The following sentence has been split into four segments. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error.
At the end, Ashoka was overcome / in regret at the bloodshed / that had taken place / as a result of the Kalinga battle.
Solution
The segment that contains a grammatical error is Option B.
In English grammar, the verb “overcome” is typically followed by the preposition “with” when expressing an emotional state. The phrase “overcome with regret” means that someone is completely filled with regret.
So, in the sentence “At the end, Ashoka was overcome with regret at the bloodshed that had taken place as a result of the Kalinga battle”, “with” is the correct preposition to use after “overcome” to convey the meaning that Ashoka was filled with regret. The preposition “in” is not typically used in this context. Hence, the segment “in regret at the bloodshed” contains a grammatical error.
