Choose the part of sentence that is grammatically incorrect :
The world's supply of oil is soon running out.

Question

Choose the part of sentence that is grammatically incorrect : 
The world's supply of oil is soon running out.

Accepted Answer

The grammatically incorrect part of the sentence is "is soon running out." Here's why:

*   **Why Option 3 is correct:** The phrase "is soon running out" uses the present continuous tense ("is running") with the adverb "soon." While the present continuous can describe ongoing actions, using "soon" implies a future action. This creates a slightly awkward and less precise construction. A better phrasing to indicate a future depletion would be "will soon run out" (future simple) or "is running out soon" (present continuous, implying a planned or scheduled depletion). The original phrasing is grammatically incorrect because it mixes the immediacy of the present continuous with the futurity implied by "soon" in a way that doesn't quite work.

*   **Why Option 1 is incorrect:** "The world's" is a perfectly acceptable possessive construction, indicating that the supply belongs to the world. There is no grammatical error here.

*   **Why Option 2 is incorrect:** "supply of oil" is a standard and grammatically correct noun phrase. It clearly indicates the supply that is being discussed is a supply of oil. There is no grammatical error here.

*   **Why Option 4 is incorrect:** Since Options 1 and 2 are grammatically correct, the statement that "both (1) and (2)" are incorrect is false.