The given sentence is divided into four segments. Select the option that has the segment with an adverbial usage error.
Mr. Joe remarked / that the audience / brightly listened / to the speech.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. brightly listened.
Error concept: Wrong adverb usage.
What is wrong: The adverb “brightly” means with brightness/light or in a cheerful way, which does not make sense with the verb “listened.”
Grammatical concept: Verbs must be paired with contextually suitable adverbs. For “listened,” the correct adverbs would be “attentively, carefully, patiently, eagerly.”
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Saying “brightly listened” is grammatically incorrect and illogical.
How to correct: Replace “brightly” with “attentively.”
Correct phrase/ correction: attentively listened
Final sentence: Mr. Joe remarked that the audience attentively listened to the speech.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.