English usage — phrasal verb "pick a quarrel" and adverb form: Choose the best improvement. Original sentence: "Maria unnecessarily picked up a quarrel with Rani and left the party hurried." Select the option that corrects the highlighted phrasal verb most appropriately (ignore any unhighlighted issues).

Given data

• Phrasal verb used: "picked up a quarrel" (non-idiomatic).
• Context: starting/initiating a quarrel with someone.

Concept/Approach
The idiomatic expression is pick a quarrel (with someone), not "pick up a quarrel". Therefore, replace "picked up" with the simple verb "picked". (Though "hurried" would ideally be "hurriedly," the test focuses on the underlined phrase.)

Option analysis
A. "has picked up" → wrong phrasal verb and tense.B. "picked on" → means "to bully," not start a quarrel.C. "picked" → correct idiom: "picked a quarrel". ✔D. "picking up" → wrong phrasal verb and form.E. No correction → would retain the non-idiomatic phrase.

Corrected sentence (focus on underlined part)
"Maria unnecessarily picked a quarrel with Rani …"

Final Answer
picked