Parts of the following sentence are given as options. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error.
They were completely taking unawares by the shocking remarks of Mr. Sharma about the security of the colony.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. were completely taking unawares.
In the sentence, the action is being done to the subject (they were surprised), so the verb phrase needs to be in the passive voice.
In passive voice, we use the past participle form of the verb. The correct past participle of "take" is "taken".
The idiomatic expression "taken unawares" means to be surprised or caught off guard. This expression should be used as it is to maintain the correct idiomatic usage.
Thus, the correct segment is "were completely taken unawares", making the sentence "They were completely taken unawares by the shocking remarks of Mr. Sharma about the security of the colony."