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I was taking an English test, and I couldn't find the wrong sentence. Could you help me out ???

Thank you

15) All sentences below are correct except:

A) After understanding the grammar rules it is easier to do exercises, don't you agree?

B) I am sorry, but I am not understanding what you are trying to say

C) It is a matter of understanding each other

D) Understanding grammar is very important

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  • Which ones look right to you? Do multiple options seem incorrect? Is there a part of the instructional section covered by this test that might apply to this question? It would help a lot to know more specifically about the exact point at which this confuses you and the subject matter it is designed to evaluate.
    – Tyler James Young
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 18:18
  • There is no context about the question. I can't find the mistake in any of these sentences. For me, all of them are correct. I would like to know which one is wrong.
    – user63598
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 18:21
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    Well, in a way they are all wrong, and in another way they are all fine. That's why it would help to know the context, the nonexistence of which I find very difficult to believe.
    – Tyler James Young
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 18:25
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    For starters, only one of these sentences has closing punctuation, but it is also the one that doesn't begin with a capital letter. One of them sounds a little awkward because it uses present continuous tense with "understanding" where most people would default to simple present, but it isn't grammatically incorrect. One of them uses commas in a way I wouldn't, etc., etc.
    – Tyler James Young
    Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 18:26

4 Answers 4

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Agree with rogermue. B is wrong.

Wrong:

B) "I am sorry, but I am not understanding what you are trying to say."

Correct:

B) "I am sorry, but I do not understand what you are trying to say."

The question would be Do you understand me? (not "Are you understanding me?")

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Sentence B is not correct: It should be: I don't understand what you are saying. There are some verbs in English that are not used with progressive forms. See your grammar.

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Aside from the deficient punctuation pointed out by Tyler James Young, all of these sentences are acceptable formal English.

However, I think it very likely that your teacher wants you to identify sentence C as incorrect. As Tyler James Young (again) points out, use of understand in the present progressive is unusual, and you have probably been taught that it is ungrammatical. That‘s not true; but it is a ‘baby rule’ which is taught in the earlier stages of English instruction to keep students from using this construction until they have a sound understanding of when they can and when they cannot use it.

The use of progressive constructions with stative verbs like understand, know, love, and be has been discussed frequently on ELL; and in fact their use specifically with understand is addressed here.

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B is not correct as it is only acceptable to say I don't understand what you are trying to say.

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