This item checks your understanding of the use of the definite article with ordinal expressions in "I was first to reach the college today". Choose the most appropriate improvement.

Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question tests correct use of articles and word order with ordinal expressions. The original sentence is I was first to reach the college today. In English, when we talk about being first, second, or third in a group, we normally use the definite article the before the ordinal: the first, the second, and so on. The task is to choose the option that corrects the structure while preserving the intended meaning that the speaker arrived at the college earlier than everyone else.

Given Data / Assumptions:
The sentence and its context can be summarised as follows.

• The speaker is describing arrival at the college today.
• The phrase first to reach lacks the article the.
• The verb was correctly indicates a past state.
• The meaning is that among all people, the speaker was the earliest to arrive.
• The improvement must provide the standard way of expressing this idea in English.

Concept / Approach:
When using ordinal numbers like first, second, or third as part of a noun phrase, we normally place the definite article the in front: the first to reach the college, the second candidate, the third chapter. The structure I was the first to reach the college today is the natural and idiomatic way to say that no one arrived before the speaker. Other options in the list either change the meaning or use adverbs incorrectly. Therefore, adding the definite article the before first is the key improvement required in this sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Read the corrected sentence aloud: I was the first to reach the college today. This clearly conveys that the speaker arrived before all others and sounds natural in standard English. If we omit the article, I was first to reach, the sentence sounds incomplete and less idiomatic, even though listeners may understand it. Comparing to similar expressions, such as She was the first to answer the question or He was the second to finish the race, makes it clear that the is the expected article.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, I did reach first, changes the structure and sounds unnatural; it uses did reach for emphasis but does not fit this context well. Option C, I firstly reached, misuses firstly, which is normally an adverb used in lists (firstly, secondly) rather than to describe arrival order. Option D, No improvement, would keep the sentence in a form that is grammatically acceptable but not idiomatic; exam setters expect the fully correct version with the definite article. Option E, I had been first to reach, changes the tense unnecessarily to past perfect and still lacks the, so it does not solve the main problem. Thus, option B is the correct improvement.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes omit the when they should use it with ordinal numbers, especially in informal speech. Another mistake is using firstly and secondly in places where first and second or the first, the second are required. To improve accuracy, remember that when you identify a person or thing as the earliest or earliest one in a specific group, you almost always use the first. In sentence improvement questions, look closely at articles and small function words; they often determine which option is correct even when all the content words are the same.

Final Answer:
The improved sentence should read: I was the first to reach the college today.