Directions (22-25) : In the following question, sentences are given with a part in bold. The given phrase in the bold may or may not contain an error. The options following can replace the incorrect phrase. The correct phrase that is to be replaced will be your answer . If the sentences are correct then select ‘No improvement required’ as your answer.

My mother suggest to me to study in the early morning.

Correct Answer: suggested that I should

Explanation:

To determine the correct phrase for sentence improvement, let's analyze the grammatical structure of verbs reporting suggestions, specifically the verb suggest.

1. Grammar Rules for "Suggest":

• The verb suggest cannot be followed directly by an indirect object pronoun without the preposition to (e.g., "suggested me" is grammatically incorrect).

• When suggest is followed by an infinitive, it does not take a personal object directly in the pattern "suggested to me to study". Instead, suggest typically takes a that-clause when specifying who should perform an action, or a gerund (-ing form) when speaking generally.

• In reported suggestions using a that-clause, the structure is: subject + suggested + that + clause (using subjunctive verb or 'should + base verb').

2. Analyzing the Original Sentence:

The original sentence reads: "My mother suggest to me to study in the early morning."

Here, using the simple present verb form suggest without third-person singular agreement ("suggests") is incorrect, and the infinitive construction "suggest to me to study" is ungrammatical in English standard usage.

3. Evaluating the Options:

• suggested me: Incorrect, because suggest requires the preposition to before a personal object (e.g., suggested to me), or a that-clause.

• suggested to me: Incorrect, because replacing "suggest to me" leaves "to study" without changing the awkward infinitive structure after suggest.

• suggested that I should: Correct. It uses the past tense suggested followed by a proper subclause that I should (study...), adhering perfectly to English standard grammar for reporting suggestions.

• suggested that me should: Incorrect, because me is an object pronoun and cannot act as the subject of the clause (it must be the subject pronoun I).

Therefore, replacing the bold phrase with "suggested that I should" makes the sentence grammatically correct: "My mother suggested that I should study in the early morning."