Which sentence contains a grammatical error?

Which sentence contains a grammatical error?

• A. The spelling checker should be run on each document.
• B. The spelling checker should be ran on each document.
• C. The spelling checker should be run on some documents.
• D. The spelling checker should run on each document, immediately.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is forming the correct passive construction after a modal like should be. When the sentence uses should be, the main verb must appear as a past participle, because the action is being done to the object. Here, the spelling checker is the thing acting on the documents, so the correct form is should be run. Using ran—the simple past tense—breaks the passive pattern, since ran is not a participle. So the sentence with should be ran is ungrammatical. The other options keep or allow the standard, grammatical forms: should be run on each document, and should be run on some documents both use the passive form correctly, while should run on each document, immediately uses active voice and is still grammatically acceptable.

The key idea is forming the correct passive construction after a modal like should be. When the sentence uses should be, the main verb must appear as a past participle, because the action is being done to the object. Here, the spelling checker is the thing acting on the documents, so the correct form is should be run. Using ran—the simple past tense—breaks the passive pattern, since ran is not a participle. So the sentence with should be ran is ungrammatical.

The other options keep or allow the standard, grammatical forms: should be run on each document, and should be run on some documents both use the passive form correctly, while should run on each document, immediately uses active voice and is still grammatically acceptable.