Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question again focuses on error detection, specifically on correct verb phrase usage with certain nouns. The phrase ascended the throne is a fixed idiomatic expression in English, especially in historical or political contexts. The test checks whether you know that this verb does not take the preposition to before the object throne.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Certain verbs form fixed combinations with specific objects, and adding a preposition can break the pattern. For the throne, English uses ascend the throne with a direct object. The verb ascend can take a preposition in other contexts, such as ascend to the mountain peak, but when throne is used as a symbolic object of rulership, the idiomatic pattern is without to. Therefore, we must identify that the error lies in part 2, where to has been incorrectly inserted.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read part 1: She ascended. There is no subject verb disagreement, and the past tense is correctly formed.Step 2: Read part 2: to the throne. Here, the preposition to stands between the verb ascended and the object the throne.Step 3: Recall the standard expression: She ascended the throne, which does not use a preposition.Step 4: Part 3, at the early age of seven, is grammatically acceptable and expresses time clearly.Step 5: Therefore, the error is located in segment 2, and the sentence should read She ascended the throne at the early age of seven.Step 6: Mark option 2 as the answer.
Verification / Alternative check:
Replacing to the throne with the throne gives: She ascended the throne at the early age of seven. This version matches how history books usually describe the coronation or rise of a monarch. You will find countless examples of this phrase in standard English usage. No other part of the sentence requires a correction, confirming that part 2 contains the only clear error.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option 1: She ascended is perfectly correct as a simple past tense sentence opener. There is no issue with tense or subject.Option 3: at the early age of seven is a proper prepositional phrase indicating the time when she became ruler. The article the before early age is acceptable, and seven is a correct numeral used as an age.Option 4: No error is wrong because the sentence clearly misuses the verb phrase for throne.
Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes over generalise verb patterns and think that ascend always needs a preposition to. While ascend to is possible in many physical movement contexts, idiomatic expressions like ascend the throne are fixed and must be memorised. Another pitfall is focusing too much on minor details like the choice between at the age of seven and at an early age, which are both acceptable, and missing the more significant verb phrase error. In such questions, always check collocations with important nouns like throne, office, or responsibility, where English has well established patterns.
Final Answer:
The incorrect segment is 2; the correct sentence should be She ascended the throne at the early age of seven.
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