Directions: In this question, a part of the sentence is made bold. Below are given alternatives to the bold part at (A), (B), (C) and (D) which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case no replacement is needed, mark (E) as your answer.
The jury was divided in its opinions with majority supporting the guilty verdict.
jury was divided in its opinion
Incorrect Answerjury were divided in their opinions
Correct Answerjury was dividing in its opinions
Incorrect Answerdivided jury in its opinions
Incorrect AnswerNo correction required
Incorrect AnswerExplanation:
Correct Answer is (b).The original sentence is erroneous.
Reason: Collective nouns are used in the singular form and neuter gender(its). However, there is an exception. Collective nouns can be used in the plural form when there is a split of opinions or difference in views. In the given sentence, ‘jury’ refers to ‘members of the jury’. Hence ‘were’ should be used in place of ‘was’ and ‘their’ should be used in place of ‘its’ in order to make the sentence grammatically correct.
Among the given choices, only option B replaces the given bold part most appropriately.
The sentence after replacement becomes:
The jury were divided in their opinions with majority supporting the guilty verdict.Option B is hence the correct answer.
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By: Abhishek kumar