Select the option that will improve the underlined part of the given sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select 'No improvement'.
The secretary has fewer work to do than I have yet he complains.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2, i.e. less work.
Error concept: Incorrect use of comparative adjective
What is wrong: The word "fewer" is used for countable nouns, but "work" is uncountable in this context.
Grammatical concept:
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"Fewer" is used for things you can count (e.g. apples, books).
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"Less" is used for uncountable things (e.g. water, sugar, work).
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Since "work" cannot be counted as individual units, "fewer" is grammatically wrong here.
How to correct: Replace "fewer" with "less" to match the uncountable noun.
Correct phrase/ correction: less work
Final sentence: The secretary has less work to do than I have, yet he complains.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.