Error Spotting

Steps to solve Error Spotting Questions

1. In order to solve questions on spotting errors, the first step you should take
is to read the complete sentence carefully. In most of the cases, you will be
able to detect the error in the first go itself. While reading the entire sentence,
you must carefully check the subject-verb agreement.

2. The next step is to carefully check all spellings. Many times, an error can be
spotted in spellings.

3. If you can still not detect the error or you are still unsure of the correct
answer, then you must read each individual part of the sentence and closely
examine which part consists of an error.

You must go through the list of common rules so that you can check them while
solving questions.

List of Common Errors

Following is the list of common errors that can be seen in “spotting the
error” questions in Bank exam –

1. Words beginning with ‘h’ like, hon our, honest, heir etc. are considered
to be silent. Hence the vowel following it takes ‘an’, instead of ‘a’ for the
article. Hence, the correct usage is “an hour”, “an heir”, “an honour” etc.

2. In case of using prepositions, you need to keep in mind the following

definitions – between (to be used for only two)

3. Always check for subject-verb agreement – if a subject is singular,then

its verb should also be singular. On similar grounds, if a subject is a
plural, then its verb should also be plural. Furthermore, if you write in the
present tense, both the noun and the verb take plural forms in opposite ways.
For instance, the noun adds an “s” to its singular form, on the other hand, the
verb removes the “s” from its singular form.

4. Check for errors in the use of conjunctions – remember that a sentence

only uses one conjunction at a time. For instance, use of both “as” and
“so” in the same sentence is incorrect.

5. The distinction between “much” and “many” – the word “much” is used
before uncountable nouns, while the word “many” is used before countable
nouns.

Here, uncountable nouns are substances which can not be further broken down
into smaller elements. For example, “litres of milk” (here the word “milk”
cannot be further broken down into smaller units). On the other hand,
countable nouns are substances which can be broken down into smaller
elements. For instance, “two dogs” (here the existence of the word “two”
makes the verb countable.

6.‘Than’ should be used after ‘no other’.

7. The distinction between “whose” and “which” – the word “whose” is

used to address living entities and the word “which” is used for lifeless
objects. For instance, the sentence, “which book is lying there?” is
incorrect and the sentence “whose book is lying there?” is correct.

8. The pronoun “one” as a subject should use “one’s” because it does not
indicate towards a specific gender – male or female.

9. The combination of words “One of” always takes a plural noun after it. For
instance, the sentence, “it is one of the saddest day” is incorrect and the
sentence, “it is one of the saddest days” is correct.

10. Collective nouns like public, committee, team, audience,

government, etc. can be used both as singular and plural depending on their
meaning. When these words refer to a unit, the verb is singular, otherwise, it
is plural.

11. Scarcely’and ‘hardly’ are followed by ‘when’.

12. There are certain nouns that refer to length, measure, money or a number.
When they are preceded by a numeral, they remain unchanged in form. These
nouns are – Foot, metre, pair, score, dozen, head, year, hundred,
thousand, million etc.

13. Some nouns possess a singular form but still represent plurality and
thus, take a plural verb when used in a sentence.

E.g. police, cattle people, etc, .

‘Lest’must be followed by ‘should’ and ‘Such’ must be followed by ‘as’.

14. Some nouns always take the plural verb because their form is always
plural.
E.g. Scissors, trousers, spectacles, etc.
15. ‘Though’ is followed by ‘yet’

16. ‘Unless’ is always used in the negative sense. It expresses a

condition. ‘Not’ is never used with ‘unless’.

Examples of Spotting Error

Direction:In the following question, some part of the sentence may have
errors. Find out which part of the sentence has an error and select the
appropriate option. If a sentence is free from error, select 'No error'.

1. The beauty (A)/ princess is (B)/ wearing a (C)/ purple gown. (D)/
No error(E)

Solution: The error lies in the first part of the sentence.

‘Beauty’ is a noun which means a combination of qualities, such as shape,
color, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. ‘Beautiful’
is the adjective of ‘beauty’ which means pleasing the senses or mind
aesthetically. So, instead of ‘beauty’, ‘beautiful’ should come as the word, here,
qualifies 'princess'.

2. The burglar (A)/ was taken (B)/ to the near (C)/ police station.
(D)/ No error(E)

Solution: The error lies in the third part of the sentence.

In the sentence, the superlative degree of the adjective 'near' i.e. nearest
should be used.

3. Four quarts of oil were (A)/ required to get the car running (B)/ and
it was really difficult to (C)/ get it at that moment. (D)/ No error(E)

Solution: The error lies in part A of the sentence as the verb ‘were’ is
incorrect here and must be replaced with the singular verb ‘was’ as with units
of measurement or time singular verbs are used. Thus option A is the correct
answer.

4. Still, the maker of the Mirai fuel (A)/ cell vehicle (FCV) is sticking to
its (B)/ view that the hydrogen fuel cell are the (C)/ ultimate “green
car” technology. (D)/ No error(E)

Solution: The error lies in part C. Since ‘cell’ is a singular unit, we can’t use
‘are’ with it. There must be ‘is’ where ‘are’ is to make the sentence
grammatically correct.
5. Israel’s Space Communication has(A)/ signed a deal with Elon
Musk’s SpaceX (B)/ to launch two communication satellites into (C)/
the earth's orbit, after a prior attempt end in disaster .(D)/ No error.
(E)

Solution: The incorrect part is Part D. 'Prior attempt' indicates a past event.
Hence, 'end' should be replaced by 'ended' in the fourth part.

6. Catalan media have said Puigdemont could (A)/ dissolve the

regional parliament and call elections (B)/ by next Friday and under
Catalan law, those elections (C)/ would take place since two months.
(D)/ No error. (E)

Solution: Error lies7. in part D. ‘Within’ which means ‘inside’, must be used in
place of ‘since’ which shows a past period or time. Since the elections are to be
held in the future there must be ‘within’.

7. Individual by individual, an anti-corruption wave is (A)/ growing

within Indian civil society, as has been witness in (B)/ recent months,
people from all sectors of Indian society (D)/ have said ‘enough is
enough’ and are doing something about it. (E)

Solution: The error is in the second part of the statement. 'Witness' needs to
be replaced with 'witnessed' as the statement is in present perfect tense and
thus the correct verb usage is 'witnessed'.

8. The teacher thought (A)/ the children would (B)/ be happy for (C)/
clearing away their toys. (D)/ No Error (E)

Solution: Here, “clearing up their toys” should be used instead of “clearing

away their toys” in the context of the statement.
'Clearing away' means to take something away and 'clearing up' means to
make something brighter.
The children are likely to be happy when their toys seem bright instead of
being taken away.

9. An affidavit (A)/was filed by the Cyberlaw of Indian (B)/

government (C)/ after the directory of Court. (D)/ No Error (E)

Solution: 'Directory' may refer to (computing), or folder, a file system

structure in which to store computer files. Whereas 'direction' means the
management or guidance of someone or something. Hence 'direction' should be
used in place of 'directory'.

10. This goes beyond a simple patient-doctor (A)/ relationship but I

think our friend, philosopher (B)/ and mentor need to pour out (C)/
everything that's troubling him. (D) / No Error (E)

Solution: The error lies in the third part of the given sentence. If several
nouns or adjectives are used for a single subject, we use singular verb. In the
given sentence “friend”, “philosopher” and “mentor” refers to a single person,
therefore, the verb must be singular, i.e., “needs”.