Error Spotting
Error Spotting
Error spotting asks you to find the one incorrect part of a sentence. The errors are drawn from a small, predictable set — subject-verb agreement, tense, articles, prepositions, pronouns and word order — so a checklist works better than a general sense of what sounds right.
The checklist to run
- Subject and verb — do they agree in number?
- Tense — is the sequence consistent across clauses?
- Article — is a, an or the correct or wrongly omitted?
- Preposition — is it the fixed one for that word?
- Pronoun — does it match its noun in number and case?
- Word order and extra words — is anything repeated or misplaced?
Subject-verb agreement rules that are tested
- Two subjects joined by and take a plural verb, but if they form one idea the verb is singular: 'Bread and butter is my breakfast.'
- With either-or, neither-nor, or, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: 'Neither the boys nor the teacher was present.'
- Words like each, every, everyone, nobody, either, neither take a singular verb.
- A collective noun such as team, jury, family takes a singular verb when acting as one body.
- The phrase between the subject and the verb does not change the verb: 'The quality of the mangoes is good.'
- Uncountable nouns — furniture, information, advice, luggage, scenery, news — are singular and take no plural s.
Common error types with corrections
✗ One of my friend is a doctor. | ✓ One of my friends is a doctor.
✗ He is more taller than me. | ✓ He is taller than me.
✗ She said me that she will come. | ✓ She told me that she would come.
✗ Each of the boys were given a prize. | ✓ Each of the boys was given a prize.
✗ The furnitures are new. | ✓ The furniture is new.
✗ Let you and I go together. | ✓ Let you and me go together.
Reading the sentence in parts
The question divides the sentence into lettered parts. Read each part on its own before comparing, and remember that one part is always correct — an option saying 'no error' is used sparingly and is correct less often than candidates fear. Where two parts look wrong, choose the one that breaks a rule rather than the one that merely sounds unusual.
संकेत: पहले subject और verb का मेल जाँचिए, फिर tense, फिर article और preposition — अधिकांश त्रुटियाँ इन्हीं चार में मिलती हैं।
Error spotting gives 2-3 questions and is the most rule-based part of the English section. The single most repeated pattern is 'one of my friend' instead of 'one of my friends', followed by double comparatives such as 'more taller'. Uncountable nouns given a plural s — furnitures, informations, advices — appear almost every cycle. Run the six-point checklist in order rather than reading for what sounds right, because a Hindi-medium ear often finds the wrong option comfortable.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common error in error-spotting questions?
Subject-verb agreement, especially in phrases like 'one of my friends is' and in sentences where a long phrase separates the subject from the verb. Double comparatives and plural forms of uncountable nouns come next.
Which nouns are always singular in English?
Uncountable nouns such as furniture, information, advice, luggage, scenery, news, poetry and equipment. They never take a plural s and always take a singular verb.
With 'neither-nor', which subject does the verb agree with?
The nearer one. In 'Neither the boys nor the teacher was present', the verb agrees with teacher, which is singular and closer to it. The same rule applies to either-or.
60-second recap
- Run a checklist: agreement, tense, article, preposition, pronoun, word order.
- One of my friends is - always plural after 'one of'.
- Either-or and neither-nor take the verb of the nearer subject.
- Each, every, everyone, nobody take a singular verb.
- Furniture, information, advice, luggage and news are uncountable and singular.