C
Myself is a possessive pronoun. Me is the right pronoun to be used. So, the answer is Option –
C.
4. Option - E

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Cheat Sheets – Sentence Improvement
The use of ‘increasing’ is incorrect here as it is an adjective but we need an adverb here, i.e.
‘increasingly’. This eliminates options (a) and (c). Option (b) is incorrect because of the use of ‘in
those’ which is unnecessary. The use of ‘all of them’ is not required as done in (d). Hence,
option (e) is the most appropriate choice.
5. Answer: Option - B
Option (a) is incorrect because we do not need the adjective ‘especial’ but the adverb
‘especially’. The use of ‘suffrage’ in (c) is incorrect because it means ‘the right to vote’ which is,
in this case, incorrect usage. In option (e), the phrase ‘inflicting to suffer’ is incorrect and the
sentence as a whole does not makes sense. Option (d) is unnecessarily wordy. Hence, the best
choice will be option (b).

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