Question

Choose the option that best corrects the sentence at the underlined point:
She chose between the less of the two evils.
A. No change
B. The little
C. A little
D. The lesser

Answer 1

Hint: The given sentence starts with ‘She chose between’, which implies that a comparison is being made between two things. Double comparatives are the sentences that compare two things. Adjectives in the comparative degree in such sentences end in -er. Example: He is older than Ram.
We will look for an option that uses the comparative form of the adjective ‘less’.

Complete step by step answer:
Let us analyze each option in detail to know the correct answer.

No change: This option will be valid only if the sentence is grammatically correct and needs no correction. But since the sentence is grammatically incorrect, this option remains invalid.
The little: By using this option, the sentence will be formed as “She chose between the little of the two evils”. This sentence is grammatically incorrect as the comparative is incorrect.
A little: By using this option, the sentence formed will be, “She chose between a little of the two evils”. Again, this sentence is grammatically incorrect as the comparative used is incorrect.
The lesser: By using this option, the sentence formed will be, “She chose between the lesser of the two evils”. This sentence makes sense and is grammatically correct. The comparative used here is ‘the lesser’ which is correct as the comparative of the adjective ‘less’ is ‘lesser’.

So, the correct answer is “Option D”.

Note:
The comparative ‘lesser’ indicates the entity which is less in two compared entities. Example: 3 is lesser than 5. Comparative sentences also use the word ‘more’ to make comparisons. Example: His house is more old than his office. This sentence can also be formed as “His house is older than his office”. Here, the comparatives -er and ‘more’ both cannot be used together. “His house is more older than his office” would be incorrect.