Question

The following sentence has been revised in several ways. Which of the revisions does not improve the awkward or illogical construction?

The funniest part of her speech was when she mimicked a chicken.

A. The funniest part of her speech was her imitation of a chicken.
B. When she mimicked a chicken was the funniest part of the speech.
C. Her speech was funniest when she mimicked a chicken.

Answer 1

The best answer would be B because if you read the sentence out loud, it doesn't make any sense. Instead, it would sound better if the sentence was 'The funniest part of the speech was when she mimicked a chicken.'

Answer 2

The answer is indeed letter B. When she mimicked a chicken was the funniest part of the speech.

Step-by-step explanation:

The main reason why the structure in option B sounds strange is the fact that, in the English language, the subject usually comes first in a sentence. However, in this option, its position has been inverted. The whole sentence "when she mimicked a chicken" functions as a predicate to the subject and should come after the linking verb "was".

Thus, it would sound more appropriate if we placed the subject and the predicate in their original places:

• The funniest part of the speech was when she mimicked a chicken.