Common Errors and Sentence Correction
Common Errors and Sentence Correction
Error correction is the format the whole grammar chapter is finally tested in, and it accounts for 3 to 4 questions. It rewards a method more than knowledge: check the sentence against a fixed list of likely faults rather than reading it for whether it sounds right.
A Checking Order That Works
- Find the real subject and check the verb agrees with it.
- Check the tense sequence across clauses.
- Check articles — Hindi-medium candidates omit them and add them wrongly.
- Check prepositions after verbs and adjectives.
- Check pronouns for case and reference.
- Check parallel structure in any list or correlative pair.
- Check for redundancy.
A fixed order stops you reading the sentence four times and still missing the fault.
The Errors Indian Papers Set Most Often
| Wrong | Right | Fault |
|---|---|---|
| He is having two brothers | He has two brothers | State verbs take no continuous |
| I am knowing him since 2010 | I have known him since 2010 | Know is a state verb |
| Discuss about the matter | Discuss the matter | Discuss takes no preposition |
| Order for a book | Order a book | No preposition needed |
| Return back, repeat again | Return, repeat | Redundant |
| One of my friend | One of my friends | One of takes a plural noun |
| Each of the boys were | Each of the boys was | Each is singular |
| Cope up with | Cope with | No up |
| He told me to not go | He told me not to go | Not before to |
The state verbs group deserves separate attention: know, understand, believe, love, hate, want, seem, belong, contain, own, resemble are not used in the continuous tense. I am understanding is wrong however natural it feels.
Redundancy and Pronoun Case
Redundancy is a graduate-level marker, because it tests style rather than rule. Each of these repeats a meaning already carried.
- Return back, revert back, repeat again, reason is because.
- More better, most unique — absolutes take no comparison.
- Cousin brother, years back — Indian usages absent from standard English.
For pronouns, the case is decided by function: between you and me, not between you and I, because a preposition takes the objective case. After than and as, supply the missing verb to decide: He is taller than I (am).
✗ Between you and I, this is more better | ✓ Between you and me, this is better
Two Tests Before You Answer
First, the strip test: remove every intervening phrase and read subject and verb together. The list of the names of the successful candidates ... was becomes obvious once stripped.
Second, the substitution test: replace a doubtful pronoun or preposition with the alternative and see which sentence survives. Both tests take a few seconds and are far more reliable than deciding by ear, which is exactly what an examiner setting Indian-English traps is counting on you to do.
know, understand, believe जैसे रिक्तिवाचक क्रिया continuous में नहीं आती।
TRE pointer: Error correction is where the whole grammar chapter is cashed in, and the errors chosen are almost always Indian-English habits rather than random faults — discuss about, cope up with, one of my friend, between you and I. That is a gift, because the list is finite and learnable. Use the strip test on every concord question. With five options and −1/3 negative marking, a systematic check beats reading for what sounds right.
60-Second Recap
- Check in a fixed order: subject-verb, tense, article, preposition, pronoun, parallelism, redundancy.
- State verbs such as know, understand and believe take no continuous form.
- Discuss, order, request, resemble and comprise take no preposition.
- One of takes a plural noun; each of takes a singular verb.
- Avoid return back, repeat again, more better, cope up with, cousin brother.
- A preposition takes the objective case: between you and me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is I am knowing him wrong?
Because know is a state verb, describing a condition rather than an action, and state verbs are not used in the continuous form. The correct sentence is I have known him since 2010. Understand, believe, love, want, seem and belong behave the same way.
Is discuss about correct?
No. Discuss is a transitive verb that takes a direct object with no preposition, so discuss the matter is correct. The same applies to order a book, request a favour, resemble his father and comprise five members, all of which take no preposition.
Should it be between you and I or between you and me?
Between you and me. Between is a preposition and prepositions take the objective case, so me is required. The form with I sounds more formal to many speakers, which is precisely why it is offered as a distractor in error-correction questions.
What is the fastest way to check subject-verb agreement?
Strip out every phrase between the subject and the verb, then read the two together. The list of the names of the successful candidates was pasted becomes obviously correct once reduced to the list was. Examiners insert long phrases specifically to obscure the real subject.
Next step: Grammar is tested through correction, and correction improves only by doing. Practise this chapter in the BPSC TRE 4.0 mock test on ExamAtlas — five options, −1/3 negative marking, and the graduate-level depth this paper demands.