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: One of the parts of the given sentence contains an error. Mark that part. If you find no error, your answer should be indicated as (d).

The hundred-rupees notes (a)/ that he gave them for the goods bought from them looked genuine (b)/ but later they reliably learnt that the notes were all counterfeit. (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 usage: It should be 'hundred rupee notes' in place of 'hundred rupees notes'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The sentence is underlined in four separate parts and is labelled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Read the sentence and find the error. (d) signifies no error.

(a) Neither the principal nor the (b) teachers were able to (c) calm the distressed parents. (d) No error.

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

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

(d) is the correct option as this sentence has no error. This sentence contains two subjects 'principal' and 'teachers'. Because they are joined by the correlative conjunction 'neither/nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to 'teachers', which is plural. The plural verb 'were' is therefore correct.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the sentence carefully to find out whether there is any grammatical 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 (D). (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).

All four of my friends (A)/ comes to my rescue (B)/ whenever I am in distress (C)/ No error (D)

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

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

(B) The subject is plural. So, the verb too should be plural. ‘Comes’ should be changed to ‘come’.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the sentence carefully to find out whether there is any grammatical 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 (D). (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).

He failed to catch the train (A)/ as he starts late (B)/ for the station (C)/ No error (D)

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

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

(B) The train has already left the station and he failed to catch it because he had started late. There is a tense mismatch here.

Multiple choice

Directions: The sentence is underlined in four separate parts and is labelled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Read the sentence and find the error. (d) signifies no error.

(a) There is many reasons (b) for the disapproval of your (c) new marketing campaign. (d) No error.

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

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

Here, (a) is incorrect as there is no subject – verb agreement here. Here, ‘is’ is a singular verb and ‘reasons’ is a plural subject. In place of ‘is’, ‘are’ should be used. Only then will the plural verb ‘are’ be in agreement with the plural subject ‘reasons’.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the sentence carefully to find out whether there is any grammatical 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 D. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).

Those who clamour for more (A)/ forgets that it is (B)/ improper to keep demanding (C)/ No error (D).

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

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

(B) The verb ‘forgets’ is for ‘those’. Since 'those' is plural, the verb should be 'forget'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The sentence is underlined in four separate parts and is labelled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Read the sentence and find the error. (d) signifies no error.

(a) The reporter questioned the (b) development in urban areas (c) compared to rural areas. (d) No error

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

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

Here, (c) is incorrect. The sentence compares the development in urban areas as compared to the rural areas, not their development. In this sentence, a short phrase, 'that of' would have made the comparison clear. Thus, the correct sentence will read, “The reporter questioned the development in urban areas compared to that of rural areas”.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the sentence carefully to find out whether there is any grammatical 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 D. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).

The competition will be tough (A)/ and difficult to manage (B)/ if we do not take charge of it (C)/ No error (D).

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

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

(D) There is no error in this sentence.

Multiple choice

Directions: The sentence is underlined in four separate parts and is labelled (a), (b), (c) and (d). Read the sentence and find the error. (d) signifies no error.

(a) At the car dealership, (b) it was difficult to choose (c) between so many variants. (d) No error

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

  3. (c)

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

Here, (c) is incorrect, as ‘between’ is the incorrect preposition used. The correct is ‘among’. ‘Between’ is used to distinguish between two things, whereas 'among' is used for more than two things.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the sentence carefully to find out whether there is any grammatical 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 D. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).

Here is a man which not only (A)/ does not believe in austerity (B)/ but goes on to promote the idea of profligacy (C)/ No error (D)

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

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

(A) The use of the relative pronoun ‘which’ is wrong here. For humans, the relative pronoun is ‘who’.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the sentence carefully to find out whether there is any grammatical 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 D. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).

Keeping people focussed on any issue (A)/ these days (B)/ is an exercise in futility given the complexities of life (C)/ No error (D)

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

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

(D) No error

Multiple choice

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

Whatever he was (1)/today is only because (2)/of his mother who (3)/was a renowned scientist. (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

Replace 'was' with 'is', the correct phrase should be 'Whatever he is today'.