A part of the following sentence is underlined. Choose the option that can replace the underlined part to improve the sentence. If you feel Options A, B, or C do not improve the sentence, then choose Option D: "No improvement required."
He studied all night for the exam but failed to remember nothing the next day.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer
failed to remember anything
Explanation
The original sentence contains a double negative: "failed to remember nothing." Since "failed" already gives a negative sense, "nothing" should be replaced with "anything." The correct sentence is:
"He studied all night for the exam but failed to remember anything the next day."
The other options are incorrect. Option 2 changes the meaning of the sentence. Option 3 also changes the intended meaning. Option 4 is incorrect because the original sentence contains a grammatical error.
Key Points
Avoid double negatives in standard English. Use anything after a negative verb such as fail, don't, didn't, can't, or won't, not nothing.