Choose the grammatically correct sentence from the following:
A. When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef was near wiped out.
B. When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef was nearly wiped out.
C. When the scuba diver swam deeply into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef were near wiped out.
D. When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hardly that the coral reef was nearly wiped out.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → B only
A. When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef was near wiped out. — Incorrect. Before the verb "wiped out" the adverb "nearly" (= almost) is needed; "near" means close to a place.
Correct form: When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef was nearly wiped out.
B. When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef was nearly wiped out. — Correct. "Deep" (= far down), "hard" (= with force) and "nearly" (= almost) are all used in their right sense.
C. When the scuba diver swam deeply into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef were near wiped out. — Incorrect.
- "Deeply" means intensely, in feeling ("deeply moved"), not far down into water.
- The singular subject "the coral reef" needs "was", not "were".
- "Near" should be "nearly".
Correct form: When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef was nearly wiped out.
D. When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hardly that the coral reef was nearly wiped out. — Incorrect. "Hardly" means scarcely, almost not; "it hit him hardly" would say the fact barely touched him. The sense of force needs "hard".
Correct form: When the scuba diver swam deep into the water, it hit him hard that the coral reef was nearly wiped out.