Question

Identify the correct sentence from the options given below.

• A. When kite flying you can always tell when you lose a kite because the string feels loose.
• B. When kite flying you can always tell when you loose a kite because the string feels lose.
• C. When kite flying you can always tell when you loose a kite because the string feels loose.
• D. When flying a kite, you can, always tell when you lose a kite because the string feels lose.

Hint:

Lose is the verb, to misplace; loose is the adjective, slack. Only one option uses both correctly.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

This question tests a commonly confused word pair, lose versus loose. Lose (rhymes with choose) is a verb meaning to misplace something. Loose (rhymes with goose) is an adjective meaning not tight or slack. A correct sentence must use lose for the verb, losing a kite, and loose for the adjective, the string feels slack.

1. you can always tell when you lose a kite because the string feels loose: Lose is used correctly as the verb for losing the kite, and loose is used correctly as the adjective describing the slack string. Both words are right.
2. you can always tell when you loose a kite because the string feels lose: Both words are swapped. Loose is wrongly used as a verb, and lose is wrongly used as an adjective. This sentence gets both wrong.
3. you can always tell when you loose a kite because the string feels loose: Loose is wrongly used as the verb; only the second word is right.
4. When flying a kite, you can, always tell when you lose a kite because the string feels lose: The verb lose is right here, but feels lose is wrong, since lose cannot describe how a string feels, it needs the adjective loose. The extra comma after you can also breaks the sentence flow.

Option 1 is the only sentence where lose is the verb and loose is the adjective, exactly as the grammar requires, so option 1 is correct.

Let's summarize:

• Lose is a verb meaning to misplace; loose is an adjective meaning slack or not tight.
• Check every sentence with a confusable word pair by asking whether a verb or an adjective is needed at that spot.

The correct sentence is option 1, where lose is used as the verb and loose as the adjective.