Improve the underlined part of the sentence. Choose ‘No improvement’ as an answer if the sentence is grammatically correct.
A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lived on.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 4 i.e, lives on.
Error Concept: Subject-verb agreement with tense consistency.
What is wrong: The phrase “an idea lived on” is in the past tense, while the rest of the sentence uses present tense ("may die", "may rise and fall"). This creates a tense inconsistency.
Grammatical Concept: When multiple clauses are in a sentence, verb tenses must remain consistent unless there's a reason for a shift. Also, the subject "idea" is singular, so the verb must be singular present tense: lives.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: “lived on” (past) doesn’t match with “may die” and “may rise” (present modal). Also, “idea” is singular, so the verb should be “lives”.
How to correct: Replace “lived” with the present tense singular verb “lives”.
Correct phrase: lives on
Final Sentence: A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.