(A) Trent thought it quite satisfying to live in his parents’ house.

(B) Regina is starting feeling even more pressure to retain her looks.

(C) He regarded the elderly as a strange tribe which he would never join it.

(D) Regina and Trent were able to see the elderly also enjoys life with passion.

(E) They hope this documentary will help young people to have a more positive view of growing older.

(F) Regina was sent to a tiny flat in a retirement complex, where she gradually adapted to living alone.

Answer Choices

I took an English exam today and the question seems very wrong.

The question is asking me to choose the answer choice which chose all the grammatically incorrect sentences.

I know that (C) and (D) are incorrect, but I don't think (B) is correct.

I know both "to feel" and "feeling" is possible after the verb "to start" but this sentence just seems very wrong.

Can someone verify if (B) is a correct sentence and the grammatical reason why?

The official answer says only (C), (D) are incorrect.

  • As a native speaker, I find (B) incorrect. It should be "starting to feel". Writing a good explanation of why will require some thought, though. – Ben Kovitz Oct 14 '19 at 9:51
  • Please edit your question and add the text as text - pictures are not searchable. If you prepend the > sign it will be formatted as a quote. – user22427 Oct 14 '19 at 11:13
  • Please consider "Not so fast". I'm not sure if you'll get an answer with an explanation if you wait longer before accepting an answer, but you might. – Ben Kovitz Oct 14 '19 at 13:20

Sentence (B) contains two consecutive present participles, and whether it is grammatically correct is discussed in this ELU question.

But in my opinion the sentence seems unnatural, and would be better phrased as

Regina is starting to feel even more pressure to retain her looks.

But the whole sentence is off. If Regina is feeling "even more pressure" then she is not "starting to feel." So the sentence should perhaps be

Regina is now feeling even more pressure to retain her looks.

Your Answer

