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 has been split into three parts, (1), (2) and (3). If there is any grammatical error in any of these parts, that is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (4).

(1) Despite India trying its best to prevent Chinese submarines (2) from stopping in Sri Lanka, (3) another Chinese attack submarine is docking in Colombo. (4) No error

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

(c) is incorrect as ‘stopping’ is in the present participle. The corresponding verb in a sentence cannot end in present participle and should end in past participle. Thus, in this context, the corresponding verb ‘docking’ is incorrect. It should be ‘docked’.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence has been broken into three parts - (1), (2) and (3). If there is any grammatical error in any of these parts, that is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (4).

(1) The story added to a growing debate (2) over whether the government (3) was failing in their most basic duties. (4) No error

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

 (c) is incorrect as there is pronoun disagreement in this segment. The subject is ‘government’ which is a singular collective noun. The pronoun ‘their’ is used for plural possessive pronouns. The correct pronoun in this context is ‘its’.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence has been broken into three parts - (1), (2) and (3). If there is any grammatical error in any of these parts, that is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (4).

(1) Government has permitted (2) the transfer of private land (3) to industrial, tourism and other purposes. (4) No error

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

(b) is incorrect. The preposition ‘to’ in this segment is incorrectly used. ‘To’ is a preposition of direction however, in this context, the Government is permitting transfer of land ‘for’ different purposes. The preposition ‘for’ is used to indicate an intention of benefitting someone or something aimed at somebody. Here, it refers to the transfer with the aim of use in industrial, tourism or hydel purposes.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence has been broken into three parts - (1), (2) and (3). If there is any grammatical error in any of these parts, that is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (4).

(1) It is said that in life, (2) be it friendships or fights, (3) nothing last forever. (4) No error

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

 (c) is incorrect as there is subject verb disagreement in this segment. The subject ‘nothing’ is singular and the verb ‘last’ is incorrect. The third person present for singular is ‘lasts’. Thus, it is nothing
lasts forever.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence has been broken into three parts - (1), (2) and (3). If there is any grammatical error in any of these parts, that is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (4).

(1) It is normal for your memory to deteriorate as you get older, (2) but there are some factors (3) who can accelerate this deterioration considerably. (4) No error

  1. (1)

  2. (2)

  3. (3)

  4. (4)

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

 (c) is incorrect due to incorrect pronoun usage in this segment. The relative pronoun, ‘who’ is used for individuals. In this context, the noun ‘factors’ does not refer to humans, therefore, the correct
relative pronoun is represented by ‘that’.