Choose the correct version of the given sentence from the options below:
The cobbler was too busy that he could not mend my chappal before evening.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The cobbler was too busy to mend my chappal before evening.
“Too ... to”:
- The given sentence says “too busy that he could not mend”. This is wrong: “too” is not followed by a that-part.
- Too + adjective + to + verb already means “so ... that ... cannot”. So there is no “that” and no “not”: too busy to mend.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The cobbler was too busy to not mend my chappal before evening. — Incorrect. The option says “too busy to not mend”. “Too ... to” already has a negative meaning, so “not” is extra.
Option 2: The cobbler was so busy to mend my chappal before evening. — Incorrect. The option says “so busy to mend”. “So” is followed by a that-part, as in “so busy that he could not mend”, not by “to”.
Option 3: The cobbler was very busy to mend my chappal before evening. — Incorrect. The option says “very busy to mend”. “Very” only makes the adjective stronger. It cannot be joined with “to” to show a result.