📝 Sentence Improvement - Complete Theory

Master sentence correction - fix it or leave it!

🎯 What is Sentence Improvement?

Sentence Improvement tests your ability to:

• Identify grammatically incorrect parts of sentences
• Replace incorrect phrases with correct alternatives
• Improve sentence structure while maintaining meaning
• Recognize when no improvement is needed

Format:

A sentence with an underlined/bold portion
Choose the option that best improves the underlined part
One option is always "No improvement needed"

Example:
"He has been working here since five years."

A) from five years
B) for five years
C) since five year
D) No improvement needed

Answer: B (for five years - "for" with duration)

Importance in IBPS:

• Prelims: 5 questions
• Mains: 5-10 questions
• Scoring: High accuracy possible (25-30 seconds per question)

📐 Common Error Types in Sentence Improvement

1. Tense Errors

Error: Wrong tense usage

Wrong: "He is working here since 2010."
Right: "He has been working here since 2010."
(Since → Present Perfect Continuous)

Wrong: "I will tell you when he will come."
Right: "I will tell you when he comes."
(Future tense not used in time clauses)

Wrong: "If I would have money, I will buy a car."
Right: "If I had money, I would buy a car."
(Type 2 conditional: If + past, would + base)

2. Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

Error: Verb doesn’t match subject

Wrong: "The committee have decided to postpone the meeting."
Right: "The committee has decided to postpone the meeting."
(Committee = singular)

Wrong: "Each of the students have submitted their work."
Right: "Each of the students has submitted his/her work."
(Each = singular)

Wrong: "The data are conclusive."
Right: "The data is conclusive."
(Data can be singular in modern usage; datum = singular form)

3. Preposition Errors

Error: Wrong preposition used

Wrong: "She is good in mathematics."
Right: "She is good at mathematics."

Wrong: "He married with her in 2015."
Right: "He married her in 2015."
(Marry doesn't take "with")

Wrong: "The book comprises of ten chapters."
Right: "The book comprises ten chapters."
(Comprise doesn't take "of")

Wrong: "He is senior than me."
Right: "He is senior to me."
(Senior takes "to", not "than")

4. Article Errors

Error: Wrong or missing articles

Wrong: "He is best student in the class."
Right: "He is the best student in the class."
(Superlative needs "the")

Wrong: "The honesty is best policy."
Right: "Honesty is the best policy."
(Abstract noun doesn't need "the")

Wrong: "I saw a elephant in the zoo."
Right: "I saw an elephant in the zoo."
(Vowel sound → "an")

5. Pronoun Errors

Error: Wrong pronoun or pronoun-antecedent disagreement

Wrong: "Everyone should do their best."
Right: "Everyone should do his/her best."
(Everyone = singular)

Wrong: "Between you and I, this is wrong."
Right: "Between you and me, this is wrong."
(Object of preposition → "me")

Wrong: "The team has completed their project."
Right: "The team has completed its project."
(Team = singular collective noun)

6. Redundancy Errors

Error: Unnecessary repetition

Wrong: "Return back the book to the library."
Right: "Return the book to the library."
("Return" already means "go back", "back" is redundant)

Wrong: "Repeat again what you said."
Right: "Repeat what you said."
("Repeat" already means "say again")

Wrong: "He is more superior than his colleague."
Right: "He is superior to his colleague."
("Superior" already comparative, no "more" needed)

Other redundancies:
- past history → history
- advance planning → planning
- end result → result
- close proximity → proximity

7. Parallelism Errors

Error: Inconsistent structure

Wrong: "He likes reading, writing, and to swim."
Right: "He likes reading, writing, and swimming."
(All gerunds → parallel)

Wrong: "She is intelligent, hardworking, and has beauty."
Right: "She is intelligent, hardworking, and beautiful."
(All adjectives → parallel)

Wrong: "The manager is responsible for hiring, training, and to evaluate staff."
Right: "The manager is responsible for hiring, training, and evaluating staff."
(All gerunds → parallel)

8. Misplaced Modifiers

Error: Modifier in wrong position

Wrong: "Walking down the street, the trees looked beautiful."
Right: "Walking down the street, I saw beautiful trees."
(Trees don't walk - modifier should modify "I")

Wrong: "He only ate vegetables."
Right: "He ate only vegetables."
("only" modifies "vegetables", not "ate")

9. Conjunction Errors

Error: Wrong or redundant conjunction

Wrong: "Although he is poor but he is honest."
Right: "Although he is poor, he is honest."
OR: "He is poor but honest."
(Don't use "although" and "but" together)

Wrong: "Because he was ill, therefore he didn't come."
Right: "Because he was ill, he didn't come."
OR: "He was ill; therefore, he didn't come."
(Don't use "because" and "therefore" together)

10. Comparison Errors

Error: Faulty comparison

Wrong: "Her performance is better than any student."
Right: "Her performance is better than that of any other student."
(Can't compare her performance to entire group she's part of)

Wrong: "India's population is more than China."
Right: "India's population is more than that of China."
(Compare population with population, not with China)

💡 Solved Examples

Example 1: Tense Error

Question:

"If I will have enough money, I would buy a new car."

A) If I have enough money
B) If I had enough money
C) If I would have enough money
D) No improvement needed

Solution:

This is Type 2 conditional (hypothetical present/future):
Structure: If + past simple, would + base verb

"If I had enough money, I would buy a new car."

Answer: B

Example 2: Preposition Error

Question:

"She has been living in Mumbai since five years."

A) from five years
B) for five years
C) since five year
D) No improvement needed

Solution:

Time expressions:
- Since → point of time (since 2010, since Monday)
- For → duration (for 5 years, for 2 hours)

"five years" is duration → use "for"

Answer: B

Example 3: Subject-Verb Agreement

Question:

"The number of applicants have increased significantly."

A) has increased
B) are increasing
C) were increased
D) No improvement needed

Solution:

Subject: "The number" (singular)
Not "applicants" (that's prepositional phrase)

Singular subject needs singular verb → "has"

Answer: A

Example 4: Redundancy

Question:

"Please repeat again what you just said."

A) repeat once again
B) repeat
C) say again
D) No improvement needed

Solution:

"Repeat" already means "say again"
"again" is redundant

Answer: B (just "repeat")

Example 5: Pronoun Error

Question:

"Everyone in the office completed their assigned tasks."

A) his or her assigned tasks
B) his assigned task
C) their assigned task
D) No improvement needed

Solution:

"Everyone" is singular
Needs singular pronoun: his/her, not "their"

"tasks" (plural) is okay because each person has multiple tasks

Answer: A

Example 6: No Improvement Needed

Question:

"The committee has decided to postpone the annual meeting."

A) have decided
B) had decided
C) was decided
D) No improvement needed

Solution:

Check sentence:
- "committee" → singular ✓
- "has decided" → singular verb ✓
- Present perfect tense → appropriate ✓

No error found.

Answer: D (No improvement needed)

⚡ Quick Solving Strategy

Step 1: Read Full Sentence (5 seconds)

Understand complete meaning
Don't jump to underlined part immediately
Context matters!

Step 2: Identify Error Type (10 seconds)

Check for:
1. Tense (time markers)
2. Subject-verb agreement (singular/plural)
3. Preposition (fixed usage)
4. Article (a/an/the)
5. Pronoun (agreement)
6. Redundancy (repeated meaning)

Step 3: Eliminate & Choose (10 seconds)

Remove obviously wrong options
If original is correct, choose "No improvement needed"
Don't overthink - trust grammar rules

Total Time: 25-30 seconds

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ Mistake 1: Assuming Always Needs Improvement

Wrong: Always trying to find an error ✗
Right: "No improvement needed" appears 15-20% of time ✓

If sentence is correct, confidently choose "No improvement needed"

❌ Mistake 2: Changing Meaning

Wrong: Improving grammar but changing original meaning ✗
Right: Maintain original meaning while correcting grammar ✓

The improved sentence should convey the same idea!

❌ Mistake 3: Not Reading All Options

Wrong: Choosing first correct-looking option ✗
Right: Read all options, then choose best one ✓

Sometimes multiple options may seem correct!

❌ Mistake 4: Overthinking Simple Errors

Wrong: Looking for complex errors in simple sentences ✗
Right: Trust basic grammar rules ✓

Most errors are straightforward (tense, preposition, agreement)

📝 Must-Know Grammar Checkpoints

Checkpoint 1: Time Markers

Since → Point of time + Present Perfect
"He has been here since Monday." ✓

For → Duration + Present Perfect
"He has been here for three days." ✓

Ago → Past Simple
"He came here three days ago." ✓

Yet, Already → Present Perfect
"Have you finished yet?" ✓
"I have already completed it." ✓

Checkpoint 2: Conditional Sentences

Type 0 (General truth):
If + present, present
"If you heat water, it boils."

Type 1 (Real future):
If + present, will + base
"If it rains, I will stay home."

Type 2 (Hypothetical present/future):
If + past, would + base
"If I had money, I would buy a car."

Type 3 (Hypothetical past):
If + past perfect, would have + past participle
"If I had studied, I would have passed."

Checkpoint 3: Verb + Preposition

Fixed combinations:
Depend on, insist on, rely on, concentrate on
Object to, refer to, belong to, listen to
Care for, look for, search for, wait for
Believe in, succeed in, interested in
Comply with, cope with, deal with

Checkpoint 4: Comparative/Superlative

Comparative (two things):
better, worse, more, less, -er + than

"He is better than his brother." ✓

Superlative (more than two):
best, worst, most, least, -est + the

"He is the best student in class." ✓

Don't double:
Wrong: "more better" ✗
Right: "better" ✓

🎯 Exam Strategy

Time Management

IBPS Prelims: 2-3 minutes for 5 questions
Per question: 25-30 seconds

IBPS Mains: Similar timing

Priority

1. Clear grammar errors (tense, agreement) → 20 sec
2. Preposition/article errors → 25 sec
3. Complex structure errors → 30 sec
4. If confused, choose "No improvement" and move on

Selection Strategy

If 2 options seem correct:
- Choose more natural-sounding one
- Choose simpler structure over complex
- Maintain formality of original sentence

🔗 Related Topics

Uses Concepts From:

• English Grammar (all rules)
• Error Spotting - Similar error identification
• Fill in the Blanks - Grammar application

Related English Topics:

• Cloze Test - Grammar and context
• Sentence construction

Practice:

• Sentence Improvement Questions

Master Sentence Improvement - Fix errors, maintain meaning! 📝