English Language

Spotting Errors

4,734 Questions
All Noun, Article, and Determiner Usage 629 Subject-Verb Agreement 529 Preposition and Phrasal Verb Choice 510 Tense and Time Sequence 429 Pronoun Agreement and Case 415 Adjective and Adverb Form 372 Idiom and Confusable Word Choice 367 Verb Complement and Mood 347 Sentence Structure and Modifier Placement 296 Conjunction and Connector Choice 228 Parallel Structure 220 Redundancy and Negation 148

Spotting Errors Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of the sentence that has an error. If there is no error, mark (d).

Tata Motors has entered (a)/ into a definitive agreement with Ford on March 26 to acquire the two British luxury brands, (b)/ Jaguar and Land Rover, at an estimated 2.3 billion dollars. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The usage of a specific date implies that this is a case of past indefinite tense, where we use only the second form of the verb (without any auxiliary). Thus, 'has entered' should be replaced with 'entered'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d). After moving to India, Alice decided to do something different from (a) / what she is doing (b) / and started teaching blind children in the age group of two to five years. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Case of past perfect continuous tense. The verb 'decided' (which is the past of decide) gives the clue that the subordinate cluase has to be in the past tense. To depict the continuity of the past action 'had been' is to be used.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d).

Finance Minister said that the country's economy was growing (a) / at the slowest pace in four years in the next 12 months (b) / as a result of a global slowdown. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Error of sentence formation. All the clauses of the sentence need to follow the same tense format. Usage of words 'next 12 months' mean this is a future refferal. So, 'was' in the first part of the sentence should be replaced with 'would be / will be'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The sentence given below is divided into three parts (a), (b) and (c). One of these parts may contain an error. You have to indicate that part as your answer. If there is no error, mark (d) as your answer.

Alice not only volunteers with her own services, (a) / she e-mails other French nationals in Mumbai and (b) / gets them involved with the activities of the school. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Case of coordinative conjunction. 'Not only' is always followed by 'but also'. So, 'but also e-mails'. Delete 'she'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d).

According to the scientists, black carbon, (a) / emitting from biomass burning, (b) / diesel engine exhaust and cooking fires, has a warming effect in the atmosphere (c)/ three to four times greater than prevailing estimates. No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Error of sentence formation. Verb 'emitting' should be replaced with 'emitted' (verb of being).

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d). The US space shuttle Endeavour has been landing (a) / successfully in Florida after the longest mission (b) / of its kind to the International Space Station. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Error of sentence formation. Activities like 'landing or taking off' are time specific, and do not last for a period of time. So, 'has been landing' should be replaced with 'landed'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d). During their 16-day mission, (a) / the space shuttle's crew was installing (b) / the first part of a Japanese research laboratory and assembled a Canadian robot. (c) / No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Error of sentence formation. Double usage of time periods. 'During' itself is a time period, and in any period of time 'we do' some work, rather then 'are/were doing'. So, 'was installing' needs to be changed with 'installed'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d). A California aerospace company plans to enter the space tourism market (a) / with a two-seater rocket ship capable (b) / to making flights to heights (c)/ more than 60 kilometres above the Earth. No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Case of prepositional usage. 'Capable' takes preposition 'of'. 'Capable of' means 'having the ability to do something'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d).

It seems India is all set (a) / to becoming the second largest cell user (b) / in the world after China. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Error of sentence formation. Some words like 'set' take first form of the verb along with infinitive 'to', rather than gerund. Thus, in place of 'to becomming' insert 'to become'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d). Employees at a growing number of organizations today start and end (a) / their days by pressing a hand or finger to a scanner (b) / that is recording the precise time of their arrival and departure. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Error of parallelism. 'By pressing' in part B of the sentence needs to be followed by 'by recording' in part C.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of the sentence that has an error. If there is no error, mark (d).

Among biometric verification technologies, fingerprint scanning is probably the best (a)/ as it is delivering good performance (b)/ and is affordable in terms of price. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Case of redundancy and repetition. Usage of words 'in terms of price' in part (c) is redundant as 'affordable' means the same.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of sentence with an an error and mark (a), (b), (c) as anwer. If there as no error mark (d). Fingerprint readers come with software (a) / that enable them to do (b) / what they are supposed to. (c) / No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Error of subject-verb agreement. Here, two subject have been discussed - fingerprint readers and software. Now, verb 'enable' qualifies to 'software', and not to 'fingerprint readers'. Software being singular demands singular auxilary verb. Thus, enable should be replaced with 'enables'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The sentence given below is divided into three parts (a), (b) and (c). One of these parts may contain an error. You have to indicate that part as your answer. If there is no error, mark (d) as your answer.

Glaciers are usually found in high altitudes (a) / and latitudes where large amounts (b) / of snow build up and freeze into ice. (c) / No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Error of vocabulary usage. 'Amounts of snow' should be replaced by 'volume of snow'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Find the part of the sentence that has an error. If there is no error, mark (d).

Kosovo, a former territory of Serbia, (a)/ has declared itself (b)/ a sovereign and independent state on February 2008. (c)/ No error (d)

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

  4. (d)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

For reference to a specific time/date of the past, we use past indefinite tense. In such cases, only second form of the verb is used, so 'has declared' should be changed to 'declared'.