She has improved her English...

Question

Hi!  My question here is:  She has improved her English...  A. She learns with a good teacher.  B. learning with a good teacher.  C. that a good teacher learns from her.  D. when learned with a good teacher.    The key is "B. learning with a good teacher" while my answer is "D" when learned with a good teacher." What I have understood here is that "She has improved her English when she has been learned with a good teacher. I am so confused! Who can get me out?

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

A teacher does not "learn" you, so you cannot be "learned" by/with a teacher. A teacher teaches you, so you are taught by a teacher.

Fireflysaigon · Answer

Hi, Mr. Woody!
I got your idea. However, what I want to know here is that why "B. learning with a good teacher" correct? Is that because "She has improved her English because she has been learning with a good teacher. Could you give me clear explanation for this? I am looking forward to your idea!

Mr Wordy · Answer

B seems to be the only feasible answer (I'm assuming you mistyped A and it should read "she learns..." not "She learns..."; i.e. it's the continuation of the same sentence, not two separate sentences).

However, B results in a sentence that seems ambiguous and rather unsatisfactory:

She has improved her English learning with a good teacher.

I most naturally read "English learning" as a unit. The whole sentence then says that the help of a good teacher has brought about an improvement in her English learning (i.e. her learning of English).

However, the way the question is structured suggests to me that a different reading was intended -- one with an implied "by" after "English". The whole sentence then says that the act of learning with a good teacher has helped her improve her English. In this case a comma after "English" seems advisable.

The practical difference in meaning between the two is negligible, but, because of the ambiguity, the question seems, as I say, rather unsatisfactory.

Fireflysaigon · Answer

Hi, Mr. Wordy,
I quite agree with you that this sentence is rather unsatisfactory and that we need the comma here but actually there is no comma. This is the extract from a paper exam of Grade 12 in my country (Vietnam). There is no typo mistake in my writing. I am looking forward to meeting you sometimes in the future. Many thanks for your ideas. I have learned a lot from you.

She has improved her English...

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions