The keys is lying on the kitchen table near the fruit bowl.

In the following sentence, a part of the sentence has been bold. Below are given alternatives to the bold part which may improve the sentence.

Choose the correct alternative. Wherever no improvement is needed, choose ‘No replacement required’ as the answer.

The correct option is are lying on the.

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject of the sentence is "The keys", which is a plural noun. Therefore, it requires a plural verb, "are", instead of the singular verb "is".

2. Prepositional Usage: The correct preposition to indicate position on a flat surface such as a table is "on", not "at". Thus, the phrase should be "on the kitchen table".

Combining these two rules, "is lying on the" should be replaced with "are lying on the" to make the sentence grammatically correct:

"The keys are lying on the kitchen table near the fruit bowl."