Question

Instructions: In each of these questions, each sentence has four words or phrases in braces marked A, B, C and D. Choose one word or phrase that must be changed for the sentence to be correct.

Alexander Calder, who was {originally} (A) interested {in} (B) mechanical engineering {later} (C) became {a sculpture}. (D)

• A. A
• B. B
• C. C
• D. D

Hint:

A person cannot become an object, check if the noun should name the doer instead.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

This question checks whether you can tell apart two closely related words, a common noun for an object and the noun for the person who creates it.

1. A - "originally": This adverb correctly modifies "interested," describing Calder's initial field of interest. No error here.
2. B - "in": "Interested in" is the standard preposition pairing with "interested," this is correct.
3. C - "later": This adverb correctly signals a shift in time, from his original interest to what he became afterward. No error here.
4. D - "a sculpture": This is the error. A "sculpture" is the artwork itself, the finished piece, not the person who makes it. Since the sentence describes what Alexander Calder became as a profession or identity, it needs "a sculptor," the person who creates sculptures.

The corrected sentence reads: "Alexander Calder, who was originally interested in mechanical engineering, later became a sculptor." The error is in part D, so option D is correct.

Let's summarize:

• Watch for commonly confused word pairs like sculpture/sculptor, invention/inventor, direction/director, they test vocabulary precision, not just grammar.
• Ask whether the sentence is describing a person's role or an object, that distinction usually resolves this kind of error.

A person cannot "become" an inanimate object, so whenever a sentence says someone "became a [thing]," check if it should instead be the "doer" noun form.