Parts of the following sentence are given as options. Identify the part that contains a grammatical error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’.
Hardly had the guests sat down / when a heavy shower / sent everyone running to the verandah.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → No error
“When” may look wrong, as many students expect “than” here. But “than” goes only with “no sooner”. The partner word of “hardly” is when, so “Hardly had ... when” is right, and the sentence has no error.
Option 1: Hardly had the guests sat down — No error. After “hardly” at the start, “had” comes before the subject, so “had the guests sat” is right.
Option 2: when a heavy shower — No error. “When” is the right partner of “hardly”.
Option 3: sent everyone running to the verandah — No error. The second action takes the simple past, so “sent” is right.