Spotting Errors
✏️ Practice with topic-specific questions designed to reinforce your understanding. Each question comes with detailed explanations, helpful tips, and common mistake alerts to accelerate your learning.
Sample Questions
Study MaterialSample Questions – Spotting Errors
Sample Questions on Spotting Errors help candidates improve grammar accuracy, sentence analysis skills, and problem-solving speed for competitive examinations such as SSC, Banking, Railway, Insurance, CDS, NDA, UPSC, CAT, MBA entrance exams, and various government recruitment tests.
These questions are designed from basic to advanced level and cover the most important grammar concepts frequently asked in exams.
Topics Covered in Sample Questions
- Subject-Verb Agreement
- Tense Errors
- Pronoun Errors
- Article Errors
- Preposition Errors
- Adjective and Adverb Errors
- Parallelism Errors
- Vocabulary Usage Errors
- Sentence Structure Errors
Question 1: Subject-Verb Agreement
(a) The list of students
(b) are displayed
(c) on the notice board
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Main subject = “list” (singular)
Correct verb should be “is”.
Correct Sentence:
“The list of students is displayed on the notice board.”
Question 2: Pronoun Error
(a) Every student
(b) must bring
(c) their identity card
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
“Every student” is singular.
Pronoun should also be singular.
Correct Sentence:
“Every student must bring his identity card.”
Question 3: Tense Error
(a) She was cooking food
(b) when her friend
(c) arrives yesterday
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Sentence refers to past event.
Correct verb should be “arrived”.
Correct Sentence:
“She was cooking food when her friend arrived yesterday.”
Question 4: Article Error
(a) He is
(b) a honest
(c) police officer
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
“Honest” begins with vowel sound.
Correct article = “an”
Correct Sentence:
“He is an honest police officer.”
Question 5: Preposition Error
(a) She has been working here
(b) since
(c) five years
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
“Since” is used for point of time.
“For” is used for duration.
Correct Sentence:
“She has been working here for five years.”
Question 6: Adverb Error
(a) The singer
(b) sings very
(c) beautiful
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Verb “sings” should be modified by adverb.
Correct word = beautifully
Correct Sentence:
“The singer sings very beautifully.”
Question 7: Comparison Error
(a) The climate of Delhi
(b) is better than
(c) Mumbai
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Comparison should be between climates.
Correct Sentence:
“The climate of Delhi is better than that of Mumbai.”
Question 8: Parallelism Error
(a) He likes
(b) reading, writing
(c) and to dance
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Parallel structure must be maintained.
Correct Sentence:
“He likes reading, writing and dancing.”
Question 9: Modifier Error
(a) Walking through the park
(b) the flowers looked
(c) extremely beautiful
(d) No error
Answer: (a)
Explanation:
Flowers cannot walk.
Modifier is misplaced.
Correct Sentence:
“While I was walking through the park, the flowers looked extremely beautiful.”
Question 10: Subject-Verb Agreement Trap
(a) Neither the manager
(b) nor the employees
(c) was present
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
When subjects are joined by “neither...nor”, verb agrees with nearest subject.
Nearest subject = employees (plural)
Correct Sentence:
“Neither the manager nor the employees were present.”
Question 11: Vocabulary Usage Error
(a) He discussed about
(b) the new policy
(c) during the meeting
(d) No error
Answer: (a)
Explanation:
“Discuss” does not require “about”.
Correct Sentence:
“He discussed the new policy during the meeting.”
Question 12: Double Negative Error
(a) I do not
(b) know nothing
(c) about this issue
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Double negatives are grammatically incorrect.
Correct Sentence:
“I do not know anything about this issue.”
Question 13: Adjective Error
(a) He is superior
(b) than
(c) all his classmates
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
“Superior” is followed by “to”.
Correct Sentence:
“He is superior to all his classmates.”
Question 14: Error-Free Sentence
(a) The teacher explained
(b) the concept clearly
(c) to all the students
(d) No error
Answer: (d) No error
Explanation:
The sentence is grammatically correct.
Question 15: Pronoun Reference Error
(a) When Rahul met Amit
(b) he was returning
(c) from the office
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Pronoun “he” creates ambiguity.
Sentence should clearly specify the person.
Question 16: Common Competitive Exam Pattern
(a) One of the players
(b) have been selected
(c) for the national team
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
“One of the” takes singular verb.
Correct Sentence:
“One of the players has been selected for the national team.”
Question 17: Error Based on “Each”
(a) Each of the books
(b) are very useful
(c) for preparation
(d) No error
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
“Each” is singular.
Correct verb = is
Question 18: Tense Sequence Error
(a) If I knew
(b) the answer
(c) I will tell you
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Conditional sentence requires “would”.
Correct Sentence:
“If I knew the answer, I would tell you.”
Question 19: Error Based on “Either…Or”
(a) Either the teachers
(b) or the principal
(c) are attending the meeting
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Verb agrees with nearest subject.
Nearest subject = principal (singular)
Correct verb = is
Question 20: Practice-Based Error Detection
(a) Hardly had
(b) he reached the station
(c) then the train started
(d) No error
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
“Hardly” is followed by “when”.
Correct Sentence:
“Hardly had he reached the station when the train started.”
Important Exam Tips
- Read the complete sentence carefully.
- Focus on grammar structure logically.
- Check subject-verb agreement first.
- Observe tense consistency carefully.
- Watch for article and preposition errors.
- Use elimination technique smartly.
- Practice previous year questions regularly.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Reading too quickly.
- Ignoring hidden subjects.
- Confusing tense structures.
- Overlooking pronoun agreement.
- Ignoring modifier placement.
- Guessing without analysis.
Regular practice of Spotting Errors sample questions improves grammar understanding, analytical thinking, reading ability, and problem-solving speed for competitive examinations.