Effective listening: don't i________.

Effective listening: don't i________.

• A. ignore
• B. interrupting
• C. interrupt
• D. disrupt

Answer: (C)

Effective listening centers on allowing the speaker to finish without being cut off. In this construction, after don’t you use the base verb form, so the correct phrase is “don’t interrupt.” That makes a clear, grammatical directive to stop the act of cutting someone off mid-speech, which is exactly what disrupts listening. Saying “don’t interrupting” is grammatically incorrect because after don’t you need the base form of the verb. While “ignore” or “disrupt” convey similar ideas, they don’t fit the specific instruction of halting the act of interrupting, and “interrupt” most directly targets the listener’s behavior that undermines effective listening.

Effective listening centers on allowing the speaker to finish without being cut off. In this construction, after don’t you use the base verb form, so the correct phrase is “don’t interrupt.” That makes a clear, grammatical directive to stop the act of cutting someone off mid-speech, which is exactly what disrupts listening. Saying “don’t interrupting” is grammatically incorrect because after don’t you need the base form of the verb. While “ignore” or “disrupt” convey similar ideas, they don’t fit the specific instruction of halting the act of interrupting, and “interrupt” most directly targets the listener’s behavior that undermines effective listening.