Select the most appropriate option to replace the underlined part of the sentence. If no improvement is needed, choose ‘No improvement’.
Shreya leaned over and whispered, “Between you and I, the maths paper was easier than the practice test.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Between you and me
Object form after a preposition:
- “Between” is a preposition. A pronoun after a preposition takes the object form: me, him, her, us, them.
- The given sentence says “Between you and I”. This is wrong: “I” is the subject form, so it must be “me”.
- Complete sentence: Shreya leaned over and whispered, “Between you and me, the maths paper was easier than the practice test.”
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Among you and me — Incorrect. “Among” is used for more than two people. Here there are only two, so the word needed is “between”. Example: The teacher shared the sweets among all thirty students.
Option 3: Between yourself and I — Incorrect. “I” is still the subject form. After “between”, the plain object forms “you and me” are needed.