Sentence Correction : Verbal Ability

Sentence Correction is both one of the most important parts of the Verbal Ability portion and also one of the most difficult parts. What do you believe the point of discussing this matter could be? Well, it checks your grammar abilities. To put it another way, you have to determine whether or not the sentence contains accurate grammar or whether or not a portion of it needs to be rewritten. Therefore, what specific information is necessary for that? A few elementary guidelines for proper language and expression in written work!

You may find a portion of the sentence or the entire sentence highlighted or italicized, and the question will ask you to find the appropriate phrase to substitute the one that is highlighted or italicized. To put it simply, you have to identify the grammatical mistake that is occurring in that particular portion of the sentence. The vast majority of the time, you will discover that one of the alternatives recycles the same phrase, whereas the others rewrite it in a variety of different methods. Therefore, the decision of whether or not the sentence that has been provided to you is up to you.

What is Sentence Correction?

The method that is known as sentence correction makes it possible to construct a sentence that has the appropriate order for its words and that makes sense when taken as a whole. The process of reorganizing the words in a sentence in order to achieve a more comprehensive meaning is known as sentence correction. A group of words that are strung together in the appropriate sequence to convey an entire meaning is what we mean when we talk about a sentence. The order in which words are used is extremely important for ensuring that any phrase conveys the intended meaning and adheres to the appropriate standards of grammar.

Rules of Correction of Sentences

Rules for correcting sentences are guidelines that show you how to improve your own sentences. These rules are beneficial if you want to correct a sentence for a variety of reasons, including its length, the absence of a verb, or an error in the structure of the sentence.

By following these guidelines, you will have a better understanding of the fundamentals of corrections, such as how to make meaning of what you have written and how to correct it.

Subject-verb agreement

It should go without saying that the verb that is used in the statement should be appropriate for the subject that is being discussed. Either the multiple or the singular should be used for both at the same time.

If the sentence starts with “each,” “anyone,” or “everyone,” then the appropriate verb form is singular.

If both of the sentences’ subjects are singular, then the verb used in those sentences will be singular as well, even if they comprise “either/or” and “neither/nor” pairs. When one or both of the subjects are multiple, the corresponding verb must also be plural.

There is frequently a misunderstanding regarding the difference between the use of “I” and “me.”

Repetition Error

This is a mistake that can also be referred to as “redundancy,” and it occurs when something is written more than once.

Example:

• Ram returned back from Mumbai.
• She hardly has any food to give you.
• The correct way of saying these should be
• Ram came back from Mumbai.
• She has no food to give you.

Each of, One of, or None of, Rule

After sentences that begin with “each of,” “one of,” or “none of,” the word is always presented in the plural form.

Examples:

• Each of the player played well in the game- Incorrect
• Each of the players played well in the game.-Correct 
• None of the student got above 90% in the exam.-Incorrect 
• None of the students got above 90 % in the exam.-Correct

Present Continuous Tense

While the trouble is that the action keeps happening, you should use the present continuous tense rather than the simple present tense.

Example:

• Rita always taunts me without any particular reason- Incorrect 
• Rita is always taunting me without any particular reason- Correct

Parallelism

What exactly is meant by the term “parallax” when it’s applied to a sentence? It may have something to do with the manner in which the assertion is organized. To put it another way, different phrases and words that achieve the same function should be used in the same structure whenever possible.

Example:

• Simran likes to dance, sing and cook. -Correct
• Simran likes dancing, singing and cooking.- Correct
• Simran likes to dance, sing and cooking.- Incorrect

Error in Modifiers

The very word “modifier” gives away its function: subjects are changed by modifiers. So, where do you believe the modifiers ought to be placed, in your opinion? Indeed, they have to be positioned right next to the subject that they modify.

The woman was stung by a scorpion while she was sitting in the courtyard. (In this picture, it’s impossible to tell whether the scorpion or the lady is occupying the seat in the garden. This is not the optimal approach.)

• Sitting in the garden, she was stung by a scorpion.- Correct

Comparisons

Comparisons should only be made between objects that are comparable to one another, such as “The population of London is greater than that of any other city in India.” What we are doing is comparing:

(a) The population of London
(b) Any other city in India.

An accurate comparison should be made between the sizes of both of their respective populations. Therefore, the phrase that ought to be used is “The population of London is greater than that of every other municipality in India.”

Whenever using the comparative degree with than, it is important to ensure that the object being compared is separated from the rest of the class of things by utilizing the.

Practice Questions on Sentence Correction 

If you want to make the following sentences grammatically accurate, you need to get rid of one word from each one of them. Find the term that needs to be taken out of the sentence.

1. Rohan went to the office despite of his illness.

• to
• despite
• of

2. Rahul, who he is my best friend, is a singer.

• who
• best
• he

3. No matter what that I do, I can’t make everyone happy.

• what
• that
• make

4. Yash is busy at the work and won’t be home before 11.

• at
• the
• be

5. We have decided to quit the team a week ago.

• have
• to
• a

6. She should complain of if she is not happy with the service she receives.

• of
• if
• with

7. She had better not to wake Simran up when get home.

• had
• not
• to

8. He should tell to me exactly what happened there.

• should
• to
• what

Answers

1. Rohan went to the office despite his illness.
2. Rahul, who is my best friend, is a singer.
3. No matter what I do, I can’t make everyone happy.
4. Yash is busy at work and won’t be home before 11
5. We decided to quit the team a week ago.
6. She should complain if she is not happy with the service she receives.
7. She had better not wake him up when gets home.
8. He should tell me exactly what happened there.

Conclusion

Grammarians refer to the practice of correcting sentences, also known as sentence correction, as a grammatical practice that has been used to correct sentences in accordance with the principles of grammar in order to remove all grammatical errors from sentences. When writing a sentence, one must take care to adhere to the general rules in order to avoid making grammatical, syntactical, and spelling mistakes. The ability of a candidate to properly write a sentence is an indicator of their possible level of linguistic proficiency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Que 1.  What is the concept of sentence correction?

Ans. A sentence correction is a grammatical practice that has been applied to a sentence with a phrase or a single word that requires development or grammatical changes. This practice has been used in a sentence that contains the phrase or word in question. For a statement to be suitable for formal purposes, it must be error-free in terms of grammatical construction, syntactic organization, and spelling.

Que 2. Why is sentence correction important?

Ans. Sentence correction/Error In the verbal ability section, the area that is both the most essential and the one that is scored is spotting. As a result, it is an essential component of competitive examinations. In most cases, two or three inquiries are posed to the individual. In this form, a sentence is provided, and within that sentence, a section of it will be underlined.

Que 3. How do you find errors in sentence correction?

• Always read each statement in its entirety.
• When trying to locate the mistake, you should look at each option on its own.
• The first things you should look over are the verbs and pronouns because they are the most likely to have mistakes.
• When there are multiple categories of words represented in a given answer option, make sure to check both categories.