In the following sentence, the bracketed phrase needs attention. Choose the option that best improves or corrects the sentence if necessary. 'We do not (agree on) certain things.'

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: No improvement

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question tests your knowledge of prepositions that are correctly used with the verb 'agree'. In English, different prepositions slightly change the meaning of 'agree', and exam questions often check whether you can choose the natural and grammatically correct combination for a given sentence. Here the sentence reads, 'We do not agree on certain things.'


Given Data / Assumptions:
- Original sentence: 'We do not (agree on) certain things.'
- Options: 'agree to', 'agree about', 'agree of', 'No improvement' (keeping 'agree on').
- The sentence refers to 'certain things', meaning some topics, issues or points of view on which people differ.


Concept / Approach:
The verb 'agree' can take several prepositions: 'agree on something', 'agree about something' and 'agree to something'. 'Agree on' is commonly used when people reach the same opinion after discussion, especially about plans, terms or specific points. 'Agree about' is used more generally for topics or issues. 'Agree to' is used when accepting a proposal, plan or arrangement. In this sentence, 'agree on certain things' is idiomatic and acceptable, so there is no need to change the phrase; therefore 'No improvement' is the correct choice.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Understand the meaning: the speakers are saying that there are some issues or points on which they do not share the same opinion. Step 2: Test 'agree on': 'We do not agree on certain things' naturally means they do not reach agreement on some points. Step 3: Test 'agree to': 'We do not agree to certain things' would usually refer to not giving consent to certain proposals, which is a different nuance. Step 4: Test 'agree about': 'We do not agree about certain things' is also possible in English, but it is not clearly more correct than 'agree on' in this sentence. Step 5: Test 'agree of': 'agree of' is not a standard combination and is grammatically wrong.


Verification / Alternative check:
Both 'agree on certain things' and 'agree about certain things' can appear in good English, but exam style sentence improvement questions usually reserve changes for clearly wrong or awkward phrases. 'Agree on' is frequently used for specific items or points: 'We agree on the main issue', 'They could not agree on the changes'. Since the given sentence already sounds natural, the safest and most accurate choice is to leave it unchanged by selecting 'No improvement'.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
'Agree to' shifts the meaning toward accepting proposals or conditions (for example, 'agree to the terms'), which is not the focus here. 'Agree about' is not incorrect, but it does not improve clarity or correctness compared with 'agree on', so it is not the best improvement. 'Agree of' is simply ungrammatical, as 'of' is not used in this structure.


Common Pitfalls:
Many candidates automatically assume that the bracketed part is wrong and must be changed, so they pick any grammatically possible alternative, often 'agree to'. However, sentence improvement questions often include cases where the best answer is 'No improvement'. To avoid such traps, always ask whether the original phrase is truly incorrect or unnatural before changing it. In this case, 'agree on certain things' is fully acceptable English.


Final Answer:
The sentence is already correct; the best choice is No improvement, keeping 'agree on' as it is.

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