Sentence Improvement
🔒 Log in to trackThe elimination ladder: how to choose in 20 seconds
🔒 Log in to trackIn a sentence improvement question, one part of the sentence is in bold. Four options offer a replacement, and one of them is usually No substitution required. You are not looking for the best-sounding English. You are looking for the one option that passes every grammar test the bold part failed.
What the question asks
One part of the sentence is bold. Decide if that part has a fault. If it does, pick the option that repairs it.
Only the bold part may change. The rest of the sentence stays as it is.
Rule: Read the full sentence first. The word before the bold part often decides the answer (yesterday, did, each, no sooner).
The elimination ladder
Go down these five steps. Cross out options as you go.
| Step | Question to ask | What it removes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Verb form and tense | Does the verb suit its time word and helper? | Tense clashes, wrong form after did or have |
| 2. Agreement | Does the verb match the real subject? | Plural verbs after each, one of, the list of |
| 3. Structure | Is the order and pairing standard? | Broken inversion, mixed pairs |
| 4. Word choice | Is this the fixed partner word? | insisted for, angry on, return back |
| 5. Economy | Does an option say the same in fewer words? | Extra words (but do not over-cut) |
In most questions, two options die at step 1 or 2. Steps 3 and 4 then split the last two.
Two kinds of wrong option
Wrong options come in two types.
- Repeat-fault options keep the same fault in new clothes: more better becomes more good. Cross them out at once.
- New-fault options fix one fault but add another. Hardly ... than replaces a wrong word with a wrong partner.
A good option must be cleaner than the original. It must not be wrong in a different way.
When one fix adds a second fault
Take this sentence: My friend has gone to Delhi yesterday. The fault is has gone with yesterday. The fix is went.
Had gone looks like a fix. It removes the present perfect, but it needs an earlier past event. The sentence has none. So it is wrong.
Watch: After you pick an option, read the whole sentence again. A fix that clashes with another word is not a fix.
Families of decoys
Options often come from one word's relatives.
- Look-alikes: effect / affect, loose / lose, advice / advise.
- Form changes: brave / bravely / braveness.
- Double markers: more better, most shortest.
- Helper swaps: has, had, was, did in every mix.
Name the family, then pick the member that fits the job of the slot.
No substitution required
This option is correct in about one question out of four. It is a real answer, not a decoy.
Before you choose it, run steps 1 to 3 once. Never choose it just because the sentence "sounds fine".
Tip: Two options both fix the fault? Choose the one that changes less and keeps the meaning. The exam improves grammar, not ideas.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Single fault with repeat-fault decoys
The bold part has one clear fault. Two or three options repeat the same fault (more good for more better, have been for was).
Name the fault and its rule.
Cross out every option that still breaks the rule.
Compare the survivors and pick the smallest clean repair.
Repeat-fault options trap students who fix the fault in their head and stop reading.
The quality of the mangoes were not satisfactory this season. (was / have been / No substitution required / are being)
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The real subject is 'quality', which is singular.
So the helper must be singular: 'was'.
'Have been' and 'are being' repeat the plural fault.
was
No substitution required
The bold part is already standard English. The other options are 'repairs' that break it.
Run the tense, agreement and structure checks on the bold part.
If it passes every check, do not invent a fault.
Choose No substitution required.
Every paper has a few correct originals. Changing a correct sentence is a common self-made error.
She has been teaching in this school since 2015. (teaches / is teaching / No substitution required / has taught)
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'Since 2015' points to an action that started then and continues.
That needs the present perfect continuous: 'has been teaching'.
Each other option breaks that meaning.
No substitution required
Decoy families around the bold word
The options are relatives of the bold word: adjective and adverb forms, noun forms, effect / affect type twins.
Decide the job of the slot: does it describe a noun or an action?
Cross out family members that do the wrong job.
Keep the one whose meaning fits the sentence.
Sorting the family by job, not by sound, clears the set.
The soldier was praised for his brave act during the rescue. (bravely / No substitution required / braveness / bravest)
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The slot describes the noun 'act'.
A word that describes a noun is an adjective: 'brave'.
Bravely is an adverb and braveness is a noun. So the original is right.
No substitution required
Two-fault trap options
One tempting option fixes the visible fault but adds a second one: a wrong sequence, a broken pair or a wrong word type.
Fix the visible fault in your head first.
Test each tempting option against the other words in the sentence.
Reject any option that needs a second repair.
'Had gone yesterday' feels fixed. Only a second look shows the new fault.
My friend has gone to Delhi yesterday to attend an interview. (went / had gone / No substitution required / has went)
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'Yesterday' needs the simple past: 'went'.
'Had gone' needs an earlier past event, and the sentence has none.
'Has went' keeps the fault and adds another.
went
Meaning guard between clean options
Every option is grammatical. One of them changes who does the action (active to passive) or adds a new doer.
Say who does the action in the original.
Cross out options that change the doer or the meaning.
If the original is correct, pick No substitution required.
The exam corrects grammar. It does not ask you to rewrite the idea.
The police caught the thief after a long chase. (The thief was caught by the police / No substitution required / The thief caught the police / Caught the thief the police)
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The original is a correct active sentence.
The passive option is also correct English, but nothing asks for it.
The other two options change the meaning or break the order.
No substitution required
Shortcuts that save time
Look for the time word or helper verb near the bold part. Decide what the verb must look like. Then pick the option that matches your form.
She has met him yesterday evening. (met / has meet / was met / No substitution required)
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The anchor is 'yesterday', a finished past time.
A finished past time needs the simple past.
Simple past of meet is 'met'. The other two fail at step 1.
met
In your head, label each option: 'plural verb', 'wrong partner', 'breaks inversion'. If no option has a flaw, the answer is No substitution required.
Two options are both grammatical? Choose the one that keeps the original meaning word for word. An option that changes who did what is wrong.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Choosing a correct option that changes the meaning (active to passive, an added doer).
Keep the meaning. Change only what the fault needs.
Choosing 'No substitution required' because the sentence sounds natural.
Run the tense, agreement and structure checks first.
Repairing a part that is not in bold.
Only the bold part may change.
Missing the anchor word outside the bold part.
Read the whole sentence before you look at the options.
Picking an option that fixes one fault and adds another.
Read the finished sentence again once.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Read the whole sentence. The anchor is often outside the bold part.
Ladder: tense, agreement, structure, word choice, economy.
Cross out options that repeat the fault. Cross out options that add a new fault.
No substitution required is a real answer. Check steps 1 to 3 before you pick it.
Two options fix the fault? The smaller change that keeps the meaning wins.
Watch the decoy families: effect / affect, brave / bravely, more better, helper swaps.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 8 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.