Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: no improvement
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question tests knowledge of countable and uncountable nouns in English, especially the correct use of the noun advice. Many learners confuse advice (a noun) with advise (a verb), or incorrectly try to pluralise advice as advices. The sentence describes parents giving guidance to their children before a picnic, so the grammatical form must match this context.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
In standard English, advice is an uncountable noun. We say some advice, a piece of advice, or a bit of advice, but we do not say advices. The verb form advise is used differently, as in They advise their children, and cannot be used as a direct object after gave without additional structure. Therefore the original phrase some advice is already correct and does not require improvement.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the role of the bracketed word in the sentence: it is the object of the verb gave.
Step 2: Recognise that advice is a noun describing guidance or suggestions.
Step 3: Recall that advice is uncountable, so the phrase some advice is grammatically correct in English.
Step 4: Examine option A, advices. This form is generally incorrect because advice does not take a regular plural in standard usage.
Step 5: Examine option B, advise, which is a verb and therefore cannot serve as the object noun without restructuring the sentence.
Step 6: Examine option C, advises, which is a present tense verb form and again does not fit the object position.
Step 7: Conclude that the best choice is option D, no improvement.
Verification / Alternative check:
Substitute each option into the sentence. The parents gave their children some advice sounds natural and matches common usage. The parents gave their children some advices sounds clearly wrong to experienced readers. The parents gave their children some advise or some advises is ungrammatical because those are verb forms. This confirms that the given phrase is already correct.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
advices incorrectly treats advice as a countable noun, which standard English does not accept. advise and advises are verb forms and cannot directly follow some as part of a noun phrase object. To use advise correctly, the sentence would need to be rewritten, for example, The parents advised their children, which changes both form and focus of the original sentence.
Common Pitfalls:
Many learners apply regular countable patterns to abstract nouns and attempt constructions like informations, furnitures, or advices. A helpful strategy is to memorise common uncountable nouns and the correct partitive expressions used with them, such as a piece of advice, a piece of information, or some furniture. This prevents overgeneralisation and reduces errors in exams and real communication.
Final Answer:
no improvement is correct because the phrase some advice is already grammatically and idiomatically correct.
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