Question

Of the following, which is the best way to phrase sentence 4 (reproduced below)?
He listens intently, asks me some questions, and my feelings are seemingly known by him exactly.
a) (as it is now)
b) Listening intently, he will ask me some questions and then my exact feelings are seemingly known to him.
c) As he listens to me and asks me some questions, he seems to be knowing exactly my feelings.
d) He listened to me and asks me some questions, seeming to know exactly how I felt.
e) He listens intently, asks me some questions, and then seems to know exactly how I feel.

Answer 1

Hint:The given sentence has three verbs. All three of the verbs need to match each other perfectly. If they don’t, then the sentence is grammatically incorrect and vice versa.

Complete answer:
 Let us first figure out if there are any problems in the given sentence. The construction is not perfect, as there are two adverbs in the same clause. This is a grammatical mistake that is common, but one that we usually want to avoid. The second mistake is that two of the verbs match, but the third verb does not. So, we have to convert the adverb ‘seemingly’ into a verb.
The sentence is also very chunky, as in there are a lot of words towards the end of the sentence. This makes the sentence heavy. So, we need to simplify the given construction as well.

Now, we know exactly what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options:

a) (as it is now) - We have already established that the given sentence is not perfect. There is one verb that does not match the other two, there is one unnecessary adverb, and the sentence is also very wordy and complicated for no reason. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) Listening intently, he will ask me some questions and then my exact feelings are seemingly known to him - We do not need to add a gerund to the given sentence. One adverb was converted into an adjective, which does not improve the sentence at all. The third problem is that the verbs do not match each other. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) As he listens to me and asks me some questions, he seems to be knowing exactly my feelings - This is a less complicated construction, and the verbs all match each other. However, the adverb is wrongly placed, which makes the whole sentence incorrect. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) He listened to me and asks me some questions, seeming to know exactly how I felt - Here, none of the verbs match each other. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
e) He listens intently, asks me some questions, and then seems to know exactly how I feel - This sentence has been simplified and the construction is much better. The verbs all match each other and the extra adverb was converted into the third verb. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
Hence option (e) is correct. 

Note:
Read the given sentence carefully, and try to understand the problem in the sentence, if there is any. Then, read the given sentences. Then, choose the sentence that you think sounds the most correct.