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 required’
Over two hundred years ago, early in the eighteenth century, our ancestors had come down over this mountain valley to seek fame and fortune in the rich plains below.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. came down from that.
Error concept: Error in verb tense and preposition usage.
What is wrong: The phrase 'had come down over this mountain valley' uses past perfect tense unnecessarily and the preposition 'over' is incorrect.
Grammatical concept: Simple past tense (came down) is sufficient when narrating historical events. Also, 'from' is the correct preposition to indicate movement originating from a place.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Using 'had come down over' is overly complex and grammatically awkward for the sentence context.
How to correct: Replace 'had come down over this' with 'came down from that'.
Correction: came down from that mountain valley
Final sentence: Over two hundred years ago, early in the eighteenth century, our ancestors came down from that mountain valley to seek fame and fortune in the rich plains below.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.