Choose the correct version of the given sentence from the options below:
Being a public holiday, the post office near our school was closed all day.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → It being a public holiday, the post office near our school was closed all day.
An opening phrase with its own subject:
- The given sentence says “Being a public holiday, the post office ...”. This is wrong. It makes the post office the holiday.
- The holiday is not the post office, so the opening phrase needs its own subject: It being a public holiday. This phrase has no full verb, so it is joined to the main part with a comma only.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Being a public holiday, the post office near our school had been closed all day. — Incorrect. The opening “Being a public holiday” still has no subject of its own, so it still makes the post office the holiday.
Option 2: It was a public holiday, the post office near our school was closed all day. — Incorrect. “It was a public holiday” is a full sentence. Two full sentences cannot be joined by a comma alone.
Option 3: It being a public holiday, so the post office near our school was closed all day. — Incorrect. “It being a public holiday” already gives the reason. Adding “so” after it is wrong.