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: In the following sentence some parts have been underlined and labelled A, B, C and D. Identify the part that contains an error. If there is no error in any part of the sentence, mark your answer as E.

(A) I like (B) such boys who are industrious, sincere (C) and at the same time (D) obedient to their teachers. (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

(B) Error of correlative conjunction: such boys as are.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the following sentence some parts have been underlined and labelled A, B, C and D. Identify the part that contains an error. If there is no error in any part of the sentence, mark your answer as E.

(A) Hardly had we reached the ground, (B) than the match started and (C) the audience started clapping (D) enthusiastically. (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

(B): The correct usage is 'when the match started'.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the following sentence some parts have been underlined and labelled A, B, C and D. Identify the part that contains an error. If there is no error in any part of the sentence, mark your answer as E.

(A) Unless (B) you do not speak the truth, (C) I shall not forgive you and you will be given (D) severe punishment. (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

(B): The correct usage is 'you speak the truth'. Unless is used instead of 'if + not'. So we cannot have double negative in a  sentence. Thus second 'not' is redundant.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the following sentence some parts have been underlined and labelled A, B, C and D. Identify the part that contains an error. If there is no error in any part of the sentence, mark your answer as E.

(A) College life is charming (B) and school life is dull; so (C) everybody prefers college life (D) to school life. (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

(B): The correct usage is 'but school life is dull'.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the following sentence some parts have been underlined and labelled A, B, C and D. Identify the part that contains an error. If there is no error in any part of the sentence, mark your answer as E.

(A) You are very rich (B) but you should help (C) the poor and this will be (D) a good deed on your part. (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

(B): The correct usage is 'and you should help'. Remember: 'And' joins two words or clauses of the same nature while 'but' is to join two antithetical clauses.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the following sentence some parts have been underlined and labelled A, B, C and D. Identify the part that contains an error. If there is no error in any part of the sentence, mark your answer as E.

(A) The choice is between glorious death (B) or shameful life, which (C) means doing mean acts (D) through out life. (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

(B): The correct usage is 'and shameful life'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the given sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any).

We have recently began (1)/ the process of recruiting (2)/ insurance agents for (3)/ our North- Eastern branches. (4)/ No error (5).

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

The error is in part (1): 'We have recently began'. The present perfect tense requires the past participle form, so 'began' should be 'begun'. The correct sentence is 'We have recently begun the process of recruiting insurance agents for our North-Eastern branches.'

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the given sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any).

Inspite that organisations are aware (1)/ of the importance of IT (2)/ they often do not know (3)/ how to deploy it effectively. (4)/ No error (5).

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

The error is in part (1): 'Inspite that organisations are aware'. The correct phrase is 'In spite of the fact that' or 'Despite the fact that'. 'Inspite that' is grammatically incorrect - 'Inspite' should be 'In spite' (two words) and requires 'of'. Alternatively, 'Although' or 'Even though' would work.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read given sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any).

The company's decision to issue (1)/ bonus shares clearly indicates (2)/ the management's confident (3)/ about the future. (4)/ No error (5).

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

The error is in part (3): 'the management's confident about the future'. After the possessive 'management's', we need a noun, not an adjective. It should be 'confidence' (noun), not 'confident' (adjective). The correct phrase is 'the management's confidence about the future' or better 'the management's confidence in the future'.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the given sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any).

Keeping in mind that India (1)/ is one of the world's fastest (2)/ growing economies many international (3)/ companies are invested in India. (4)/ No error (5).

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

The error is in part (4): 'companies are invested in India'. 'Are invested' is passive voice meaning someone has put money into the companies. The context requires active voice - companies are currently doing the investing. Should be 'companies are investing in India' (present continuous for ongoing action) or 'companies have invested in India' (present perfect for completed action with present relevance).

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the given sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any).

Although interlinking of rivers will (1)/ help tackle drought, the government (2)/ has not paid much (3)/ attention to this project. (4)/ No error (5).

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

There is no error in this sentence. 'Although interlinking of rivers will help tackle drought, the government has not paid much attention to this project.' All parts are grammatically correct: 'Although' introduces the concession, 'interlinking of rivers' is the subject, 'will help tackle' shows future possibility, 'the government has not paid much attention' is correct present perfect tense.