Verbal Ability/Word-usage Practice

Verbal Ability/Word-usage 27 / 50

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate: time

A. The committee decided to address the most urgent matter for the time being, postponing other issues for later discussion.
B. The experienced pilot managed to make good time, arriving at the destination well ahead of the scheduled arrival.
C. The new regulations were considered outdated, placing the industry behind the time in terms of technological advancement.
D. Despite numerous setbacks, the project team worked diligently, confident that success was only a matter of time.

The incorrect or inappropriate usage of the word "time" is in the third option: "The new regulations were considered outdated, placing the industry behind the time in terms of technological advancement."
Why it's wrong:
The standard idiomatic expression is "behind the times," which means old-fashioned or outmoded. The plural form of "times" is essential to this idiom.
Correct usage: "The new regulations were considered outdated, placing the industry behind the times in terms of technological advancement."

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