Select the option that will improve the underlined part of the given sentence.
Ritu was still standing in the queue when the film was starting.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. film started.
Error concept: Incorrect tense usage.
What is wrong: The original phrase “was starting” is in past continuous, which is incorrect here because the action of the film had already begun at a specific past moment.
Grammatical concept:
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Simple past tense (started) is used to describe an action that occurred and completed in the past.
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Past continuous (was starting) is used for actions in progress at a particular time, which doesn’t fit here.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Saying “film was starting” suggests it was in progress while she was standing, but the intended meaning is that the film began while she was still in the queue.
How to correct: Replace “was starting” with “started.”
Correct phrase/ correction: film started
Final sentence: Ritu was still standing in the queue when the film started.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.