Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. If there is no need to substitute it, select 'No substitution'.
My friend is owing an expensive cell phone.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. owns an expensive cell phone.
Error concept: Wrong verb usage.
What is wrong: The verb “is owing” is incorrect.
Grammatical concept: Stative verbs (like owe, know, believe) usually don’t take continuous (-ing) form.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Using “is owing” sounds ungrammatical when we want to express possession. On the other hand “own” correctly expresses possession.
How to correct + extra concept: Replace “is owing” with “owns”.
Correction: owns an expensive cell phone
Final sentence: My friend owns an expensive cell phone.