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 is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

The people (1)/ in my office (2)/ are smarter (3)/ than other offices (4)./ No error (5).

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

Correct; here is the error of parallelism. The subject 'people' is to be compared with people, and not 'offices'. So, the correction reads 'than those in other offices'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

I will have been (1)/ happy to see him, (2)/ but I did not have (3)/ enough time. (4)/ No error (5)

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

Correct; the verb in the principal clause is in past tense, so the verb in subordinate clause should also be in past tense. The correction would read 'would have been'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

If they would have (1)/ paid attention, (2)/ they would not have (3)/ to be told again. (4)/ No error (5)

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

Correct; it is a conditional sentence in which the action has already happened. In such sentences, the verb in subordinate clause is in past perfect sentence. So, the correction would read, 'If they had ....'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

Her parents objected (1)/ to the loud music (2)/ she played and (3)/ the late hours (4)/ she kept. No error (5)

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

Correct; here the error is of preposition. The verb 'object' refers to both 'the loud music' and 'the late hours'. So, the preposition 'to' should be used in front of both the phrases, viz.'to the late hours'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

The little boy not only resists (1)/ learning to correlate new facts (2)/ but also remembering (3)/ old lessons (4)./ No error (5).

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

Correct; the usage of 'not only.......but' requires the phrase to follow the verb. So, the correction would read 'The little boy resists not only....'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

No sooner had the door opened, (1)/ than the nurse (2)/ ordered us (3)/ to close it. (4)/ No error (5).

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

Correct; there is an error in the usage of the tense. As both the actions 'opened' and 'ordered' happened at the same time, so both the verbs should be in simple past tense. So, the correction reads '...did the door open..'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

We should use (1)/ little time (2)/ we have available (3)/ to discuss the new project. (4)/ No error (5).

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

Correct; the phrase 'little time' means 'no time'. But the speakers have very less time. So, the correct phrase should be 'the little time'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

They couldn't decide (1)/ weather it was (2)/ worth re-sitting the examination (3)/ with so little preparation. (4)/ No error (5)

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

Correct; the spelling of 'weather' should be 'whether' meaning, 'a choice between re-sitting or not'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

PMO has desired (1)/ that private channels should also (2)/ make use of the audio (3)/ with suitable visuals and footage. (4)/ No error (5).

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

Correct; the imperative verbs like 'desire', 'order', 'advise' etc. are used in subjunctive form without 'should'. The correction would read '.....private channels make use....'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

The report provides (1)/ worried evidence (2)/ of the spread (3)/ of the disease. (4)/ No error (5)

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

Correct; the word 'worried' is incorrect. We need an adjective before the noun, so the present participle will be used. The correction would read 'worrying'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence is divided into four parts and is numbered (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Select the part which has the error. If there is no error, choose no. 5.

There is (1)/ no point asking (2)/ him for a lift; (3)/ he will leave by now. (4)/ No error (5)

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

Correct; here is the error in the usage of tense. The speaker visualizes that the action will be over by a specific time in future. So, future perfect tense should be used, viz. 'will have left'.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence has been split into three parts (A), (B) and (C). If there is any grammatical error in any of these parts, that is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (D).

At the function, he ate chicken, (A)/ drank whisky and (B)/ was singing a romantic song. (C)/ No error (D)

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

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

This is the correct option as this part of the sentence has the error. The list of verbs in the sentence contains two singular simple past tense verbs ('ate' and 'drank') and one singular past progressive verb ('was singing'). The verbs should all match. The correct sentence should replace the past progressive form (was singing) with the simple past tense (sang). The correct sentence would be: “At the function, he ate chicken, drank whisky and sang a romantic song”.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence has been split into three parts (A), (B) and (C). If there is any grammatical error in any of these parts, that is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (D).

Ben Jonson’s dramas (A)/ were different from (B)/ any other dramatists of his era. (C)/ No error (D)

  1. (A)

  2. (B)

  3. (C)

  4. (D)

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

This is the correct option as this part of the sentence has the error. Here, the sentence actually compares Ben Jonson’s dramas to any other dramatist: an illogical comparison. But, the insertion of ‘those of’ completes the comparison. The correct sentence would be: “Ben Jonson’s dramas were different from those of any other dramatists of his era”.