Examveda

The English . . . . . English.

A. speak

B. spoke

C. spoken

D. is spoken

Answer: Option A

Solution (By Examveda Team)

Let's break down this sentence step by step to understand why Option A is the correct answer.

1. Understanding 'The English':
When we say "The English" (with 'The' before 'English'), we are not talking about the language itself. We are talking about the people from England. It's like saying "The French" for people from France or "The Spanish" for people from Spain. When used this way, "The English" is considered a plural subject, meaning it refers to many people.

2. Understanding 'English' (the second one):
The second "English" in the sentence refers to the English language.

So, the sentence basically means: "The people from England speak the English language."

Option A: speak
If we put "speak" here, the sentence becomes: "The English speak English."
"The English" (which means plural people) goes perfectly with "speak" (the plural form of the verb, used for "they").
This sentence means "The people of England speak the English language," which is a general truth and is grammatically correct. This is in the active voice, meaning the subject (The English) is doing the action (speaking).
This is the correct answer.

Option B: spoke
"The English spoke English."
"Spoke" is the past tense of "speak." While grammatically possible if we were talking about something that happened only in the past, for a general truth or what people currently do regularly, the present tense "speak" is much more appropriate.
Therefore, it is not the best fit for a general statement about what people speak.

Option C: spoken
"Spoken" is the past participle form of "speak."
You cannot use "spoken" by itself as the main verb here. It needs a helping verb, for example, "have spoken" or "are spoken."
"The English spoken English" is grammatically incorrect.

Option D: is spoken
"Is spoken" is used for the passive voice. It describes what is done to something rather than what someone does.
For example: "English is spoken by the English." Here, English, the language, is the subject, and it is being spoken.
But in our sentence, the subject is "The English", which refers to people and is plural. Therefore, "is", which is singular, does not agree with the plural subject.
Also, "The English is spoken English" does not make sense because the people are doing the speaking, not being spoken.
Therefore, Option D is incorrect.

In summary: The sentence needs an active verb in the present tense that agrees with the plural subject "The English" (the people). "Speak" fits all these requirements perfectly.

This Question Belongs to Competitive English >> Grammar

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Comments (23)

  1. Pratap Swain
    Pratap Swain:
    4 weeks ago

    Sentence main the english refers to people of englend as a plural collective noun ,a plural verb is required therefore so The sentence should be the english speak english. Is correct

  2. MD. ARIF
    MD. ARIF:
    3 months ago

    খুব ভালো প্রশ্ন। আমি লিংকটা দেখলাম।

    Examveda-তে তারা **Option D: "is spoken"** কে সঠিক বলেছে। ([Examveda][1])

    কিন্তু এখানে একটা সমস্যা আছে।

    **"The English _____ English."**

    এই বাক্যে **The English** সাধারণত **ইংরেজ জনগণ (the people of England)** বোঝায়। সেই অর্থে সঠিক বাক্য হবে:

    ✅ **The English speak English.**

    * The English = people (plural)
    * speak = plural verb
    * English = language

    অর্থ: *ইংরেজরা ইংরেজি ভাষায় কথা বলে।*

    কিন্তু Examveda-এর ব্যাখ্যায় তারা **English**-কে ভাষা হিসেবে ধরে passive voice প্রয়োগ করেছে, যেন বাক্যটি **"English is spoken"** ধরনের। ([Examveda][1])

    তাই আমার মতে:

    * যদি বাক্যটি সত্যিই **"The English _____ English."** হয়, তাহলে **speak** সবচেয়ে স্বাভাবিক ও ব্যাকরণগতভাবে সঠিক উত্তর।
    * **"English is spoken."** বা **"English is spoken all over the world."** হলে **is spoken** সঠিক হতো। ([Examveda][2])

    এ ধরনের ভর্তি পরীক্ষার MCQ-তে কখনও কখনও প্রশ্নে টাইপো বা দুর্বল সেটিং থাকে। তাই বইয়ের ইংরেজি ব্যাকরণ অনুযায়ী বিচার করলে:

    ✅ **The English speak English.**
    ❌ **The English is spoken English.**

    আপনি চাইলে আমি এই বাক্যটার **subject analysis** করে দেখাতে পারি কেন **The English** plural noun হিসেবে **speak** নেয়। এটা পরীক্ষার জন্য খুব কাজে লাগবে।

    [1]: https://www.examveda.com/the-english-%E2%80%A6-english-107325/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "The English English"
    [2]: https://www.examveda.com/english-all-over-the-world-107366/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "English all over the world"

  3. Atika Nisar
    Atika Nisar:
    4 months ago

    I first thought “The English” meant British people, so I chose “speak” like “The English speak English.” That made sense to me because people do the action, so it should be active voice.

    But then I saw the correct answer was “is spoken,” which confused me. After thinking about it, I realized the problem is probably in the question itself.

    If the sentence is actually “English ___ English,” then “is spoken” is correct because English, the language, is receiving the action.

    But if it really says “The English ___ English,” then “is spoken” does not fit at all. It should be “speak” because “The English” refers to people, and people do the action.

    So either I misread the sentence, or there is a mistake in the question or answer key. My original logic was not wrong. It just depends on whether the subject is people or a thing like a language.

  4. Diwakar Gautam
    Diwakar Gautam:
    5 months ago

    Here The English means English People which shows a community. And subject is in plural form.So The English speak English would be correct answer.

  5. Angelin Sharlie
    Angelin Sharlie:
    6 months ago

    "English is spoken as English." would be the right form of the question. please have a look at the question and do the necessary changes required.

  6. Amir Hamza
    Amir Hamza:
    8 months ago

    I would like to tell that:
    When we say,"English is spoken English". It means that English being a language speaks itself (Passive). Rather it would be correct to say, "English is spoken" which is obvious that English is spoken by almost majority. But, however, someone at the end clarified this ambiguity. (English is spoken as an English language) 😊😊😊

  7. Shaalam Sarkar
    Shaalam Sarkar:
    11 months ago

    I think correct sentence is, the English speak English.
    The English means community and only english means language.
    The English is plural subject

  8. Physical Guru
    Physical Guru:
    11 months ago

    Here is an error it should be correct 😞 because correction it's an key of success your website name is incredible famous overall strength is very strong but these kinds of mistakes not suits for you 🙏

  9. A.K. Azad
    A.K. Azad:
    1 year ago

    Their explanation do not match with that question

  10. Tahir Ahmad
    Tahir Ahmad:
    2 years ago

    Which one will be correct in the given Mcq
    English.... English.
    A. Speaks B. Speak

  11. Rezaul Karim
    Rezaul Karim:
    2 years ago

    Speak is right because when we use 'the' before a common noun it indicates plural.So, it takes 'speak' instead of 'speaks'

  12. Kpatil Patil
    Kpatil Patil:
    3 years ago

    It should be speaks

  13. Abdul Sattar
    Abdul Sattar:
    3 years ago

    Speaks is suitable

  14. Shahzad Hussain
    Shahzad Hussain:
    3 years ago

    Why we not use spoken?

  15. H AbuBakar
    H AbuBakar:
    4 years ago

    But how we can understand that english is for one man or men
    It may be speaks

  16. Zeba Hassan
    Zeba Hassan:
    4 years ago

    It should be "speaks" Not "speak"

  17. Subhamay Saha
    Subhamay Saha:
    4 years ago

    It should be speaks not speak.

  18. USAMA JAWAD
    USAMA JAWAD:
    4 years ago

    sir this sentence is present indefinite so the "The English speaks English"

  19. Meban 8
    Meban 8:
    5 years ago

    i think the correct answer us speaks since The English is singular

  20. Naimatullah Naimatullah
    Naimatullah Naimatullah:
    6 years ago

    I think if English refers to a man that should used speaks

  21. Naimatullah Naimatullah
    Naimatullah Naimatullah:
    6 years ago

    But sir how we know that English means English a man or more than

  22. Abdus Salam
    Abdus Salam:
    6 years ago

    Why Not Speaks??

  23. Shravan Parmar
    Shravan Parmar:
    6 years ago

    Why are we not using speaks...

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