Identify the sentences that are error free:
(A) Two-thirds of the wedding cake was eaten within ten minutes.
(B) Can you borrow me your geometry box for the maths test?
(C) Arjun is better at chess than any other boy in his class.
(D) Please rise your hand if you have finished the worksheet.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A) and (C) only
(A) Two-thirds of the wedding cake was eaten within ten minutes. — Correct.
- With “two-thirds of”, the verb agrees with the noun that comes after “of”.
- “Cake” is singular, so the singular verb was is right.
(B) Can you borrow me your geometry box for the maths test? — Incorrect.
- To borrow is to take something from someone, and to lend is to give it to someone.
- The speaker wants the other person to give the box, so the verb must be “lend”.
- Correct form: Can you lend me your geometry box for the maths test?
(C) Arjun is better at chess than any other boy in his class. — Correct.
- When one person is compared with the rest of his own group, “than any other” is used.
- Arjun is himself a boy in the class, so “any other boy” is right.
(D) Please rise your hand if you have finished the worksheet. — Incorrect.
- Raise takes an object (raise your hand), while rise means to go up by itself.
- Correct form: Please raise your hand if you have finished the worksheet.