In the following sentence the underlined part contains an error. Alternatives to the underlined part are given as options.
Select the correct alternative.
Mary is the quieter student of the class.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. quietest
Error concept: Wrong degree of comparison used
What is wrong: The sentence uses “the quieter”, which is a comparative form. But here we are comparing Mary with the entire class, so the superlative degree should be used.
Grammatical concept: When comparing one person with the whole group, the superlative degree (quietest) is required.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Using comparative (quieter) implies a comparison between only two students, not the whole class.
How to correct: Replace the quieter with the quietest.
Correct phrase/ correction: the quietest
Final sentence: Mary is the quietest student of the class.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.