In this sentence improvement question, choose the best replacement for "some others children" in the sentence: "He asked the child to go and play with some others children."

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: some others

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question focuses on the correct use of pronouns and determiners when referring to other people. The original sentence is He asked the child to go and play with some others children, which sounds awkward and grammatically incorrect. The phrase some others children mixes a pronoun and a noun in a way that English does not allow. The exam tests whether you can identify the most natural and grammatically acceptable replacement from the options.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Base sentence: He asked the child to go and play with some others children.
  • The underlined segment is some others children.
  • The intended meaning is that the child should play with other children.
  • Options include possessive, pronoun, determiner forms, and no improvement.


Concept / Approach:
In English, when others is used as a pronoun, it stands alone and does not directly modify a noun. The phrase some others can function on its own as an object referring to some other people. In the sentence, play with some others clearly implies play with some other children, and it is both concise and grammatically acceptable. The possessive form other's children changes the meaning to children belonging to some other person and introduces an unnecessary apostrophe, while some other alone leaves the object incomplete. No improvement is not acceptable because the original phrase some others children is incorrect.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the sentence already mentions the word child and then refers to other children to play with. Step 2: Recognise that some other children would be the full, explicit phrase, but it is not directly available as an option. Step 3: Notice that some others can function as a pronoun phrase meaning some other people or children. Step 4: Substitute some others for some others children to get He asked the child to go and play with some others. Step 5: Confirm that the sentence now sounds natural and its meaning remains clear.


Verification / Alternative check:
Consider similar sentences such as She told him to join some others in the playground or The teacher asked the new student to sit with some others at the back. In both examples, some others stands for some other students or children and is perfectly acceptable in English. Using some other's children would introduce a possessive and change the sense, while some other would need an explicit noun like person or child. This shows that some others is the best available option and preserves the intended meaning.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Some other's children wrongly uses an apostrophe, suggesting ownership, and changes the meaning to children belonging to some other person, which is not required by the context.

Some other on its own leaves the phrase incomplete because we expect a noun after other, for example, some other child or some other children.

No improvement would keep the ungrammatical phrase some others children, which combines a pronoun and noun incorrectly.


Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse other, others, and another. A helpful pattern is to remember that others normally stands alone as a pronoun, while other is used before a noun, and another means one more. In this question, the context already makes it clear that the others are children, so a pronoun phrase like some others works well and avoids repetition. Being comfortable with this distinction will help in many similar exam questions.


Final Answer:
The correct improvement is some others, giving: He asked the child to go and play with some others.

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