Verbal Ability - Spotting Errors - Discussion

The correct answer is option C.

It should be "Having received your letter this morning, we are writing to thank you for it".

The grammatical error is in sentence 3. The correct part should be "to thank you for it." So the answer is C.

The correct form of the sentence is;

Having received your letter this morning, we are writing to thank you for it.

The correct form of sentence is;

Having received your letter this morning, we are writing to thank you for it.

The phrase "for the same" is not clear and is not the most appropriate way to express gratitude in this context. Instead, you should be more specific about what you are thanking the recipient for. The word "same" doesn't provide enough clarity. You can rephrase the sentence as follows:

"Having received your letter this morning, we are writing to thank you for it".

The error in the sentence is in option B.

The correct phrase should be "This morning, we are writing to thank you for the same."
The word "to" is missing before "thank you," which is necessary to show the purpose of writing the letter.

Having + past participle = the perfect participle.

Have + past participle = the perfect tenses.

The perfect participle can be used as a modifier. It means an action recently completed relative to the main verb in the sentence. In constructions like these, the "subject" of the perfect participle is the same as the noun it modifies.

Having finished a hard day's work, Manual rested. (active voice) = Manual finished his work, and then he rested.

Having been elected for the third time, President Howell addressed his supporters. (passive voice) = President Howell was elected and then he addressed his supporters.

The bill in Congress was dead, having been defeated on the third vote. (The phrase can be placed at the end of the sentence, too).

@All.

Using "we were writing" would change the meaning and disrupt the logical flow of the sentence. Here’s why:.

Difference between "we are writing" and "we were writing":

"We are writing" indicates that the act of writing the response is happening now (at the time of writing the letter).

Example: "Having received your letter this morning, we are writing to thank you for it".
The receipt of the letter triggers an immediate response, so present continuous ("we are writing") is appropriate.
"We were writing" is in the past continuous tense, implying the action of writing began in the past and was interrupted or is no longer happening.

Example: "We were writing to thank you, but got interrupted".
This suggests that the act of writing happened at some previous time and wasn’t necessarily completed at the time of speaking.

I think it should be, having received your letter this morning, we are writing thank you for the same.

I think it should have been: having received your letter this morning, we are writing to thank you for the same.