The following sentence has been split into four segments. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error.
The soldiers / sacrifice their lives / to guarding / the nation and its boundaries.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. to guarding.
Error concept: Wrong verb form after a preposition.
What is wrong: The phrase “to guarding” is incorrect because after “to” (as a preposition), the verb should be in base form or gerund depending on context. Here, it should be “to guard” (infinitive) instead of “to guarding.”
Grammatical concept:
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After “sacrifice their lives,” the correct structure is “sacrifice their lives to + verb (base form)” to indicate purpose.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Using “to guarding” is grammatically incorrect and makes the sentence awkward.
How to correct: Replace “to guarding” with “to guard.”
Correct phrase/ correction: to guard
Final sentence: The soldiers sacrifice their lives to guard the nation and its boundaries.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.