Question:
Our boss always asks us to pay full attention to the work at hand.
Our boss always asks us to pay full attention to the work at hand.
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Pay attention to fixed expressions — even small changes like adding or removing "the" can make a phrase unidiomatic.
Updated On: Aug 14, 2025
- Our boss always asks us
- to pay full
- attention to the work
- at hand
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The phrase "attention to the work" is awkward here — the standard idiom is "attention to work" (without "the") or "attention to the task at hand".
Including "the" before "work" changes the meaning slightly and makes it sound less idiomatic.
The correct sentence would be: "Our boss always asks us to pay full attention to work at hand" or better: "Our boss always asks us to pay full attention to the task at hand."
Option (A) "Our boss always asks us" is correct.
Option (B) "to pay full" is correct in this context, as "full attention" is a standard phrase.
Option (D) "at hand" is also correct and idiomatic.
Including "the" before "work" changes the meaning slightly and makes it sound less idiomatic.
The correct sentence would be: "Our boss always asks us to pay full attention to work at hand" or better: "Our boss always asks us to pay full attention to the task at hand."
Option (A) "Our boss always asks us" is correct.
Option (B) "to pay full" is correct in this context, as "full attention" is a standard phrase.
Option (D) "at hand" is also correct and idiomatic.
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