📚 English — English Language and Competitive English
6. Error Spotting
Exam-oriented Error Spotting notes, rules and revision facts
Quick Reference
Major Grammatical Error Categories, Rules & Corrections
6. Error Spotting
| Error Type | Rule | Correct Example |
|---|---|---|
Subject-Verb Agreement | उत्तर देखें Intervening prepositional phrases do not affect subject number | उत्तर देखें The quality of apples was poor. |
Correlative Conjunctions | उत्तर देखें Nearest subject determines verb number in either...or | उत्तर देखें Either he or his brothers were present. |
Parenthetical Connectors | उत्तर देखें First subject governs verb with as well as | उत्तर देखें The leader, as well as followers, was arrested. |
Indefinite Pronouns | उत्तर देखें Each, every, either, neither take singular verbs | उत्तर देखें Each of the boys has arrived. |
Uncountable Nouns | उत्तर देखें Nouns like advice and furniture never take plural suffix | उत्तर देखें All the luggage was checked. |
Hyphenated Compound Nouns | उत्तर देखें Noun acting as adjective remains singular | उत्तर देखें A five-rupee note was found. |
Tense Sequence with Since | उत्तर देखें Present perfect main clause paired with simple past clause | उत्तर देखें Five years have passed since he came. |
Habitual Action in Continuous Tense | उत्तर देखें Present habits require simple present tense | उत्तर देखें He goes for a walk daily. |
Conditional Clause Modals | उत्तर देखें Never use modal auxiliaries inside if-clauses | उत्तर देखें If it rains, we will stop. |
Correlative Pairing | उत्तर देखें Hardly and scarcely pair with when, not than | उत्तर देखें Hardly had I arrived when it rained. |
Comparative Conjunctions | उत्तर देखें No sooner pairs with than, not then/when | उत्तर देखें No sooner did he arrive than cheers rose. |
Negative Word Pairing | उत्तर देखें Lest governs should with no negative words | उत्तर देखें Walk carefully lest you should fall. |
Degree Redundancy | उत्तर देखें Avoid double comparatives and superlatives | उत्तर देखें This is much better than that. |
Latin Comparatives | उत्तर देखें Senior, junior, superior take preposition to | उत्तर देखें He is senior to me. |
Adjective vs Adverb | उत्तर देखें Action verbs are modified by adverbs | उत्तर देखें He spoke extremely politely to us. |
Dangling Modifiers | उत्तर देखें Participial phrases must clearly attach to logical subjects | उत्तर देखें Walking down the road, I saw a tiger. |
Quick Reference
Frequently Repeated Competitive Exam Error Traps
6. Error Spotting
| Error Type | Rule | Correct Example |
|---|---|---|
Superfluous Pairing | उत्तर देखें The reason why takes that, never because | उत्तर देखें The reason why he failed is that he slept. |
Double Negative | उत्तर देखें Avoid negative words with unless and until | उत्तर देखें Unless you study, you will fail. |
Redundant Prepositions | उत्तर देखें Order, describe, enter take no direct preposition | उत्तर देखें He entered the hall quietly. |
Fixed Preposition | उत्तर देखें Abstain, refrain, prevent require preposition from | उत्तर देखें He abstained from alcohol completely. |
Idiomatic Preposition | उत्तर देखें Manage difficulties uses cope with, never cope up | उत्तर देखें She could cope with the pressure. |
Possessive before Gerund | उत्तर देखें Nouns and pronouns preceding gerunds require possessive case | उत्तर देखें I insisted on his going there. |
Relative Pronoun Inversion | उत्तर देखें One of the plus plural noun plus who takes plural verb | उत्तर देखें One of the men who were present. |
Parallel Structure | उत्तर देखें Coordinating conjunctions connect identical grammatical forms | उत्तर देखें She likes painting, dancing, and singing. |
Subjunctive Were | उत्तर देखें Unreal conditions use were across all persons | उत्तर देखें If I were you, I would agree. |
Article Omission | उत्तर देखें Zero article with institutions visited for primary purpose | उत्तर देखें He went to hospital for surgery. |
Pronoun Order | उत्तर देखें Normal polite personal pronoun order is 2-3-1 | उत्तर देखें You, he, and I must attend. |
Pronoun Order (Fault) | उत्तर देखें Confessing errors or negative acts uses order 1-2-3 | उत्तर देखें I, you, and he are guilty. |
Concept of Error Spotting & Systematic Detection Strategy
Primary objective of error spotting in competitive exams
Test grammatical accuracy and syntactic awareness.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
First step in systematic sentence error detection
Identify grammatical subject and principal verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Second step in systematic sentence error detection
Verify subject-verb number and person agreement.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Third step in systematic sentence error detection
Examine tense consistency across all clauses.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Fourth step in systematic sentence error detection
Check modifier placement and pronoun antecedents.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Fifth step in systematic sentence error detection
Check prepositions, articles, and conjunction pairs.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Most common category of grammatical error in exams
Subject-verb agreement errors.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Technique to locate true subject across intervening clauses
Eliminate prepositional phrases and parenthetical clauses.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Role of reading speed during error detection
Careful analytical reading beats hasty skimming.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Significance of punctuation markers in error spotting
Indicate clause boundaries and modifier scope.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
What to do if no obvious grammatical flaw appears
Examine idiomatic usage and preposition collocation.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Concept of No Error option in exams
Grammatically sound sentences requiring no change.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Danger of relying purely on ear or colloquial sound
Informal spoken English often hides grammatical errors.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Check for parallel structure across coordinating conjunctions
Ensure balanced parts of speech.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Check for correct verb forms following auxiliaries
Verify base form, past participle, or gerund.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Check for proper article usage before singular countable nouns
Ensure presence of a, an, or the.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Check for pronoun-antecedent number and gender harmony
Pronoun must match noun it replaces.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Check for unattached dangling participial phrases
Ensure subject of participle opens main clause.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Strategy for identifying errors in multi-clause sentences
Analyze each clause independently, then verify linkages.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Importance of analyzing correlative conjunction pairs
Verify exact pairing and positional symmetry.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Subject-Verb Agreement & Noun-Number Errors
Error in: The quality of these mangoes are not good
Replace are with was or is.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule governing: The quality of these mangoes is not good
Singular subject quality governs singular verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The teacher as well as the students were present
Replace were with was.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule governing subjects connected by as well as
Verb agrees with the first subject.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Either the teacher or his students has arrived
Replace has with have.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule governing subjects connected by either...or
Verb agrees with the nearest subject.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Neither the players nor the coach were happy
Replace were with was.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Each of the participants were given a certificate
Replace were with was.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Verb agreement governed by distributive pronoun each
Always takes a singular verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: One of the boys have completed the project
Replace have with has.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He is one of the players who has scored well
Replace has with have.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for relative pronoun following one of plus plural noun
Relative clause takes a plural verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: This is the only one of his books that are good
Replace are with is.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for the only one of plus plural noun
Governs singular verb due to only.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Bread and butter are his favorite breakfast
Replace are with is.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for two nouns expressing a single unified concept
Takes a singular verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: A large number of students was absent today
Replace was with were.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Verb agreement governed by phrase a number of
Takes a plural verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The number of applicants were remarkably high
Replace were with was.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Verb agreement governed by phrase the number of
Takes a singular verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Ten miles are a long distance to walk
Replace are with is.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for plural unit denoting single collective quantity
Takes a singular verb.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The jury were unanimous in its verdict
Replace were with was.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The jury was divided in their opinions
Replace was with were.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Politics are a complicated subject
Replace are with is.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: His mathematics is very weak
Replace is with are.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for academic branches modified by possessive adjectives
Takes plural verb (denoting practical calculations).
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The cattle is grazing in the open field
Replace is with are.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The police is investigating the case thoroughly
Replace is with are.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: My scissors is missing from the drawer
Replace is with are.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Noun, Number, Countable/Uncountable & Case Errors
Error in: He gave me many good advices
Replace advices with pieces of advice.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Why the noun advice cannot take plural suffix -s
Advice is an uncountable noun.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: All the furnitures in this shop were imported
Replace furnitures with furniture.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He packed all his luggages carefully
Replace luggages with luggage.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The sceneries of Kashmir are breathtaking
Replace sceneries with scenery.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Her hairs have turned completely grey
Replace hairs have with hair has.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: I bought two dozens bananas from the market
Replace dozens with dozen.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for words like dozen, hundred preceded by numeral
Remain in singular form.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Correct use of dozen expressing unspecified quantity
Dozens of bananas.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He gave me a five-hundred-rupees note
Replace rupees with rupee.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for hyphenated compound adjectives preceding nouns
Always retain singular form.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: A six-men committee was constituted yesterday
Replace six-men with six-man.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He ran a three-miles race this morning
Replace three-miles with three-mile.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Tables leg was broken by the children
Replace tables leg with leg of table.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for possessive apostrophe -s with inanimate objects
Use of-phrase for lifeless objects.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Somebody's else book was left behind
Replace somebody's else with somebody else's.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He ordered for two cups of tea
Delete redundant preposition for.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: I insisted on him attending the seminar
Replace him with his.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Case of noun or pronoun modifying a gerund
Requires possessive case.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: We enjoyed at the party last night
Insert reflexive pronoun ourselves after enjoyed.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Verbs requiring reflexive pronouns without direct objects
Avail, adapt, enjoy, introduce, resign.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Myself am Dr. Sharma from Mumbai
Replace myself with I.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Can reflexive pronouns act as grammatical sentence subjects?
No, subject pronouns are required.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Both of them did not attend the class
Replace with: Neither of them attended.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Why both is not used in negative declarative sentences
Replaced by negative pronoun neither.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Tenses, Conditional Clauses & Modals Errors
Error in: He is knowing the answer very well
Replace is knowing with knows.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Why stative verbs avoid continuous forms in general sense
Express ongoing mental states, not actions.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Stative verbs commonly tested in competitive examinations
Know, believe, understand, resemble, own.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: I am living in Delhi since five years
Replace am living with have lived/have been living.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He has left for London yesterday evening
Replace has left with left.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for past time adverbials like yesterday or ago
Govern simple past tense, not perfect.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Two years passed since my brother has arrived
Replace has arrived with arrived.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Tense structure following conjunction since denoting time
Takes simple past clause.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Tense structure preceding conjunction since denoting elapsed time
Requires present perfect tense.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: If it will rain, the match will stop
Replace will rain with rains.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: When you will arrive, we shall begin
Replace will arrive with arrive.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: If he worked hard, he would have passed
Replace worked with had worked.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: If I was a bird, I would fly across
Replace was with were.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Subjunctive mood rule for hypothetical unreal statements
Use were across all grammatical persons.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Had he informed me, I would help him
Replace would help with would have helped.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: If he would have come, we had gone
Replace with: If he had come, we would have gone.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He said that the earth revolved round sun
Replace revolved with revolves.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for universal scientific truths in indirect narration
Tense remains unchanging simple present.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The patient died before the doctor arrived
Replace died with had died.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for two past completed chronological actions
Earlier action takes past perfect tense.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: She told me that she will help me tomorrow
Replace will with would.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He suggested me to consult a specialist
Replace suggested me with suggested to me.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: You must to obey the traffic regulations
Delete preposition to after modal must.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Verb form following bare modal auxiliaries
Bare base infinitive (V1).
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He used to playing cricket in youth
Replace playing with play.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions & Degrees of Comparison
Error in: He is more taller than his elder brother
Delete redundant comparative more.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: She is the most cleverest girl in class
Delete redundant superlative most.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He is junior than all his colleagues
Replace than with to.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Latin comparative adjectives taking preposition to
Junior, senior, superior, inferior, prior.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Milk is more preferable than black tea
Replace with: Milk is preferable to black tea.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Why preferable avoids more and than
Inherently comparative; governs preposition to.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Delhi is larger than any city in India
Replace any city with any other city.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for comparative degree within same class or group
Use any other to exclude subject.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The climate of Shimla is cooler than Delhi
Replace Delhi with that of Delhi.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for logical comparisons across entity attributes
Compare climate with climate using that of.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The roads of Chandigarh are wider than Delhi
Replace Delhi with those of Delhi.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Pronoun used to balance comparison of plural attributes
Those of.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He is very much tired after the journey
Replace very much with very.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He is very taller than his brother
Replace very with much.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: She sang sweet in the annual competition
Replace adjective sweet with adverb sweetly.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The soup tastes deliciously
Replace deliciously with delicious.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule for verbs of sensation (taste, smell, look)
Modified by adjectives, not adverbs.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He seldom or ever visits his hometown
Replace with: Seldom or never (or seldom if ever).
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He was accompanied with his parents
Replace with with by.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He was deprived from his basic rights
Replace from with of.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: She is good in English
Replace in with at.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He died from cancer last month
Replace from with of.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Preposition governed by die when cause is disease
Of (die of cancer/malaria).
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Preposition governed by die when cause is hunger or wound
From (die from hunger/exhaustion).
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Divide this property between the three brothers
Replace between with among.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Modifiers, Parallelism, Redundancy & Double Negatives
Error in: Walking on the road, a speeding car hit him
Dangling modifier; car was not walking.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Corrected sentence for walking on the road dangling modifier
While he was walking, a car hit him.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Being a rainy day, we decided to stay indoors
Insert dummy subject It before being.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Corrected participial opening for rainy day sentence
It being a rainy day.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He not only lost his pen but also his watch
Reposition not only before his pen.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Rule of parallelism for correlative not only...but also
Must precede identical grammatical components.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: She likes reading novels, traveling abroad and to cook
Replace to cook with cooking.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He returned back from Chennai yesterday
Delete redundant word back.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Repeat this sentence again please
Delete redundant word again.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He entered into the classroom silently
Delete redundant preposition into.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Context where enter into is grammatically acceptable
Metaphorical usage (enter into an agreement).
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: She discussed about the proposal yesterday
Delete redundant preposition about.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He ordered for two cups of coffee
Delete redundant preposition for.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He is my cousin brother
Delete redundant word brother.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Unless you do not work hard, you fail
Delete do not to prevent double negative.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Until the doctor does not come, wait here
Delete does not come and write comes.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He prevented me to go there
Replace with: Prevented me from going there.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: He denied that he had not stolen the watch
Delete redundant negative word not.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Both did not attend the wedding
Replace with: Neither attended the wedding.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Hardly had he entered than the bell rang
Replace than with when.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: No sooner did the train arrive when crowd surged
Replace when with than.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Walk fast lest you will miss the bus
Replace will with should.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: The reason why he resigned is because he was sick
Replace because with that.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Error in: Suppose if you fail, what will you do?
Delete either suppose or if.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
Primary rule to prevent exam trap mistakes
Check fixed pairings, agreement, and redundancies.
उत्तर देखने के लिए टैप करें
कोई matching content नहीं मिला।