The English section is common in many govt. exams. Though English language papers consist of lots of different sections, spotting errors is considered a difficult yet scoring topic. And to be able to solve error correction, candidates must have a good command of English Grammar concepts.
In this section, the questions are related to tenses, subject-verb agreement, parts of speech, articles, etc. Here, the question comes in the form of a paragraph or sentence containing certain errors that candidates either have to find out or rectify. And candidates must cover complete basic grammar lessons to get acquainted with the rules in order to ace error spotting. Practising rules consistently is all that is required to master this section.
Tips & Tricks For Error Spotting in the English Language Section
Generally, very common mistakes are given in error spotting questions, but to solve these questions students must have a good command of English Grammar.
a. Here, we are providing you with some common types of errors that students end up making.
b. Correct grammar usage is also given, which will help you build grammar understanding.
1. If there is a comparison between two nominative cases, the pronoun of the nominative case is used after ‘than’.
- Though he studies hard, he is not quite as smart as her (incorrect)
- Though he studies hard, he is not quite as smart as she (correct)
2. A pronoun should be in the nominative case, if a Pronoun is used as the complement of the Verb ‘to be’
- If I were her, I’d sign up for that class. (incorrect)
- If I were she, I’d sign up for that class. (correct)
3. ” Many a/an” should be followed by a singular noun and singular verb.
- Many a politicians have promised to make changes. (incorrect)
- Many a politician has promised to make changes. (correct)
4. Inversion should be done in the statement if the sentence is introduced by an adverb
- Hardly I had reached the station when the train arrived. (incorrect)
- Hardly had I reached the station when the train arrived. (correct)
5. ‘A large number of’/ “A number of” should be followed by a plural verb
- A large number of students was absent. (incorrect)
- A large number of students were absent. (correct)
6. “The large number of”/ “The large number of” should be followed by a singular verb.
- The number of aspirants have not appeared in the examination.(incorrect)
- The number of aspirants has not appeared in the examination.(correct)
7. If ‘it’s high time / it’s about time / it’s time is used in a sentence, v2 comes in the sentence.
- It’s high time you start preparing for exams. (incorrect)
- It’s high time you started preparing for exams. (correct)
8. When a subject becomes the receiver of an action, the following verbs take reflexive pronoun : Acquit, Absent, Avail, Reconcile, Amuse, Resign, Adapt, Adjust, Pride, Enjoy. Introduce, hurt, cheat, apply Etc.
- I enjoyed at the party. (incorrect)
- I enjoyed myself at the party. (correct)
9. Every Participle must have a suitable Subject of Reference.
- Being a rainy day, Vijay decided to stay at home. (incorrect)
- It being a rainy day, Vijay decided to stay at home. (correct)
10. Two auxiliaries can be used with one principal Verb, only when the form of the principal Verb is appropriate to both the auxiliaries.
- Rahul never has, and never will opt for job over business. (Incorrect)
- Rahul never has opted, and never will opt for job over business (correct)
11. A Past Tense in the main clause should be followed by a Past Tense in the subordinate clause.
- He succeeded because he studies regularly. (Incorrect)
- He succeeded because he studied regularly. (correct)
12. When the subordinate clause comes after ‘lest’, the auxiliary Verb ‘should’ must be used, whatever be the Tense of the Verb in the main clause.
Note: “Lest” is followed by should
- We start early lest we shall miss the bus. (Incorrect)
- We start early lest we should miss the bus. (correct)
13. When a comparison is made by means of a comparative, the thing compared should be excluded from the class of things with which it is compared by using ‘other’ or some such word.
(be + Comparative degree+ than+ any other + singular noun)
- Akhil is stronger than any boy in the class. (Incorrect)
- Akhil is stronger than any other boy in the class (correct)
14. When two qualities of the same person or thing are compared, the Comparative form ‘er’ is not used. (More + Positive degree+ than+ positive degree) is used for this purpose.
- Sheetal is wiser than beautiful. (Incorrect)
- Sheetal is more wise than beautiful (correct)
15. If the pronouns of three persons are written as the subject of the sentence, then the verb should be plural as the subject is more than one, and the order of pronoun should be 123 (in contexts of guilt, sin, crime).
- You, he and I have committed the Sin. (Incorrect)
- I, You and He have committed the Sin. (correct)
Preparation tips:
1. In order to crack spotting errors questions, practice a lot to improve your grammar.
2. Do practice previous year’s questions to get well acquainted with different varieties and types of questions.
3. Take one reference book handy and mark the important rules and keep revising it frequently
4. During the exam, read the complete sentence and while solving error corrections, also keep an eye on spelling mistakes as well, sometimes, the question is based on spell-check.
5. Last but not least is to stay calm and do not panic, if in doubt about any question leave the question and save it for later.