Correct the following sentence:

He announced that he will take the plane to Dhaka.

= He announced that he would take the plane to Dhaka.

They all rejected that idea of the Captain's.

= They all rejected the captain's idea."

He knew Mr. Khan stopped smoking five years before. = He had known Mr. Khan had stopped smoking for five years.

Badal is the fastest of the two boys. = Badal is the fastest among the two boys

This sentence requires correction based on the principle of subject-verb agreement.

The main subject of the sentence is "The basket," which is a singular noun. The phrase "containing ten apples" is a participial phrase acting as an adjective, modifying "basket." It does not alter the number (singularity or plurality) of the main subject.

Since the subject "basket" is singular, the verb must also be singular. The original sentence used "were," which is a plural verb. It should be replaced with the singular past tense verb "was" to agree with the singular subject.

None of us are perfect. = None of us is perfect.

To They came to meet my friend and I. = They came to meet my friend and me

In formal English, the conjunction "as" is used to introduce a clause or a phrase that indicates a comparison or the manner in which something is done. In this sentence, "as in the old days" describes how the evening was spent, implying "in the way it was done in the old days."

Conversely, "like" is primarily used as a preposition to mean "similar to" or "in the manner of," and is typically followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. While "like" is often used informally in place of "as" or "as if," it is generally considered incorrect in standard written English when introducing a clause or an adverbial phrase of comparison.

For example:

    
• Incorrect: She sings like she is a professional.
    
• Correct: She sings as if she is a professional.
    
• Correct: She sings like a professional. (Here, 'like' is a preposition followed by a noun phrase 'a professional'.)

Therefore, "as in the old days" is the grammatically correct and more formal choice for this context.

Not all the members were present.

The original sentence, "All the members were not present," is grammatically ambiguous and often considered unidiomatic in standard English. It attempts to express a partial negation, implying that some members were present, but not every single one of them.

To clearly and idiomatically express a partial negation, the word "not" should typically precede "all" or "every." Therefore, "Not all the members were present" is the most straightforward and grammatically preferred way to convey that only some of the members were absent.

If the intended meaning was a complete negation—that is, absolutely zero members were present—the correct phrasing would be different:

    
• None of the members were present.
    
• No members were present.

Understanding and applying such nuances in negation is important for clear and precise communication, particularly in professional contexts relevant to job seekers.

On arriving in Dhaka, his friends meet him at the station. = When he arrived in Dhaka, his friends met him at the station

The definite article "the" is required before "Oxford of the East" because it functions as a specific and unique title or epithet for Dhaka University. When a common noun (like "Oxford" used metaphorically) is made specific by an "of" phrase (like "of the East"), the definite article "the" is typically used to indicate that specificity. In this context, "Oxford of the East" refers to a singular, well-defined entity or comparison, highlighting Dhaka University's reputation and academic standing in the region, analogous to how Oxford University is perceived in the West.

He said that the earth moves round the sun.

In reported speech, when the direct speech expresses a universal truth, a scientific fact, or a habitual action, the tense of the verb in the reported clause does not change, regardless of the tense of the reporting verb (e.g., 'said').

Even though the reporting verb "said" is in the past tense, the fact that "the earth moves round the sun" is an eternal truth. Therefore, its tense remains in the simple present tense ('moves') in the indirect speech.

In English grammar, 'since' and 'for' are prepositions used to indicate time, particularly with perfect and perfect continuous tenses, but they have distinct uses:

    
• For: Used to express a duration of time. It answers the question "How long?". For example, "for three hours," "for five years," "for two days."
    
• Since: Used to indicate a starting point in time. It answers the question "From when?". For example, "since Monday," "since 2010," "since morning."

In the original sentence, "two days" refers to a duration, not a specific starting point. Therefore, 'for' is the correct preposition to use.

The original sentence contains a common grammatical error known as a dangling participle or dangling modifier. A participial phrase or other introductory phrase is said to "dangle" when the noun it describes is not clearly stated in the sentence, or when it modifies a word other than the one intended.

In the sentence "Walking down the road, a bus hit Mr. Khan," the participial phrase "Walking down the road" incorrectly seems to modify "a bus." Logically, it is Mr. Khan who was walking down the road, not the bus.

To correct a dangling modifier, you can:

    
• Change the main clause so its subject is the noun that the modifier describes. (e.g., "Walking down the road, Mr. Khan was hit by a bus.")
    
• Rewrite the participial phrase as a subordinate clause with its own subject. (e.g., "While Mr. Khan was walking down the road, a bus hit him.")

The corrected sentence "Walking down the road, Mr. Khan was hit by a bus" makes it clear that Mr. Khan is the one performing the action of walking, thereby resolving the ambiguity and correcting the dangling modifier.

Shakespeare wrote many poetry. = Shakespeare wrote many poems.