SECTION 13 — SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT & SENTENCE REARRANGEMENT (Concepts 169–183)

Sentence Improvement questions give you a full sentence with one part underlined and ask you to choose the best replacement — sometimes "No improvement" is correct. Unlike error-spotting, where you're only hunting for a mistake, here every option might be grammatically legal; your job is to find the one that is most correct, most natural, and most concise, in that order of priority. The patterns below are the recurring decision points these questions are built around.

169. Prefer the option that fixes an actual grammar error over one that merely rephrases correct grammar When one option corrects subject-verb agreement, tense, or a wrong preposition, and another option just reorders words without fixing anything, the grammar-correcting option wins even if the reordered one "sounds nicer."

• Given: "The number of defaulters have increased sharply this year."
• Best improvement: has (not a stylistic rewrite — the base sentence has a genuine agreement error)
• Given: "Each of the members were required to sign the attendance register."
• Best improvement: was required

170. Between two grammatically correct options, prefer the more concise one — cut redundant words rather than add them

• Given: "He returned back to his hometown after completing his studies."
• Best improvement: He returned to his hometown after completing his studies. (delete the redundant "back")
• Given: "She repeated the instructions again for the new recruits."
• Best improvement: She repeated the instructions for the new recruits. (delete the redundant "again")

171. Watch for "changed meaning" traps — an option can be grammatically flawless but subtly alter what the original sentence meant

• Given: "He has been living in Delhi since ten years."
• Correct improvement changes "since" to "for" — it must NOT also change "ten years" to a different number or add "almost," which would alter the claimed duration.
• Given: "The bank offered a loan of two lakh rupees to the applicant."
• An improvement that reads "the bank offered the applicant a loan of nearly two lakh rupees" silently adds "nearly," changing the fact — this is a trap answer to avoid, not a valid improvement.

172. When the underlined portion contains a verb, check first whether the verb form (tense/voice/non-finite form) is wrong before considering vocabulary substitutes

• Given: "The results, once declare, cannot be appealed."
• Best improvement: declared (past participle needed) — not a synonym swap for "declare."
• Given: "The committee is expect to submit its findings by March."
• Best improvement: expected

173. A dangling modifier in the non-underlined part of the sentence usually means the underlined part must be rewritten to supply a proper subject, not just corrected in isolation

• Given: "Having reviewed the file, several discrepancies were noted."
• Best improvement: the auditor noted several discrepancies (restores a logical doer for "having reviewed")
• Given: "While waiting at the counter, my token number was called."
• Best improvement: my token number was called while I was waiting at the counter / I heard my token number called while waiting at the counter

174. If the underlined segment uses a wrong preposition in a fixed collocation, the fix is almost always a one-word swap, not a full rewrite

• Given: "She is married with a doctor from Chennai."
• Best improvement: married to
• Given: "He is capable to handle this assignment alone."
• Best improvement: capable of handling

175. Passive constructions that are unnecessarily awkward or indirect can often be "improved" by converting to active voice, unless the doer is genuinely unknown or unimportant

• Given: "A decision has been taken by the board to expand operations."
• Better/more natural: The board has taken a decision to expand operations.
• Given: "An explanation was demanded by the customers regarding the delay."
• Better/more natural: The customers demanded an explanation regarding the delay.

176. "No improvement" is correct only when the sentence, as given, is already fully correct AND no listed option is both grammatical and equal-or-better in clarity — don't pick "no improvement" just because none of the options feels ideal

• Given a genuinely correct sentence: "The auditor verified every entry before signing the report." — if every alternative option introduces a new problem, "No improvement" is the right call even under time pressure.
• The trap is choosing "No improvement" out of uncertainty rather than after actively checking each option against the five usual-suspect categories (agreement, tense, pronoun, preposition, article).

177. Idiomatic phrasal verbs must be replaced by their standard form, not a literal word-for-word alternative

• Given: "He looked over the report carefully before the meeting" used where formality demands a single verb.
• Best improvement (formal tone): reviewed — "He reviewed the report carefully before the meeting."
• Given: "She put off the client meeting until next week."
• Best improvement (formal tone): postponed — "She postponed the client meeting until next week."

178. When two clauses are joined with a comma but no conjunction ("comma splice"), the improvement adds a conjunction, a semicolon, or restructures into one clause with a subordinate — never leave two independent clauses comma-spliced

• Given: "The rain stopped, the match resumed immediately."
• Best improvement: The rain stopped, and the match resumed immediately. / Once the rain stopped, the match resumed immediately.
• Given: "He submitted the form, he forgot to sign it."
• Best improvement: He submitted the form, but he forgot to sign it.

179. Redundant pairs (words that mean the same thing used together) should be reduced to one word in the improved version

• Given: "The two rival colleagues collaborated together on the joint project."
• Best improvement: The two rival colleagues collaborated on the project. (remove "together" and one of "joint")
• Given: "Please revert back to me with your final decision."
• Best improvement: Please revert to me with your final decision.

180. When the underlined part is a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinator that doesn't logically fit the relationship between the two clauses (cause vs. contrast vs. time), the improvement swaps the subordinator, not the rest of the clause

• Given: "Because the deadline was extended, the team still worked overtime." (the relationship is really a contrast, not a cause)
• Best improvement: Although the deadline was extended, the team still worked overtime.
• Given: "While he studied hard, he failed the exam." (logically this needs a contrast word — "while" here can be ambiguous with time; "even though" is clearer)
• Best improvement: Even though he studied hard, he failed the exam.

181. When an underlined comparative structure omits "other" or the correct "that of/those of" pattern, restore it exactly rather than rewriting the whole comparison

• Given: "This laptop's battery life is longer than any laptop in its price range."
• Best improvement: any other laptop in its price range
• Given: "The pollution levels in this city are higher than most cities in the region."
• Best improvement: than those of most other cities in the region

182. When the underlined part mixes active and passive voice awkwardly within the same sentence, the improvement makes the voice consistent across both clauses unless a deliberate shift is meaningful

• Given: "The manager reviewed the budget and the report was submitted by him."
• Best improvement: The manager reviewed the budget and submitted the report. (both active)
• Given: "The tickets were booked online, and he confirmed the seats by phone." — this mixed voice is acceptable only because the two actions have logically different agents/focus; don't "fix" a mixed-voice sentence that is already doing this on purpose.

183. Choose the option that best preserves formal register — avoid contractions, overly casual phrasal verbs, and vague filler words in the improved version of a formal/official sentence

• Given: "The department can't process your request without the original documents."
• Best improvement (formal register): The department cannot process your request without the original documents.
• Given: "The scheme basically helps small farmers get loans quicker."
• Best improvement (formal register): The scheme helps small farmers obtain loans more quickly.

Mini Practice — Section 13 (15 questions) Choose the best way to improve the underlined part of each sentence. If the sentence is already correct, answer "No improvement."

1. Each of the trainees were given a laptop and a manual on the first day.
2. He returned back to the office after the client visit.
3. She is capable to lead this department on her own.
4. The rain stopped, the match resumed immediately.
5. He is married with a schoolteacher from Nagpur.
6. A final decision has been taken by the board regarding the merger.
7. This scooter's mileage is better than any scooter in its segment.
8. Please revert back to us at the earliest with your response.
9. He submitted the form, he forgot to attach his photograph.
10. Because the flight was delayed by four hours, the passengers still remained calm throughout.
11. The auditor verified every entry carefully before signing the final report.
12. While waiting at the counter, his token number was called.
13. The committee is expect to release its report by the end of the month.
14. The department can't process refunds without the original receipt.
15. He looked over the contract carefully before signing it, in the formal minutes of the meeting.

Answer Key

1. "were given" → "was given" (Each takes a singular verb)
2. "returned back" → "returned" (redundant "back")
3. "capable to lead" → "capable of leading" (fixed preposition + gerund)
4. Comma splice → "The rain stopped, and the match resumed immediately."
5. "married with" → "married to"
6. Passive, better as active → "The board has taken a final decision regarding the merger."
7. "any scooter" → "any other scooter" (comparison must exclude the subject itself)
8. "revert back" → "revert" (redundant "back")
9. Comma splice → "He submitted the form, but he forgot to attach his photograph."
10. "Because" → "Although" (the relationship is a contrast, not a cause)
11. No improvement — the sentence is already correct.
12. Dangling modifier → "While waiting at the counter, he heard his token number called." (needs a logical subject for "waiting")
13. "is expect" → "is expected" (past participle needed)
14. "can't" → "cannot" (formal register)
15. "looked over" → "reviewed" (formal register in official minutes)

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