Question

Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: The judge declared the prisoner as guilty.

• A. guilty for
• B. guilty
• C. as being guilty
• D. guilty to crime

Answer 1

Answer:

B. guilty

This question tests a specific rule regarding verb patterns and the redundancy of certain prepositions or conjunctions.

• The Verb "Declare" Pattern:

  Certain verbs in English—such as declare, consider, call, appoint, make, and choose—take a direct object followed immediately by an object complement (an adjective or noun that describes the object).

  • The standard structural pattern is: $\mathbf{\text{Subject}} + \mathbf{\text{Verb (declare)}} + \mathbf{\text{Object}} + \mathbf{\text{Object Complement (Adjective)}}$.

  • Therefore, we say: "The judge declared the prisoner [Object] guilty [Adjective]."

• The Error of "As":

  It is a very common grammatical error to insert "as" or "as being" after the verb declare. Using "as guilty" is redundant and incorrect because the verb declare inherently carries the action of assigning a status directly.