In the following question, one part of the sentence may have an error. Find…
2023
In the following question, one part of the sentence may have an error. Find out which part of the sentence has an error and click the option corresponding to it. If the sentence is free from error, click the 'No error' option.
Hardly had the politician arrived (A)/ at the rally than the crowd (B)/ started pelting stones at him. (C)/ No error (D)
- A.
A
- B.
B
- C.
C
- D.
D
Attempted by 15 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Correct explanation: The error is in the conjunction used after the clause beginning with "Hardly".
Rule: Certain negative or limiting adverbials form fixed pairs with specific conjunctions — for example, "hardly" typically pairs with "when" (hardly... when), "scarcely" with "when", while "no sooner" pairs with "than" (no sooner... than).
Application: The sentence uses "Hardly had the politician arrived...", so the correct conjunction to introduce the following event is "when", not "than."
Also note: The inversion in the initial clause (Hardly had the politician arrived) is correct and should be retained.
Corrected sentence:
Hardly had the politician arrived at the rally when the crowd started pelting stones at him.