Which of the part(s) of the following sentence contains an error?
(A) The three first
(B) to arrive
(C) were the lucky
(D) recipients of
(E) a bouquet of flowers
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A) Only
When an ordinal (first, last, next) and a cardinal (two, three) go together, the ordinal comes first: the first three, not "the three first".
- (A) The three first — Error. It should be The first three.
- (B) to arrive — No error. The infinitive rightly follows "the first three".
- (C) were the lucky — No error. The plural subject takes the plural verb "were".
- (D) recipients of — No error. "Recipients of" is the normal pattern.
- (E) a bouquet of flowers — No error.
- Corrected: The first three to arrive were the lucky recipients of a bouquet of flowers.
Example: The first two chapters are the easiest.