Question:easy

In each of the following questions, a part of the given sentence has been underlined as this part may have an error. The first option is the same as the underlined part of the given sentence. Choose this option if you think the underlined part has no error. Otherwise, choose the option that rectifies the error in the underlined part of the given sentence.

The reason why she is absent today is because her husband is ill.

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Never follow "the reason" with "because"; use "the reason... is that..." instead.
Updated On: Jul 20, 2026
  • Absent today is because her husband is ill.
  • Absent today because her husband is ill.
  • Absent today is that her husband is ill.
  • Absent today is because her husband illness.
  • Absent today was that her husband was ill.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

The phrase "the reason is because" is one of the most frequently flagged redundancies in formal English. "Reason" already means cause, and "because" also introduces a cause, so putting them side by side says the same thing twice, similar to saying "the cause is due to."

The standard fix is to treat "the reason... is" as a subject-and-linking-verb pair that needs a noun clause as its complement, introduced by "that," not "because." So the sentence becomes: "The reason why she is absent today is that her husband is ill."

Walking through the choices: option (a) simply repeats the original "is because" mistake. Option (b) removes the verb "is" entirely, leaving a sentence fragment. Option (d) turns "her husband is ill" into the ungrammatical "her husband illness," which has no verb. Option (e) unnecessarily shifts both verbs into the past tense, which changes the meaning since the woman's absence and her husband's illness are being described as current facts.

Only option (c), "Absent today is that her husband is ill," fixes the redundancy while preserving the original meaning and tense, so it is the correct answer.
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