Identify the grammatically incorrect sentences:
(A) Being a very hot day, I remained in my tent.
(B) The fog being very dense, nothing could be seen.
(C) The rain came pouring down in torrents.
(D) Lessons learned easily are soon forgotten.
(E) Having obtained information, he was arrested.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (E) Only
Participle phrases: a participle phrase at the start of a sentence must refer to the subject of the main clause. If it has a subject of its own, that subject must be stated (the nominative absolute: "The fog being dense, ...").
(A) Being a very hot day, I remained in my tent. — Incorrect.
- The phrase now says that "I" was a hot day.
- It needs its own subject.
- Correct form: It being a very hot day, I remained in my tent.
(B) The fog being very dense, nothing could be seen. — Correct.
- Correct use: it is a nominative absolute, in which "the fog" is the subject of "being", so the phrase does not depend on "nothing".
(C) The rain came pouring down in torrents. — Correct.
- Correct use: "came pouring down" is a normal pattern (come + -ing), and "in torrents" means very heavily.
(D) Lessons learned easily are soon forgotten. — Correct.
- Correct use: "learned easily" is a past participle phrase describing the subject "lessons".
(E) Having obtained information, he was arrested. — Incorrect.
- The phrase now says that the man arrested had obtained the information.
- The doers must be named.
Example: Having finished his work, he went home. - Correct form: Having obtained information, the police arrested him.