Question

Correct the following sentence.
Of all the other students, she is the most promising.
a. Of all the other students, she is the more promising.
b. Of all the other students, she is the most promising.
c. Of all the students, she is the more promising.
d. Of all the students, she is the most promising.

Answer 1

Hint: The subject, verb, and object should all match with each other. The plurality of the verb should also align with the given subject. The adjective should be preceded by the correct word.

Complete answer: To find the error in the given sentence, we must
first understand how sentences are constructed. We must identify the different parts of
speech in the given sentence. The most basic construction in English is ‘subject + verb + object’. However, it becomes more complicated when other parts of speech come into play. We can add describing words such as adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. Adjectives are usually placed before a noun and adverbs are usually placed before an adjective or verb.
In the given sentence, the degree of adjective needed is clearly the superlative degree, as the comparison being made is extreme. This means that the word that should precede the adjective is ‘most’. The construction of the first part of the sentence should be a simple reference to the object/group that is being compared.

Now, we know what we need. Let’s look at the given options:
a. Of all the other students, she is the more promising. - In this sentence, the adjective is preceded by the word ‘more’. This means that this is not in the superlative degree. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b. Of all the other students, she is the most promising. - In this sentence, the adjective is in the superlative degree, which is correct, but the first part of the sentence does not clearly convey the meaning. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c. Of all the students, she is the more promising. - In this sentence, the adjective is preceded by the word ‘more’. This means that this is not in the superlative degree. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d. Of all the students, she is the most promising. - In this sentence, the adjective is in the superlative degree and the first part of the sentence is the correct way to convey the meaning that is required. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note: When this, that, these, and those are followed by a noun, they are adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns. Examples: (i)This house is for sale. ‘This’ is an adjective. (ii)This is for sale. ‘This’ is a pronoun.