Parts of the following sentence have been given as options. Select the option that contains an adverb-usage error.
Mr. Daniel, the police officer, commented, 'The fire clumsily spread through the building'.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. 'The fire clumsily spread.
Error concept: Error in adverb usage
What is wrong: The adverb 'clumsily' means awkwardly or without skill, which is incorrect for describing how fire spreads.
Grammatical concept: An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, and it must logically match the action or state it describes. Fire usually spreads rapidly, quickly, or uncontrollably, not awkwardly.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Using 'clumsily' makes the sentence illogical because fire cannot have human-like awkwardness.
How to correct: Replace the illogical adverb with one that matches the nature of fire, such as 'rapidly' or 'quickly'.
Correction: 'The fire rapidly spread'
Final sentence: Mr. Daniel, the police officer, commented, 'The fire rapidly spread through the building'.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.