Error Spotting - Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Tense, Article and Preposition Errors

Error Spotting in English Grammar - Complete Guide for SSC, Banking and Railway Exams

Error Spotting is one of the most important topics in English for competitive exams like SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC CPO, Railway, Banking and CTET. In this type of question, a sentence is divided into four parts and you have to find which part contains grammatical error. Strong knowledge of grammar rules is essential to score full marks in this chapter.

Important Fact: Most error spotting questions in SSC exams are based on Subject-Verb Agreement, Tense, Articles, Prepositions and Noun-Pronoun errors. Mastering these 5 areas can help you solve 70% questions correctly.

1. Noun Errors and Pronoun Errors

Noun errors occur when uncountable nouns are used as countable or wrong plural forms are used. Words like advice, information, furniture, luggage are uncountable and never take 's'. Pronoun errors occur due to wrong case or unclear antecedent. For example, between you and I is wrong, correct is between you and me.

2. Verb Errors, Tense Errors and Subject-Verb Agreement

Verb errors include wrong form of verb and incorrect tense usage. Tense errors happen when present is used instead of past or vice versa. Subject-Verb Agreement is the most tested rule - singular subject takes singular verb and plural subject takes plural verb. For example, Each of the boys is honest, not are.

Rule / Type	Correct Example	Incorrect Example
Noun Error	He gave me many pieces of advice	He gave me many advices
Subject-Verb Agreement	Neither of them is guilty	Neither of them are guilty
Article Error	He is an honest man	He is a honest man
Preposition Error	She is good at mathematics	She is good in mathematics
Tense Error	He has gone to Delhi	He has went to Delhi

3. Article Errors, Preposition Errors and Conjunction Errors

Article errors involve wrong use of a, an, the. Use an before vowel sound, not vowel letter. Preposition errors are very common - we say good at, not good in; interested in, not interested for. Conjunction errors occur when wrong conjunction is used to connect clauses. For example, Although he is poor, he is honest is correct, not although he is poor but he is honest.

4. Adjective and Adverb Errors, Modal Errors, Voice and Narration Errors

Adjective qualifies noun and adverb qualifies verb. Many students use adjective instead of adverb. For example, He drives very fast, not fastly. Modal errors include wrong use of can, could, may, might, shall, will. Voice and Narration errors test knowledge of active-passive and direct-indirect speech rules. Common Grammar Errors include double negatives, wrong order of words and redundant words.

Exam Tip: Always read the full sentence carefully, check subject-verb agreement first, then check tense, articles, prepositions and pronouns. In SSC CGL, 2-3 questions from error spotting are asked every year.

To master error spotting, practice daily 20 questions, learn 50 golden grammar rules and revise previous year papers. Focus on understanding logic behind each error rather than memorizing sentences. This approach will help you score high in English section.

Error Spotting - Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Tense, Article and Preposition Errors