Improving the Sentence in CUET English

AnswerC · does not like

1. "She" is singular, so it takes "does": "She does not like cold coffee."

AnswerA · went

1. "Last December" is a finished time, which takes the simple past: "We went to Goa last December."

AnswerB · cleverer

1. "Cleverer" already means "more clever", so the two cannot be used together: "He is cleverer than his brother."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. "Right now" needs the present continuous, and "children" is plural, so "are playing" is correct.

AnswerB · know

1. "Know" is a state, not an action, so it is not used with -ing: "I know the answer."

AnswerA · discuss

1. "Discuss" takes its object directly: "discuss the plan". It already means "talk about".

AnswerD · No improvement

1. "Every morning" is a habit, which takes the simple present, and "my father" is singular: "goes" is correct.

AnswerB · was given

1. The subject is "each", which is singular: "Each of the boys was given a book."

AnswerA · did not come

1. After "did", the verb goes back to its plain form: "He did not come."

AnswerC · at

1. English says "good at" a skill: "She is good at drawing."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. A fact that is always true takes the simple present: "The Earth moves round the Sun." The sentence is correct.

AnswerA · is married to

1. "Married" is followed by "to": "My sister is married to an engineer."

AnswerB · a lot of luggage

1. "Luggage" cannot be counted and has no plural: "a lot of luggage".

AnswerC · had known

1. In a past that did not happen, the "if" part takes the past perfect: "If I had known, I would have come."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. "Since 2015" runs from the past to now, which takes a perfect tense. "Has been living" is correct.

AnswerA · on paying

1. "Insist" is followed by "on" and an -ing form: "She insisted on paying."

AnswerB · Despite

1. "Despite" never takes "of". The two correct forms are "despite the rain" and "in spite of the rain".

AnswerC · has increased

1. "The number of" means a count, which is singular: "The number of cars has increased."

AnswerC · where I lived

1. A reported question is not a question any more, so it takes the normal order, subject before verb: "He asked me where I lived."

AnswerB · is correct

1. "Neither of" means not one and not the other. In careful English it takes a singular verb: "Neither of the two answers is correct."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. "So" before an adjective is answered by "that": "so boring that we left". The sentence is correct.

AnswerA · hearing

1. In "look forward to", the "to" is a preposition, so it takes an -ing form: "I look forward to hearing from you."

AnswerB · has been working

1. "For five years" up to now needs a perfect tense: "He has been working in this bank for five years."

AnswerC · rewrite

1. "Make" and "let" are followed by a person and the plain verb, with no "to": "made us rewrite the essay".

AnswerC · have caught

1. "Police" is always plural, so it takes "have": "The police have caught the thief."

AnswerC · Although he was ill,

1. "Although" already joins the two halves, so "but" is one joining word too many: "Although he was ill, he went to work."

AnswerA · reached

1. "Reach" takes its object directly: "We reached the airport."

AnswerB · rains

1. In a real condition about the future, the "if" part takes the present: "If it rains tomorrow."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. The train left first and we reached later. The earlier of two past events takes the past perfect, so "had left" is correct.

AnswerA · I

1. The words are the subject of "went", so the pronoun must be the subject form: "My friend and I went to the fair."

AnswerC · very well

1. The word describes how she sings, so it must be an adverb: "She sings very well."

AnswerB · for three days

1. "Three days" is a length of time, which takes "for": "He has been ill for three days."

AnswerA · go

1. "Let" is followed by a person and the plain verb, with no "to": "Let him go home early."

AnswerB · to

1. "Prefer" takes "to" when it compares two things: "I prefer walking to cycling."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. "Hardly" at the start turns the verb round, "hardly had I reached", and is followed by "when". The sentence is correct.

AnswerA · have

1. "Who" refers to "those women", which is plural, so the verb is plural: "women who have always helped".

AnswerD · No improvement

1. "The more ..., the better ..." is a fixed pair, and both halves need "the". The sentence is correct.

AnswerB · I was hit by a stone

1. An opening phrase like "walking down the road" describes the subject that comes next. The stone was not walking, so the subject must be "I": "I was hit by a stone".

AnswerA · than

1. "No sooner" is always paired with "than": "No sooner did the rain stop than the children rushed out."

AnswerC · walk

1. "Would rather" is followed by the plain verb, with no "to": "She would rather walk than take the bus."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. "Neither" at the start of a clause turns the verb round, "neither did his sister", and the sentence is correct.

AnswerC · opening

1. "Mind" is followed by an -ing form: "Would you mind opening the window?"

AnswerB · whose

1. The word must show that the bag belongs to the girl, which is "whose": "The girl whose bag was stolen."

AnswerC · laid

1. Putting something down is "lay", and its past is "laid": "He laid the books on the table."

AnswerA · along with its notes, is

1. The subject is "the book". "Along with its notes" does not change it, so the verb is singular: "is".

AnswerC · does she sing

1. "Not only" at the start turns the verb round with "does": "Not only does she sing, but she also dances."

AnswerA · had asked

1. The "if" part of a past that did not happen takes the past perfect: "if you had asked me".

AnswerD · No improvement

1. The subject is "every one", which is singular, so "was praised" is correct.

AnswerB · returned

1. "Yesterday" is a finished time, which takes the simple past: "She returned from Delhi yesterday."

AnswerD · No improvement

1. The forms are sink, sank, sunk. A finished time like "in 1912" takes the simple past, "sank", so the sentence is correct.

AnswerD · She doesn't like mangoes.

1. "She" takes "does", and after "does" the verb is plain: "She doesn't like mangoes."

AnswerD · I saw him yesterday.

1. "Yesterday" is a finished time, which takes the simple past: "I saw him yesterday."

AnswerD · He is taller than me.

1. A comparison of two takes the -er form and "than": "He is taller than me."

AnswerA · There are many people in the hall.

1. "People" is plural, so it takes "are" and "many": "There are many people in the hall."

AnswerC · The news is very good.

1. "News" is singular, so it takes "is": "The news is very good."

AnswerB · She is an honest girl.

1. The h in "honest" is silent, so it takes "an". The h in "hardworking" is sounded, so that word would take "a".

AnswerA · I am going to the market on foot.

1. Walking is "on foot". Other ways of travelling take "by": by bus, by car.

AnswerD · Each student has a locker.

1. "Each" takes a singular noun and a singular verb: "Each student has a locker."

AnswerB · If I were you, I would apologise.

1. An imagined situation takes "were" in the "if" part and "would" in the result: "If I were you, I would apologise."

AnswerC · He has been working here for five years.

1. A length of time up to now takes a perfect tense and "for": "He has been working here for five years."

AnswerB · She asked me where I was going.

1. A reported question takes the normal order, with the subject before the verb: "where I was going".

AnswerC · The furniture is expensive.

1. "Furniture" cannot be counted, has no plural and takes no "a": "The furniture is expensive."

AnswerA · Neither Ram nor Shyam was present.

1. "Neither" pairs with "nor", and with two singular subjects the verb is singular: "Neither Ram nor Shyam was present."

AnswerD · I look forward to seeing you.

1. "Look forward to" is followed by an -ing form: "I look forward to seeing you."

AnswerB · The teacher explained the lesson to us.

1. "Explain" takes the thing explained, and the person needs "to": "explained the lesson to us".

AnswerD · He is one of the best players in the team.

1. "One of the best" is followed by a plural noun: "one of the best players".

AnswerC · Although it was late, we continued working.

1. "Although" joins a whole clause to the rest, and needs no "but": "Although it was late, we continued working."

AnswerA · She made me wait for an hour.

1. "Make" takes a person and the plain verb, with no "to": "She made me wait."

AnswerA · He did not go to the office.

1. After "did not", the verb goes back to its plain form: "He did not go to the office."

AnswerD · My brother is older than me.

1. With "than", the comparative of "old" is "older": "My brother is older than me."

AnswerB · No sooner did he leave than it started raining.

1. "No sooner" turns the verb round and pairs with "than": "No sooner did he leave than it started raining."

AnswerC · Hardly had I reached the station when the train left.

1. "Hardly" turns the verb round ("hardly had I reached") and pairs with "when".

AnswerD · It being a sunny day, we went to the beach.

1. The opening phrase needs its own subject, "it", because "we" were not a sunny day: "It being a sunny day, we went to the beach."

AnswerA · The climate of Shimla is cooler than that of Delhi.

1. A climate must be compared with a climate, not with a city: "cooler than that of Delhi", where "that" stands for "the climate".

AnswerC · He is the man who I think helped us.

1. The pronoun is the subject of "helped", so it takes "who". "I think" is only an aside.

AnswerB · She has been ill since last Monday.

1. "Since last Monday" runs up to now, which needs a perfect tense: "She has been ill since last Monday."

AnswerC · You are coming with us, aren't you?

1. A question tag repeats the helping verb and the subject, turned negative: "You are coming" becomes "aren't you?"

AnswerA · Walk fast lest you should miss the bus.

1. "Lest" means "so that ... not" and takes "should": "lest you should miss the bus".

AnswerB · I am used to getting up early.

1. "Be used to" means "be familiar with", and its "to" is a preposition, so it takes an -ing form: "I am used to getting up early."

AnswerD · The number of students has increased.

1. "The number of" means a count, which is singular: "The number of students has increased."