Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Part (1) I seen
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question checks your understanding of correct verb forms in English, especially the difference between see, saw, and seen. Error spotting items like this are designed to train your eye to notice small but important grammatical mistakes that can change the quality of a sentence.
Given Data / Assumptions:
The sentence is divided into numbered parts: I seen (1) that it (2) is getting dark. (3) No error. (4). You must decide which part contains the error or whether the sentence is fully correct. The context is a simple present observation about darkness setting in.
Concept / Approach:
In English, the verb see has the forms see in the present, saw in the simple past, and seen as the past participle, which must be used with an auxiliary verb such as have or had. The phrase I seen by itself is never correct because the past participle cannot stand alone as the main verb. For a simple present description of a current observation, the correct form is I see or I can see. For a description of a completed past action, you would say I saw or I have seen.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine part (1) I seen and recognise that seen is a past participle.Step 2: Check whether there is any auxiliary verb before seen. There is none, so the phrase is grammatically incomplete.Step 3: Look at the rest of the sentence that it is getting dark and note that it describes a situation happening now.Step 4: Conclude that the correct wording should be I see that it is getting dark or I can see that it is getting dark.Step 5: Therefore, the error lies in part (1), while parts (2) and (3) are grammatically correct.
Verification / Alternative check:
If you temporarily correct part (1) to I see and read the full sentence I see that it is getting dark, it sounds natural and correct. Alternatively, using a past description such as I saw that it was getting dark would require changing both verbs. Since the question presents the rest of the sentence in the present progressive, part (1) is the only place that clearly violates verb form rules.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Part (2) that it is a normal connector introducing a subordinate clause and is grammatically sound. Part (3) is getting dark correctly uses the present continuous to describe an action in progress. The options claiming that there is no error are wrong because native like English never uses I seen without a helping verb. Therefore, only part (1) deserves to be marked as the erroneous segment.
Common Pitfalls:
Many learners overuse seen in speech and writing due to influence from non standard dialects. They may say I seen instead of I saw or I have seen. While such usage appears in informal speech in some regions, it is not acceptable in formal written exams. Always remember that past participles require an auxiliary verb and that simple past verbs like saw do not.
Final Answer:
The error is in Part (1) I seen, which should be replaced by a correct form such as I see or I saw depending on the intended tense.
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