Sentence Improvement
🔒 Log in to trackComparison and structural fixes
🔒 Log in to trackComparison fixes. Two recurring shapes:
- Double marker: more better, most fastest → drop the extra word (better, fastest).
- Unlike things compared: The climate of Shimla is cooler than Delhi → compare climate with climate: that of Delhi. Singular possession → that of; plural → those of. This tiny pronoun is one of SSC's favourite right answers.
Structural fixes are about standard shapes:
- Inversion after negative openers: Hardly had I reached... when..., No sooner did he arrive than..., Not only did she sing, but she also danced. The highlighted segment is usually the un-inverted half.
- Correlative pairs kept parallel: not only + verb ↔ but also + verb; both... and; either... or.
- Dangling modifiers: an -ing opener must describe the subject that follows. Walking through the park, the flowers attracted the child → the child must become the subject: Walking through the park, the child was attracted by the flowers.
- Word order in embedded questions: He asked why I had left (statement order).
The repair must be minimal. Among options that fix the fault, SSC's key is the smallest correct change. An option that rewrites half the sentence is usually there to distract.
Detailed notes
The four comparison repairs
- Double marker: more better, most shortest, more preferable → drop the extra word (better, shortest, preferable). A comparative or superlative is already marked; never mark it twice.
- Like with like (that of / those of): compare the same kind of thing. The climate of Shimla is cooler than that of Delhi (climate with climate); The roads of Bhopal are wider than those of Indore (roads with roads). That for a singular noun, those for a plural.
- Latin comparatives take to: senior to, junior to, superior to, inferior to, prior to, preferable to, prefer X to Y — never than.
- Count the items: exactly two → comparative (the larger of the two); three or more → superlative (the largest of the five). Of all… → superlative.
How the options are built
- One option repeats the fault with new paint: more better → more good; senior than → more senior than.
- One option fixes the marker but breaks the count: the most effective kept where only two items exist.
- One option replaces than Delhi with a full clause (Delhi's streets are) — this produces a doubled sentence and is never the cleanest repair.
- The clean repair changes only what the fault requires.
Words that are already marked
Some words carry their degree inside them and refuse extra markers: better, worse, elder, former, latter, major, minor, superior, inferior, prior, senior, junior, preferable, perfect, unique, ideal, complete. Say better, never more better; say unique, never most unique — a unique thing has no scale to climb. When such a word sits in the bold part, the correct option is almost always the plain form, and the decoys add more/most to it.
Counting traps
The count is often announced inside the sentence: of the two routes, of all the models, one of the finest. Read that phrase before judging the form. Of all demands -est/most; of the two demands -er/more.
Whole-sentence check
After substituting, re-read: the fix must not create a second fault. Those of with a singular noun, prefer to with than still trailing, or a superlative left without the — each is a new fault wearing the old fix's clothes.
Quick revision
- more better / most shortest → cut the doubled marker.
- climate vs city → that of (singular) / those of (plural).
- senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior, preferable → TO; prefer → TO.
- of the two → comparative; of all → superlative (with the).
- Reject options that fix the marker but break the count, or turn the sentence into a doubled clause.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Double-marker fixvery common2 practice Q
The bold part contains more + -er or most + -est (more better, far more better, most shortest).
- Identify the marked form (better, shortest).
- Delete the doubled marker — the fix is a subtraction, not a substitution.
- Reject options that swap one doubling for another (more good) or destroy the comparison (good).
Why it works: the double marker is pure redundancy; the correct option is the one that simply stops marking twice.
Example: "The second model is (far more better) than the first." far better / No substitution required / more good / best
Far better keeps the intensifier and drops the doubled marker. 'More good' re-doubles; 'best' breaks the two-item frame with than.
Type 2: That-of / those-of repairvery common3 practice Q
The sentence compares 'the X of A' with a bare place or person ('than Delhi', 'than most cereals'), so unlike things are being compared.
- Name the two things being compared.
- They must be the same kind: X with X.
- Insert that of (singular X) or those of (plural X) before the second item.
Why it works: 'the roads of Bhopal vs Indore' compares roads with a city; those of quietly rebuilds the missing 'the roads of'.
Example: "The streets of Mysuru are cleaner than (Bangalore)." those of Bangalore / that of Bangalore / No substitution required / Bangalore's streets
Streets (plural) vs streets → those of Bangalore. That of is singular; 'Bangalore's streets are' doubles the clause.
Type 3: Latin comparative / prefer repaircommon2 practice Q
The bold part pairs senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior, preferable (or prefer) with than (or another wrong partner).
- Spot the Latin comparative or prefer.
- Its partner is to, always.
- Reject options that keep than in any dress (more senior than) or switch the meaning (prefer to → liking).
Why it works: these words came into English with their own preposition attached; than belongs only to -er/more comparatives.
Example: "My sister (prefers coffee than) tea in winter." prefers coffee to / No substitution required / prefer coffee to / is preferring coffee than
Prefer X to Y: prefers coffee to tea. 'Prefer coffee than' keeps the fault; the bare 'prefer' loses the -s agreement.
Type 4: Count-of-items repair (two vs three-plus)common2 practice Q
The sentence announces the count (of the two, of all, of the five) and the bold form has the wrong degree.
- Find the count phrase (of the two / of all).
- Two → comparative with the; three or more → superlative with the.
- Pick the option with the right degree and keep the in place.
Why it works: the degree is not a style choice — the announced count fixes it, and the options include the neighbouring degree as the decoy.
Example: "Iron is (the most useful) of the two metals for construction." the more useful / No substitution required / more useful / useful most
Of the two metals → comparative: the more useful. 'The most useful' would need three or more metals; 'more useful' drops the required the.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ that-of insertion
When two possessive phrases are compared and only the second is highlighted, 'that of / those of' is almost always the answer. Check number: singular → that of, plural → those of.
Example: The roads of Bhopal are wider than Indore. Options: those of Indore / that of Indore / Indore's roads are / No substitution required.
Roads (plural) vs roads → those of Indore.
⚡ Negative-opener flip
See Hardly/No sooner/Not only/Little at sentence start? Expect auxiliary-before-subject order in the highlighted part: 'had I reached', 'did he arrive'. Un-inverted options die on rung 3.
⚡ -ing opener ownership
Ask WHO is doing the -ing action. The sentence's main subject must be that doer; if not, pick the option that makes the doer the subject.
Where students lose marks
Choosing 'than that of' when the comparison is not possessive at all.
Inverting a clause that has no negative opener.
Fixing a dangling modifier by moving the modifier instead of changing the subject.
Treating 'No substitution required' as wrong whenever the sentence looks plain — plain and correct are different things.
Practice sets — 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.