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: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. I had been shocked when I heard that my business partner had left the country without informing me.

  1. i had been shocked

  2. when I heard that

  3. my business partner had left the country

  4. without informing me

  5. no error
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

It should be ‘I was shocked’. The past perfect tense is not used to say that something happened in the past. It is used to suggest that one action had been completed before another action commenced.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

I saw Mary step off the pavement, crossing the road and disappear into the post office.

  1. I saw Mary

  2. step off the pavement

  3. crossing the road

  4. disappear into the post office

  5. No error
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

It should be ‘cross the road’. This is an error of parallelism. When the other two elements in the series use infinitives, this element cannot use an–ing form.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

A 24 years old soldier has been killed in a road accident while he was on patrol last night.

  1. A 24 years old soldier

  2. has been killed

  3. in a road accident

  4. while he was on patrol

  5. No error
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

It should be ‘had been killed’. We cannot use the present perfect tense to talk about actions or situations that happened at a specific time in the past. Instead, we use a simple past or a past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used to refer to the earlier of two past actions.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. The sentence does not contain more than one error. If the sentence contains an error, select the underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice (E). In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

He has (A) suffered from a (B) similar attack (C) but milder as (D) that of last year. (E) No error

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

  5. (E)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Whenever a comparison is made between two things, preposition ‘than’ is used. Here, a comparison is made between two attacks.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. The sentence does not contain more than one error. If the sentence contains an error, select the underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice (E). In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

A (A) long life is good (B) if one (C) be happy and (D) has friends. (E) No error

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

  5. (E)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Wrong verb has been used. In place of ‘be’, ‘is’ should be used.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice (E). Follow the requirements of standard written English.

The (A) entire party is (B) for the Bill, (C) ready to stake (D) their political existence. (E) No error

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

  5. (E)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Collective noun 'party' is used in the singular sense. So, instead of plural pronoun ‘their’, we will use 'its'. 

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. The sentence does not contain more than one error. If the sentence contains an error, select the underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice (E). In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Several guests (A) noticed that Mr. Peter (B) fell back (C) in his chair and (D) gasping for breath. (E) No error

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

  5. (E)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

'Gasped' should be used instead of 'gasping'. Past tense will be used in order to maintain the parallelism of the sentence as ‘noticed’ has been used in the beginning.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. If the sentence contains an error, select the underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice (E). Follow the requirements of standard written English.

It is hoped that with the medical fee (A) being withdrawn and men (B) can be tested, (C) a large number of people will (D) come forward. (E) No error

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

  5. (E)

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Rules of maintenance of parallelism demand that different parts of a sentence should be constructed in the same manner. "Medical fee being withdrawn and men being tested..."

Multiple choice

Directions: The sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. The sentence does not contain more than one error. If the sentence contains an error, select the underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice (E). In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

He (A) has been invited (B) to attend the annual day of the college (C) as a distinguished (D) alumni. (E) No error

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

  5. (E)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

‘Alumnus’ should be used in place of ‘alumni’, as the subject ‘he’ is singular.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence contains either a single error or no error at all. The sentence does not contain more than one error. If the sentence contains an error, select the underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct. If the sentence is correct, select choice (E). In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(A) Senior colleagues (B) often hope that (C) they will be well acquainted (D) with the affairs of their junior colleagues. (E) No error

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

  5. (E)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

‘They get’ in place of ‘they will be’ as the sentence makes sense in the active voice.