In the following sentence improvement question, choose the alternative that best corrects the underlined expression describing fear and lack of courage: "He was so much a coward to help his friend."

Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement item checks your knowledge of a common pattern used to describe someone who lacks courage: "too much of a coward to do something." The original sentence uses an incorrect combination of words, and you must select the option that sounds natural and grammatically correct in standard English.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Original sentence: "He was so much a coward to help his friend."
• The idea is that he was very cowardly and therefore did not help his friend.
• The underlined portion expresses this idea inaccurately.
• We need an idiomatic phrase that fits with an infinitive of purpose, "to help his friend."

Concept / Approach:
English often uses the structure "too much of a noun" to describe an excessive quality that prevents an action, for example, "too much of a perfectionist to delegate" or "too much of a dreamer to be practical." When the noun is "coward," the normal phrase is "too much of a coward to help." The expression "so much a coward" is unidiomatic here and does not collocate with the infinitive in a natural way.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the intended meaning: he had so much cowardice that he did not help his friend. Step 2: Recall the set pattern "too much of a coward to do something." Step 3: Replace "so much a coward" with "too much of a coward." Step 4: The corrected sentence becomes: "He was too much of a coward to help his friend." Step 5: Read the full sentence to ensure it is both grammatical and idiomatic.

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare with other examples: "She was too much of a coward to speak up" clearly expresses fear preventing action. Native usage supports the pattern "too much of a" followed by a noun. There is no standard phrase "so much a coward" used with an infinitive in this way. This confirms that the correct choice is the one that uses "too much of a coward."

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• so much cowardly: Here "cowardly" is an adjective and the phrase "so much cowardly" is grammatically wrong; we would need "so cowardly" or "very cowardly," but even then the connection with "to help his friend" would not be as clear as the standard idiom.
• as coward: This is incomplete and ungrammatical. We might say "as a coward" in another structure, but not "was as coward to help."
• No improvement: The original phrase "so much a coward" is not idiomatic English in this context, so it cannot be correct.

Common Pitfalls:
One common problem in sentence improvement questions is that learners focus only on grammar and ignore idiomatic patterns. The phrase "so much a coward" might look acceptable at first glance, but it is not standard usage. Another pitfall is mixing up similar structures, such as "so cowardly that he could not help" and "too much of a coward to help." Both are possible, but examination items usually test one specific pattern at a time.

Final Answer:
The correct improvement is too much of a coward, giving the sentence: He was too much of a coward to help his friend.