How to Spot the Errors in Sentences ?In most of the competitive examinations a sentence is usually given, divided into four or five parts marked A to E. ‘E’ refers to

‘No error’. The candidate is required to find out the part having an error. The error may be pertaining to the use of ; article,preposition, tense to verb, noun, pronoun, adverb, adjective, conjunction, subject-verb agreement, etc. Sometimes the error mayalso be that of un-English expressions or superfluous use of some word.

Please note that there is no ‘shortcut’ to answering these questions. You should have good command over grammar rules andtheir usage. First go through the rules, their usage and then attempt these questions, and find the error. The more you prac tise, themore con fi dent you get. Just cram ming the rules will not solve your prob lem. Do solve the ex er cises again and again, you will surelyfind im prove ment in your scor ing.

Good knowledge of Grammatical rules and their correct usage in proper perspective is the only way of scoring good marks in all types of questions relating to errors.

Practice Exercises

Error Related to Articles

Directions : Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it . The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The alphabet number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, then the answer is E.

Exercise 1

1. We (a)/ saw (b)/ a el e phant (c)/ in the zoo (d)/ Noer ror (e).

2. It is (a)/ a most (b)/ beautiful (c)/ painting of the gal lery(d)/No er ror (e).

3. Mr Gaurav Sharma (a)/ is (b)/ coming to (c)/ dinner(d)/No er ror (e).

4. I (a)/ go (b)/ to cin ema(c)/ every Sunday(d)/ Noer ror (e).

5. He (a)/ went there (b)/ a hour (c)/ ago (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. He (a)/ al ways speaks(b)/ truth/(c)/No er ror (e).

7. Kashmiri(a)/shawls(b)/ are made of(c)/ the hair ofsheep/(d)/No er ror (e).

8. The Taj mahal(a)/is (b)/ situated(c)/ at the Agra(d)/ Noer ror (e).

9. Bi ble(a)/ said that(b)/ the sun(c)/ goes round theearth(d)/ No er ror (e) .

10. An horse(a)/ is (b)/ running(c)/ in the ground(d)/ Noer ror (e).

Exercise 2

1. An Eu ro pean(a)/ dish(b)/ is(c)/ very fa mous(d)/ Noer ror(e).

2. Rome(a)/ was(b)/ not built(c)/ in a day(d)/ No er ror(e).

3. Ritika(a)/ helps(b)/ poor and(c)/ the sick peo ple(d)/ Noer ror (e).

4. The Sapna(a)/ is a very(b)/ beau ti ful(c)/ girl(d)/ Noer ror (e).

5. I(a)/ saw(b)/ an one ru pee note(c)/ on the road(d)/ Noer ror (e).

6. The boy(a)/is(b)/ swimming(c)/ on the pool(d)/ Noer ror(e).

7. Here is a red(a)/ shirt(b)/ which Sapna gaveme(c)/yesterday(d)/ No er ror(e).

8. Shatabdi Ex press(a)/ runs(b)/ very(c)/ fast(d)/ Noer ror(e).

9. Parul(a)/ was also in vited(b)/ to the lunch hosted by thequeen (c)/ at her cot tage yes ter day(d)/No er ror(e).

10. My un cle (a)/is(b)/ a(c)/ SP(d)/ No er ror(e).

Spotting the Errors 1

Spotting the Errors

Exercise 3

1. Gold(a)/ is(b)/ an use ful(c)/ metal(d)/ No er ror(e).

2. This is(a)/ a good dress(b)/ but (c)/ that’s a betterone(d)/ No er ror (e).

3. Rupam(a)/ presented me(b)/ a ring(c)/. The ring islost(d)/ No er ror(e).

4. The Punjabi(a)/ is(b)/a sweet lan guage(c)/ ofPunjab(d)/ No er ror(e).

5. Adnan Sami(a)/ is the(b)/ most pop u lar(c)/ singer inIn dian film in dus try(d)/ No er ror(e).

6. The sun(a)/ rises(b)/ in(c)/ east(d)/ No er ror(e).

7. The teach ing(a)/ pro fes sion(b)/ is(c)/ good for women(d)/ No er ror(e).

8. The milk(a)/ is(b)/ good(c)/for health(d)/ No er ror(e).

9. I(a)/ think(b)/ a baby(c)/ is cry ing(d)/ No er ror(e).

10. Kunal(a)/ was(b)/ sent to(c)/ a prison(d)/ Noer ror(e).

Exercise 4

1. I(a)/ will go(b)/ there(c)/ by train or bus(d)/ Noer ror(e).

2. My par ents(a)/ sometimes(b)/ comes to school(c)/ to seethe prin ci pal (d)/ No er ror(e).

3. Riya(a)/ went home(b)/ very late(c)/ last Mon day(d)/No er ror(e).

4. The win ters(a)/ are(b)/ generally very(c)/ cold here (d)/No er ror (e).

5. The mon keys(a)/ jump(b)/ on(c)/ the trees(d)/ Noer ror(e).

6. The dog(a)/ is(b)/ a(c)/ faith ful an i mal(d)/ No er ror(e).

7. Chief Min is ter(a)/ will (b)/ de cide (c)/ the mat ter (d)/No er ror(e).

8. Kshitiz(a)/ is(b)/ a(c)/ hon est boy(d)/ No er ror(e).

9. The sun(a)/ rises in(b)/ the east(c)/, is an uni ver saltruth(d)/ No er ror(e).

10. Times of In dia(a)/ is a most pop u lar(b)/news pa per (c)/,these days(d)/No er ror(e).

Exercise 5

1. Three chil dren(a)/ died(b)/ in a(c)/ bus ac ci dentyes ter day (d)/No er ror(e).

2. The Ma hatma Gan dhi(a)/ was(b)/ also called(c)/‘Bapu’(d)/ No er ror(e).

3. Chi nese(a)/ are(b)/ fond of(c)/ chowmin(d)/ Noer ror(e).

4. Taj Mahal (a)/ is a(b)/ beau ti ful (c)/ build ing in Agra(d)/ No er ror(e).

5. The cap i tal(a)/ of(b)/ UK is(c)/ Lon don(d)/ No er ror(e).6. My mother(a)/ is cook ing (b)/ in a(c)/ kitchen(d)/ No

er ror(e).

7. The teacher(a)/ called a(b)/ last boy(c)/ standing in thequeue(d)/ No er ror(e).

8. The ap ple(a)/ a day(b)/ keeps(c)/ the doc tors away(d)/No er ror(e).

9. The more(a)/ I learn his tory(b)/, the more(c)/ I getbored(d)/ No er ror(e).

10. The in tel li gent(a)/ should(b)/ help(c)/ the duf fer(d)/ Noer ror(e).

11. Shreya(a)/ gave(b)/ me(c)/ the watch(d)/ Noer ror(e).

Exercise 6

1. In the con clu sion it (a)/ may be said (b)/ that the writerhas sur passed (c)/ the eth i cal norms (d)/No er ror(e).

2. It is the most (a)/important point that (b)/you have to(c)/understand well(d)/ No er ror (e).

3. He said to me,(a)/ “I think you (b)/ will never (c)/ turn atrai tor” (d)/No er ror(e).

4. Ramesh told me(a)/ that he first went (b)/ to the Mex icoand (c)/ then to the Neth er lands (d)/No er ror (e).

5. My mother for bade my (a)/ sister to (b)/ go to thea tre(c)/ at night (d)/No er ror(e).

6. One should be true (a)/ to one’s words in(b)/ order to earngood name (c)/ and fame in the life (d)/No er ror(e).

7. I have been wait ing(a)/ for her (b)/ for more than (c)/half a hour (d)/No er ror(e).

8. You should not spend (a)/ good part of the day (b)/ ingos sip ing and wan der ing (c) here and there (d)/Noer ror(e).

9. Will you please (a)/ give me (b)/ little milk (c)/ for mycat ? (d)/No er ror(e).

10. He in formed me (a)/ that he had gone (b)/ to the church(c)/ to of fer prayers (d)/No er ror(e).

Answers with Explanations ä Exercise 1

1. (c) Here ‘a’ is used with ‘elephant’ instead of ‘an’. ‘Anelephant’ is correct.

2. (b) It is ‘a’ most beautiful painting. Use ‘the’ before ‘most’,being superlative.

3. (e) No er ror.

4. (c) I go to ‘the’ cin ema ev ery Sunday.

5. (c) Replace ‘a’ by ‘an’. Here ‘an’ will be used instead of ‘a’

because ‘h’ is silent in ‘hour’.

6. (c) He al ways speaks ‘the’ truth.

7. (a) ‘The’ Kashmiri shawls. ‘The’ is used before nouns which

name the inhabitants of a country or city collectively.

8. (d) De lete ‘The’ be fore Agra, be ing proper noun.

2 Spotting the Errors

9. (a) ‘The’ Bible said. ‘The’ is used before the names ofrenowned books of religion or literature.

10. (a) ‘A’ horse is running in the ground. ‘A’ is used with thesingular countable noun which is pronounced with theconsonant sound.

ä Exercise 2

1. (a) ‘A’ European dish is very famous. Though ‘European’begins with vowel ‘E’, yet it sounds ‘yoo’ or ‘u’. (Seequestion 9 of Exercise No. 4)

2. (e) No error.

3. (c) Ritika helps ‘the’ poor and the sick peo ple.

4. (a) Sapna is a very beautiful girl. ‘The’ is not used beforeproper noun.

5. (c) I saw a one rupee note on the road. ‘A’ is used withsingular countable nouns pronounced with consonantsound.

6. (a) A boy is swimming on the pool. ‘A’ is used with thesingular countable nouns.

7. (a) Here is ‘the’ red shirt which Sapna gave me yesterday. Red shirt has become particularised.

8. (a) The Shatabdi Express. ‘The’ is used before the names ofwell-known trains.

9. (e) No er ror. ‘The’ is used be fore par tic u lar meals.

10. (c) My uncle is an SP. Here, ‘an’ is used before a consonantwhich sounds like a vowel.

ä Exercise 3

1. (c) Gold is ‘a’ useful metal. Before ‘useful’ we should put ‘a’instead of ‘an’.

2. (e) ‘a’ is used with positive and comparatives but not withsuperlatives.

3. (e) ‘The’ is used before a noun which is repeated after it hasbeen introduced once.

4. (a) ‘Punjabi’, ‘The’ is not used before name of the language.

5. (e) No error. ‘The’ is used with the superlative degree ofadjective.

6. (d) ‘in the east’. ‘The’ is used with the name of directions likeeast, west, north, south.

7. (e) ‘The’ is used with the professions like; the nursing ,themedical profession.

8. (a) Milk is good for health. Article ‘The’ is omitted beforeproper nouns, material nouns, uncountables etc. ingeneral.

9. (c) ‘the baby’. ‘Baby’ is known or par tic u lar.

10. (d) ‘Kunal was sent to prison’. The article is omitted beforechurch, prison, hospital, college, school and bed, whenthe visit to these places is for the purpose for which theyare primarily built.

ä Exercise 4

1. (e) The article is omitted before modes of transportation ortravel. Always use, ‘by bus’, ‘by car’, ‘by train’, etc.

2. (c) Insert ‘the’ before ‘school’. When the visit to places;school, church, hospital, prison is for the purpose otherthan for which they are primarily built, always use ‘the’before these nouns.

3. (e) No er ror, ‘The’ is not used be fore name.

4. (a) Remove ‘The’ before ‘winters’. Do not use article beforenames of the seasons.

5. (a) Monkeys jump on the trees. The article is omitted beforeplural countable nouns when they tell about class or castetc.

6. (e) ‘The’ is used before a singular countable noun meant torepresent a whole class or kind.

7. (a) Insert ‘The’ before Chief Minister. Use ‘the’ before adesignation.

8. (c) Kshitiz is ‘an’ honest boy. Here, ‘an’ is used before ‘honest’, a word beginning with silent ‘h’.

9. (d) The sun rises in the east, is ‘a’ universal truth. ‘A’ is usedbefore a word beginning with the sound ‘u’ (pronouncedas ‘yoo’or ‘u’).

10. (a) ‘The’ Times of India; ‘The’ is used before the names of thenewspapers and magazines.

ä Exercise 5

1. (e) No Er ror.

2. (a) Delete ‘The’ before Mahatma Gandhi. Article is not usedbefore the name (proper noun).

3. (a) ‘The’ Chi nese; ‘The’ is used be fore na tion al ity.

4. (a) ‘The’ Taj Mahal; ‘The’ is used before such names ofmonuments.

5. (c) ‘The’ is used be fore such names of coun tries; UK , USA etc.

6. (c) My mothor is cooking in the kitchen. Here ‘the’ is usedbefore the noun which can be undersdtood easily.

7. (b) The teacher called ‘the’ last boy; ‘The’ is used before theordinals.

8. (a) ‘An’ apple; ‘An’ is used before a word beginning with avowel (a,e,i,o,u,) sound.

9. (e) ‘The’ will be used with comparative degree to show thattwo things increase or decrease in the same proportion.

10. (e) Here, ‘the intelligent’, means intelligent person and ‘theduffer’ means duffer person.

11. (d) Shreya gave me a watch. ‘A’, not ‘the’ is used forunspecified objects.

ä Exercise 6

1. (a) Delete ‘the’ before conclusion. The correct phrase is ‘inconclusion’.

2. (a) Replace ‘the’ by ‘a’. ‘Most’ is not used here as superlative.

See the dif fer ence : (a) Sarla is the most beau ti ful girl in thecol lege.

(b) Sarla is a most beautiful girl.

3. (d) ‘turn trai tor’; de lete ‘a’ be fore ‘trai tor’.

4. (c) Delete ‘the’ be fore ‘Mex ico’.

5. (c) Write ‘the’ before ‘theatre’. The correct phrase is ‘go to thetheatre, go to the cinema’.

6. (d) Delete ‘the’ be fore ‘life’.

7. (d) Replace ‘a’ by ‘an’.

8. (b) Write ‘a’ be fore ‘good part’.

9. (c) Write ‘a’ be fore ‘lit tle’.

10. (c) Delete ‘the’ be fore ‘church’.

Spotting the Errors 3

Error Related to Tenses

Exercise 1

1. I have come to(a)/ know that (b)/ his fa ther has died (c)/three days ago (d)/No er ror(e).

2. When you will find (a)/ out a so lu tion (b)/ to thisprob lem, (c)/ you will be awarded a prize (d)/Noer ror(e).

3. Be fore the alarm had stopped (a)/ ringing (b)/ Nisha hadtele phoned (c)/the po lice (d)/No er ror(e).

4. This is (a)/ the first time (b)/ that I see such (c)/anin ter est ing movie (d)/No er ror(e).

5. When ever he is com ing (a)/ here, he brings (b)/ many(c)/ gifts for me (d)/No er ror(e).

6. Now a days, (a)/ he teaches Eng lish (b)/because theteacher of Eng lish (c)/ has gone on a month’s leave(d)/No er ror(e).

7. “It is high time (a)/ you are start ing (b)/ this busi ness”,(c)/ said Ram to Mahesh (d)/No er ror(e).

8. I will let you know (a)/ as soon as I (b)/ will get (c)/ anynews in this re gard (d)/No er ror(e).

9. When I will (a)/ cross fifty, my (b)/ wife will cross (c)/fortyfive (d)/No er ror(e).

10. The se cret of his good health (a)/ lies in the fact (b)/ thathe is get ting up early (c)/ and goes to bed early (d)/Noer ror(e).

Exercise 2

1. The stu dents sit ting on the dais, (a)/ studied here (b)/ forthree years, but (c)/ they have never cre ated any prob lem(d)/No er ror(e).

2. A phi logy nist is a per son (a)/ who loves woman (b)/ but amysogynist is a per son (c)/ who is hat ing woman (d)/Noer ror(e).

3. It is ap pear ing to me (a)/ that you are (b)/ trying tode sta bi lise (c)/ the pres ent com mit tee (d)/No er ror(e).

4. I have been know ing her (a)/ for many years (b)/ butI don’t know (c)/ where she works (d)/No er ror(e).

5. If he would have done this, (a)/ he would have donewrong (b)/ and would have de ceived (c)/ many of hisrel a tives (d)/No er ror(e).

6. The vic tim tried to tell us (a)/ what has hap pened (b)/ but his words (c)/ were not au di ble (d)/No er ror (e).

7. I want you to (a)/ pick up the box of eggs gently (b)/andkept it in (c)/ the cor ner care fully (d)/No er ror(e).

(Bank of Baroda PO)

8. She came to (a)/ the party much (b)/ later than (c) Iex pect. (d)/No er ror (e).

9. I lived here (a)/ for five years, (b)/ so I know about the(c)/ problems of this col ony (d)/No er ror(e).

10. The chair man had not taken (a)/ any de ci sion un til (b)/he had stud ied (c)/the case thor oughly (d)/No er ror(e).

11. They got ev ery thing (a)/ ready for the vis i tors (b)/ longbe fore (c)/ they reached there (d)/No er ror(e).

12. He switched on (a)/ the light be fore (b)/ he en tered (c)/the room (d)/No er ror(e).

13. I have been ad mir ing (a)/ her for the (b)/ voice withwhich (c)/ she is gifted (d)/No er ror(e).

14. He was with me (a)/ uptil now, (b)/ so don’t (c)/ punishhim for the de lay (d)/No er ror(e).

15. Sev eral sur vey re ports (a)/ indicate that (b)/the num berof (c)/ drug ad dicts is grown grad u ally (d)/No er ror(e).

16. “Here is com ing up Bachchan!”, (a)/ said he (b)/ when hewas (c)/ waiting for him (d)/No er ror(e).

17. I could not re call (a)/ when she has told me (b)/ about her (c)/ affair with Gopal (d)/No er ror(e).

18. Four and four (a)/ always made eight (b)/, cannot (c)/ beques tioned by any one (d)/No er ror(e).

19. She hopes to (a)/ become an en gi neer (b)/ after she willcom plete (c)/ her ed u ca tion(d)/No er ror (e).

Exercise 3

1. When you will find (a)/ a so lu tion to this prob lem, (b)/you will be able (c)/ to get this pro ject (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. The teacher told us (a)/ that we should re main (b)/ in thehos tel (c)/ if it rains (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. I could not re call (a)/ what she has (b)/advised me (c)/ in this mat ter (d)/No er ror (e)

4. By this time to mor row (a)/ she has had/(b) reached (c)/there pos i tively (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. I will in form (a)/ you as soon as (b)/ I will get any news(c)/ about his health (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. A re cent sur vey (a)/ indicates (b)/ that the num ber ofdrug ad dicts (c)/ grew day by day (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Be fore the alarm (a)/ had stopped ring ing, (b)/ Reenahad/(c) pulled up the shade (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. If I was you (a)/ I would have told (b)/ the prin ci pal (c)/to keep his mouth shut (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. I want you (a)/ to pick up the box (b)/ of glasses gently(c)/ and kept it on the ta ble care fully (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. The vic tim tried (a)/ to tell us what has hap pened (b)/ but his words (c)/ were not au di ble (D/ No er ror (e)).

Answers with Explanations ä Exercise 1

1. (c) Delete ‘has’.

2. (a) Delete ‘will’ after ‘when’. In such constructions, don’t use‘will’ after ‘when /as well as /until /after /as’.

3. (a) Delete ‘had’. In past perfect tense, simple past is used forthe work completed later.

4. (c) Write, ‘I have seen’.

5. (a) Write, ‘whenever he comes’. For habitual action, presentindefinite tense is used.

4 Spotting the Errors

6. (b) Write, ‘he is teach ing’.

7. (b) Write, ‘you started’.

8. (c) Delete ‘will’; see ex pla na tion of ques tion No 2.

9. (a) Write, ‘I cross’; de lete ‘will’.

10. (c) Write, ‘he gets up’.

ä Exercise 2

1. (b) Write, ‘have studied’. The sentence is in present tense.

2. (d) Write, ‘hates’.

3. (a) Write, ‘it ap pears’.

4. (a) Write, ‘I have known’. Do not use progressive form with‘know’.

5. (a) Write, ‘If he had done this’. It is a conditional structure.

6. (b) Write, ‘had hap pened’. The sen tence is in past.

7. (c) Write ‘keep it’.

8. (d) Write, ‘I had ex pected’.

9. (a) Write, ‘I have lived’. The sen tence is in pres ent tense.

10. (a) Write, The chair man, did not take.

11. (a) Write, ‘They had got’.

12. (e) No er ror.

13. (a) Write, ‘I admire’. In general, know, admire, adore, trust,hope, rely are not used in progressive form.

14. (a) Write, ‘He has been’.

15. (d) Write, ‘is grow ing’.

16. (a) Write, ‘Here comes’. This is an exclamatory construction.

17. (b) Write, ‘She had told’. The sen tence is in past.

18. (b) Write, ‘makes’.

19. (c) Write, ‘she has com pleted’.

ä Exercise 3

1. (a) Delete ‘will’.

2. (d) Write, ‘if it rained’. When reporting verb is in past, thereported speech will also be in past.

3. (b) Write, ‘she had’.

4. (b) Write, ‘will have reached’. This is a sentence in futureperfect.

5. (c) Delete ‘will’.

6. (d) Write, ‘is growing’. The sentence is in presentprogressive.

7. (b) Write, ‘stopped’, (de lete had).

8. (a) Write, ‘if I were’.

9. (d) Write, ‘keep’. The sen tence is in pres ent tense.

10. (b) Write, ‘what had hap pened’.The sen tence is in past.

Error Related to Nouns

Exercise

1. He acted not(a)/ as per my ad vice(b)/ but/(c) somebodyelse(d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Pa ki stan’s prob lems(a)/ are also as(b)/ serious as(c)/India(d)/ No er ror (e).

3. When I reached(a)/ at the gate of his(b)/ house, I foundhis(c)/ locking up the gate(d)/ No er ror (e).

4. Many of the ques tion(a)/ appeared in this ques tionpa per(b)/ were too dif fi cult(c)/ to solve(d)/ No er ror (e).

5. I vis ited(a)/ Ram’s and Sita’s house(b)/ and found (c)/the cou ple miss ing(d)/ No er ror (e).

6. All the girls stu dents (a)/ are ad vised to (b)/ attendthe(c)/ meeting pos i tively/(d)/No er ror (e).

7. She gave me(a)/ two im por tant informations(b)/ I hadbeen wait ing for(c)/ the last two months(d)/ No er ror (e).

8. The teacher of Eng lish(a)/ gave him a home work (b)/ tocom plete that (c)/ by night pos i tively(d)/ No er ror (e).

9. She could not com plete(a)/ even the two third(b)/ of thebook(c)/ owing to her busy sched ule(d)/ No er ror (e).

10. All the woman teach ers(a)/ are ag i tat ing(b)/ against thehaughty at ti tude(c)/ of the Prin ci pal(d)/ No er ror (e).

11. He in formed that(a)/ he had lost a packet(b)/ of thehun dred(c)/ rupees notes(d)/ No er ror (e).

12. He has or dered(a)/ bricks for the (b)/ proposed shop ping(c)/complex(d)/ No er ror (e).

13. She has or dered(a)/ two doz ens of cop ies(b)/ of Eng lishBook(c)/by Mr Gupta (d)/ No er ror (e).

14. She uses a good(a)/ quality sham poo(b)/so her hairsare(c)/ black (d)/ No er ror (e).

15. I know noth ing(a)/ about (b)/ her (c)/ whereabout (d)/No er ror (e).

Answers with Explanations 1. (d) Write, ‘else’s’. Use of apos tro phe is nec es sary here.

2. (d) Write, ‘In dia’s’, to make the com par i son log i cal.

3. (c) Write, ‘him’ for ‘his’. Use objective form pronoun beforeparticiple (locking).

4. (a) Write, ‘questions’ for ‘question’ remember to use pluralnoun after one of / one of the / many of the.

5. (b) Write, ‘Ram and Sita’s’. Only one apostrophe will be usedin such case.

6. (a) Write, ‘girl stu dents’ in stead of ‘girls stu dent’.

7. (b) Replace ‘two important informations’ by ‘two importantpieces of information’.

8. (b) delete ‘a’ before home work. Home work is anuncountable noun.

9. (b) Re place ‘two third’ by ‘two thirds’.

10. (a) Re place ‘woman teach ers’ by ‘women teach ers’.

11. (d) Write, ‘ru pee’ for ‘ru pees’.

12. (b) Re place ‘bricks’ by ‘pieces of brick’.

13. (b) Write, ‘two dozen cop ies’.

14. (c) Write, ‘hair’ for ‘hairs’; hair can’t be usually pluralised byadding ‘s’.

15. (d) Replace ‘whereabout’ by ‘whereabouts’. ‘Whereabouts’means ‘address’.

Spotting the Errors 5

Error Related to Pronouns

Exercise 1

1. The board of di rec tors (a)/ want the fa cil i ties (b)/ of carand ac com mo da tion (c)/ for it self (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Ev ery teacher (a)/ and ev ery stu dent (b)/ of this school isde ter mined to do their best (c)/ for the ben e fit of all (d)/No er ror (e).

3. The of fi cer(a)/ as well as the (b)/clerks ab sentedthem selves(c)/ from the of fice (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. There were (a)/ five ac tive work ers (b)/ and three lazyone (c)/ in the fac tory (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. There is none (a)/ who can sup port you (b)/ in this (c)/crucial pe riod (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. Any of the (a)/ two pho tos that re flect (b)/ the nat u ralbeauty of Kash mir (c)/ is worth see ing (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. The guests (a)/ whom we were talk ing (b)/ about havear rived (c)/ are my rel a tives (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. He in tro duced (a)/ to the chair man as (b)/ the pres i dentof the (c)/ workers’ as so ci a tion (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. As a stu dent(a)/of arts, (b)/you are much better(c)/ thanhim(d)/ No er ror (e).

10. He hates ev ery body (a)/ and ev ery thing who(b)/ reminds him(c)/of his blun der (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 2

1. Whom ever(a)/does not come in time, (b)/will not beal lowed (c)/ to mark his pres ence (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. The six part ners(a)/are at dag gers drawn(b)/so they donot talk(c)to each other (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. If some one has(a)/completed the work, (b)/ he may(c)/leave (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. She lent me (a)/ some money with the con di tion (b)/that I should re turn (c)/ the same within a month (d)/No er ror (e).

5. The teacher in structed (a)/ the peon to let (b)/ thestu dents and I (c)/ go into the of fice of Prin ci pal (d)/ Noer ror (e).

6. The can di date (a)/, being a com merce grad u ate, (b)/ she is el i gi ble (c)/ for the post of ac coun tant (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. In all cir cum stances, (a)/I have helped him(b)/and he(c)/ knows (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. I don’t ap pre ci ate(a)/him who laugh (b)/at oth erswith out (c)/ any rea son (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. You and my self (a)/ will en joy the func tion(b)/beingar ranged in hon our of (c)/ the new Prin ci pal (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. He asked for (a)/ permission to go to the cin ema (b)/ buthis mother (c)/ did not give (d)/ No er ror (e).

Answers with Explanations

ä Exercise 1 1. (d) Replace ‘itself’ by ‘themselves’. Here, Board of Director is

not used as a collective noun, that is why plural verb‘want’ (not ‘wants’) is used.

2. (c) Replace ‘their’ by ‘his’. Singular pronoun is used when two singular nouns are preceded by each/every.

3. (b) Replace ‘themselves’ by ‘him’. When two nouns are joinedtogether with as well as/ besides/ in addition to, thepronoun is governed by the noun that comes first.

4. (c) Replace ‘ lazy one’ by ‘lazy ones’.

5. (b) Replace ‘who’ by ‘that’. Remember to use ‘that’ after,all/none/ some/only/other.

6. (a) Replace ‘any’ by ‘ei ther’. ‘Ei ther’ is used for two.

7. (b) Replace ‘whom’ by ‘who’.

8. (a) Write ‘him self’ af ter ‘in tro duced’.

9. (d) Replace ‘him’ by ‘he’. When two subjects are beingcompared, use pronoun in subjective case.

10. (b) Replace ‘who’ by ‘that’.

ä Exercise 2

1. (a) Replace ‘whom ever’ by ‘who ever’.

2. (d) Replace ‘each other’ by ‘one another’. ‘Each other’ is usedfor two.

3. (e) No er ror.

4. (d) Replace ‘the same‘ by ‘it’. ‘The same’ is used as anadjective, it should not be used as a pronoun.

5. (c) Replace ‘I’ by ‘me’. Remember to use objective formpronoun after ‘let’.

6. (c) Delete ‘she’. The use of ‘she’ is un war ranted.

7. (d) Place ‘it’ af ter ’knows’.

8. (d) Replace ‘laugh’ by ‘ laughs’ or ‘him’ by ‘those’.

9. (a) Replace ‘my self’ by ‘I’.

10. (d) Write ‘it’ after ‘give’. ‘give’ is a transitive verb, so it musthave an object.

Error Related to Infinitives-Participles

Exercise

1. Be ing of ten ill (a)/ and fre quently ab sent, (b)/ she had noop por tu nity to com plete his work (c)/ or do much of it intoto. (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Tak ing break fast, (a)/ he went to the of fice (b)/ andor dered the staff (c)/ to com plete the work with out anyfur ther de lay (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. With out tak ing proper care, (a)/ the doc tors could (b)/not have been saved (c)/ the life of this pa tient (d)/ Noer ror (e).

4. Go ing to wards the gate (a)/ with a cup of tea in hand,(b)/ somebody switched off (c)/ the light (d)/ Noer ror (e).

6 Spotting the Errors

5. He does noth ing (a)/ but to find faults (b)/ with oth ers(c)/ and laugh at them (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. The Chief Min is ter (a) should not let (b)/ the ter ror istac tiv i ties (c)/ to grow in our State (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Many per sons are com ing (a)/ to his con cert (b)/ to hearhim to sing (c)/ the re li gious songs (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. Hav ing had reached (a)/ the sta tion, you (b)/ may make a tele phone (c)/ to your boss (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. It is better to stay (a)/ at home than (b)/ go to mar ket (c)/ when it is rain ing (c)/(d) No er ror (e).

10. He asked me to (a)/ completely for get her (b)/ but only Iknow it is not pos si ble(d)/ No er ror (e).

Answers with Explanations 1. (d) Replace ‘his’ with ‘her’.

2. (a) Say, ‘After taking breakfast’ or ‘Having taken breakfast’.This is a question of dangling participle.

3. (c) Delete ‘been’. Use of ‘been’ here, is un war ranted.

4. (a) Say, ‘While he was going towards the gate’. This is aquestion of dangling participle.

5. (b) Delete ‘to’ after ‘nothing but’. Use of ‘to’ after ‘nothing but’is incorrect.

6. (d) Delete ‘to’. Use of ‘to’ af ter ‘let’ is in cor rect.

7. (c) Delete ‘to’ before ‘sing’. In such sentences never use ‘to’after ; hear, see, make, know, feel.

8. (a) Use of ‘had’ is wrong. De lete ‘had’.

9. (b) Delete ‘to’. Use of ‘to’ af ter ‘than’ is in cor rect.

10. (b) Say, ‘forget her completely’. Splitting the infinitive (toforget) here, is not correct.

Error Related to Prepositions

Exercise 1

1. He was sleep ing (a)/ in his room when a thief (b)/entered into his house (c)/ and took away a lot of things(d). No er ror (e).

2. In her con clud ing speech, (a)/ she said al most noth ing(b)/ worth (c)/ listening to (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. It was ap par ent for (a)/ everyone pres ent (b)/ that if thepa tient did not re ceive (c)/ immediate med i cal aid (d)/ he would die/No er ror (e).

4. He pro posed me (a)/ that we should go to the Disco (b)and then have (c)/ dinner at a restra (D /No er ror (e).

5. There ap pears (a)/ to be a lit tle li ai son (b)/ among the(c)/ two groups of the so ci ety (d)/No er ror (e).

6. The team (a)/ complained to the man ager (b)/ against thecap tain (c)/ and the poor fa cil i ties pro vided in the ho tel(d)/No er ror(e).

7. Yes ter day, I met (a)/ a man (b)/ who was blind (c)/ withthe right eye (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. The prin ci pal dis trib uted (a)/ the sweets among ourfriends (b)/ who bade (c) him fare well (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. As per the in vi ta tion card (a)/, Rahim mar ries with Sayra(b)/ on 13th De cem ber (c) Monday (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. The de ba cle of the con gress party (a)/ admit no otherex pla na tion (b)/ than its (c)/poor per for mance dur ing the last five years (d)/No er ror(e).

Exercise 2

1. The society does not (a)/ hold itself responsible (b)/ forthe loss or damage to (c)/ any item (d)/ No error (e).

2. In spite of be ing (a)/ very busy at pro ject site, (b)/ hesaves time (c)/ to the rel a tives (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. Some per sons (a)/ get pro mo tions (b)/ even when theyare not (c)/ worthy for them (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. While he was re turn ing (a)/ from the of fice, (b)/ a manat tacked on (c)/ him with a dagger (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The de cline of her moral (a)/ was caused by a lot of (b)/factors that were once (c)/ fascinating to her (d)/ Noer ror (e).

6. He took me to a restra (a)/ and or dered for two cups (b)/of cold cof fee (c)/ which the waiter brought in an hour(d)/ No er ror (e).

7. There are some an i mals (a)/ that can(b)/ live both in wa ter and land (c)/ without any dif fi culty (d)/ No error (e).

8. Dur ing his tour (a)/ to the south (b)/, he vis ited not onlyto Chennai (c)/ but also Bangaluru (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. The Pres i dent Mr. Kalam (a)/ is much sought af ter (b)/ by school stu dents and (c)/ is in vited for many func tions (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. His mother is not well (a)/ but he (b)/ does not look forher (c) properly (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 3

1. We may have to await for (a)/ a new po lit i cal re vival (b)/to erad i cate the (c)/ corruption from our econ omy (d)/No er ror (e).

2. When she was (a)/ in jail, (b)/ she was de barred to send(c)/ a let ter even to her son (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. De spite of the best ef forts (a)/ put by the doc tors, (b)/ thecon di tion of the pa tient (c)/ is detereorating from bad toworse (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. The mil i tant yielded for (a)/ the temp ta tion and fell (b)/into the trap (c)/ of po lice (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. Many peo ple in In dia (a)/ are dy ing from hun ger (b)/ butgov ern ment seems (c)/ to be ig no rant of such crude fact(d)/ No er ror (e).

6. In dif fi cult time, (a)/ she pre fers keep ing her coun sel (b)/rather than wan der ing (c)/ here and there for re lief (d)/No er ror (e).

Spotting the Errors 7

7. The per sons who are (a)/ suffering from di a be tes are (b)/advised to sub sti tute (c)/ saccharine by sugar (d)/ Noer ror (e).

8. He al ways says (a)/ that he pre fers to go (b)/ home to stay in (c)/ a ho tel at night (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Hardly had we set tled down (a)/ for the rest (b)/ whenwe were star tled by the (c)/ strange sound of trum pets(d)/ No er ror (e).

10. He was able to (a)/ free him self with (b)/ the debts by(c)/ working day and night. (d)/ No er ror (e).

Answers with Explanations ä Exercise 1

1. (c) Delete ‘into’ af ter ‘en tered’.

2. (d) Delete ‘to’ after ‘listening’. If there is no object after‘listen’, we should not use ‘to’.

3. (a) Say, ‘ap par ent to’.

4. (a) Say, ‘pro posed to’.

5. (c) Replace ‘among’ by ‘between’. ‘Between’ is used for two.

6. (d) Say, ‘and about the poor’.

7. (c) Say, ‘blind in’; blind in left or right eye,blind of an eye,blind with both eyes.

8. (b) Say, ‘amongst’.

9. (b) Use of ‘with’ is un nec es sary.

10. (b) Say, ‘ad mits of’.

ä Exercise 2

1. (c) Say, ‘loss of’.

2. (d) Replace ‘to’ by ‘for’.

3. (d) Say, ‘wor thy of ’.

4. (c) Delete ‘on’.

5. (a) Say, ‘de cline in’.

6. (b) Delete ‘for’. ‘Order’ is a transitive verb, so it takes objectwithout any preposition.

7. (c) Say, ‘on land’.

8. (c) Delete ‘to’.

9. (d) Use ‘to’ in stead of ‘for’ af ter ‘in vited’.

10. (c) Say, ‘look af ter’.

ä Exercise 3

1. (a) Delete ‘for’ after await. Wait for is correct, but await for isincorrect.

2. (c) Say, ‘debarred from sending’. Use preposition ‘from’ afterdebar/ abstain/ refrain.

3. (a) Delete ‘of’ after ‘despite’. Either say, ‘inspite of’ or ‘despite’.

4. (a) Say, ‘yielded to’.

5. (b) Say, ‘dy ing of hun ger’.

6. (c) Replace ‘rather than’ by ‘to’. After prefer/senior/junior, use preposition ‘to’.

7. (d) Replace ‘by’ by ‘for’.

8. (c) Replace ‘to stay in’ by ‘rather than stay in’.

9. (c) Say, ‘star tled at’.

10. (b) Say, ‘free him self from’.

Error Related to Conjunctions

Exercise 1

1. She was not (a)/ so well versed in Eng lish (b)/ that they(c)/ had ex pected (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. He not only co mes here (a)/ for hav ing lunch (b)/ but also for hav ing a glimpse of (c)/ the beau ti ful sales girls (d)/No er ror (e).

3. I can not per mit you (a)/ to leave the class (b)/ unless theteacher co mes (c)/ and in structs me in the mat ter (d)/ Noer ror (e).

4. The pa tient would (a)/ have died (b)/ when the doc torhad not (c)/ come in time (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. Three years have passed (a)/ that I re turned from (b)/USA and (c)/ settled here (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. The cap tain asked (a)/ the play ers to go (b)/ to mar ketand buy some fruits (c)/ as ap ples, or anges, ba nanas etc.(d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Both the rich (a)/ along with the poor (b)/ are re spon si ble for a great many vices (c)/ with which our coun try isin flicted (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. Since the fes ti val of Diwali is ap proach ing, (a)/ my sonhas bought (b)/ many fire works (c)/ as rock ets, crack ersetc. (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. The thief had (a)/ hardly put the cash (b)/ in his pocket(c)/ then the owner woke up (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. No sooner did we (a)/ find out a so lu tion (b)/ to theprob lem (c)/ when an other prob lem crop ped up (d)/ Noer ror (e).

Exercise 2

1. She has lots of money (a)/ and she dare not (b)/ purchase(c)/ a new car (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. She is not only sym pa thetic (a)/ to the rich pa tients (b)/but also (c) to the poor ones (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. Be cause she is in tel li gent, (a)/ therefore she se cures (b)/highest marks (c)/ in her class (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. It is al most five months ago (a)/ since she wrote a let ter (b)/to me (c)/ to re mind me of my prom ise (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The in spec tor was doubt ful (a)/ that the man who hadbeen run over (b)/ by the truck had (c)/ lain there formore than a day (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. He in structed me (a)/ that I should do (b)/ all the work asquickly (c)/ like him (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Sel dom or (a)/ ever have I sent (b)/ a beg gar awaywith out (c)/ giv ing him some thing (d)/ No er ror (e).

8 Spotting the Errors

8. Sel dom or ever (a)/ have I tried my (b)/ best to help myfriends (c)/ who are in need (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. The teacher ad vised (a)/ the stu dents to (b)/ go throughthe notes as many times as pos si ble (c)/ lest they wouldfail (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. He asked me (a)/ that why (b)/I was not (c)/ appearing in the ex am i na tion (d)/ No er ror (e).

11. Most of the found ing fa thers (a)/ of our con sti tu tion are(b)/ so re vered as Ambedkar (c)/ if not more (d)/ Noer ror (e).

12. I don’t know (a)/ if any of the mem bers (b)/ of the so ci etyis con spir ing (c)/ against the chair man or not (d)/ Noer ror (e).

13. This is the same dog (a)/ which bit her (b)/ while she wasgo ing (c)/ to the hos pi tal (d)/ No er ror (e).

14. This is not (a)/ such a big prob lem (b)/ which can not besolved (c)/ with some ef forts (d)/ No er ror (e).

15. As he is (a)/ a per fec tion ist (b)/, so he al ways in sists (c)/on reg u lar prac tice (d)/ No er ror (e).

Answers with Explanations ä Exercise 1

1. (c) Replace ‘that’ by ‘as’. The structure of the sentence isbased on ‘so ....as’.

2. (a) Say, ‘He co mes here not only’.

3. (c) Replace ‘unless’ by ‘until’; ‘until ’ is used in reference totime while ‘unless’ is used in reference to condition.

4. (c) Replace ‘when’ by if. This is a conditional structure.

5. (b) Replace ‘that’ by ‘since’.

6. (d) Replace ‘as’ by ‘like’. ‘As’ is used with nominative and ‘like’ with objective pronoun.

7. (b) Replace ‘along with the’ by ‘and’. The construction isBoth.... and.

8. (d) Replace ‘as’ by ‘like’.

9. (d) Replace ‘then’ by ‘when’. Use ‘when’ with ‘hardly’.

10. (d) Replace ‘when’ by ‘than’. Use ‘than’ with ‘No sooner’.

ä Exercise 2

1. (b) Replace ‘and’ by ‘but’.There is a contrast in thesentence.

2. (a) Write, ‘She is sym pa thetic not only’.

3. (b) Use of ‘there fore’ is su per flu ous.

4. (b) Replace ‘since’ by ‘that’. Since/for is usually used with,perfect tense.

5. (b) Replace ‘that’ by ‘whether’.

6. (d) Replace ‘like him’ by ‘as he’.

7. (b) Replace ‘ever’ by ‘never’.

8. (a) Replace ‘or’ by ‘ if’. ‘Seldom if ever’ or ‘seldom or never’ ispossible.

9. (d) Replace ‘would’ by ‘should’. Af ter ‘lest’, use ‘should’.

10. (b) Delete ‘that’.

11. (c) Replace ‘so’ by ‘as’. The construction, ‘so ... as’ is usuallyused in negative sentence and ‘as ...... as’ in affirmativesentences.

12. (b) Replace ‘if’ by ‘whether’.The structure is based on‘whether ........ or’ format.

13. (b) Replace ‘which’ by ‘that’. Use ‘that’ with ‘same’.

14. (c) Replace ‘which’ by ‘as’.

15. (c) Delete ‘so’. It is su per flu ous.

Error Related to Adjectives / Determiners

Exercise

1. Kolkata is fur ther (a)/from Alwar (b)/than Jaipur, (c)/the cap i tal of Rajasthan (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Ramesh is smarter (a)/enough to get (b)/selected for this(c)/post, with out any rec om men da tions (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. He said, ‘‘Priyanka (a)/is the most unique (b)/singer of(c)/our col lege’’ (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. This shirt is (a)/com par a tively better (b)/than the otherone (c)/we saw in cor ner shop yes ter day (d)/ Noer ror (e).

5. Ev ery one was sur prised to note (a)/that Rahim mar ried agirl (b)/who was more beau ti ful and more tall (c)/than he (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. A lots of books (a)/on Eng lish gram mar are (b)/avail ablewith me but (c)/this one is the best (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. I told her (a)/that it would be all (b)/the more better(c)/if she her self talked to the groom (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. She does not have (a)/some money to buy (b)/a newre frig er a tor (c)/so she is wor ried (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Now a days (a)/the weather (b)/is get ting more cold(c)/and (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. All the books (a)/were in deed in ter est ing (b)/but that one was (c)/the more in ter est ing (d)/ No er ror (e).

11. There were only two (a)/war riors but each and ev ery(b)/war rior was equal (c)/to six per sons (d)/ Noer ror (e).

12. Whole the chap ter (a)/of this gram mar book is full ofer rors, (b)/that shows the (c)/care less ness of the proofreader (d)/ No er ror (e).

13. Can we rely (a)/on this agency (b)/for the last news(c)/of the day (d)/ No er ror (e) ?

14. Ram is ju nior than (a)/Shyam and (b) older (c)/thanGanesh (d)/ No er ror (e).

15. The mil i tants (a)/en tered the pal ace (b)/from the ut mostgate (c)/with guns hid den in their clothes (d)/ Noer ror (e).

16. ‘She can’t sing (a)/much than (b)/four songs at (c)/astretch’, he in formed (d)/ No er ror (e).

17. It is well known (a)/that Mrs Indira Gan dhi (b)/was thefirst states man (c)/of her time (d)/No er ror(e).

Spotting the Errors 9

Answers with Explanations 1. (a) Change ‘ fur ther’ to ‘far ther’.

2. (a) Change ‘smarter’ to ‘smart’. Use positive degree ajectivebefore ‘enough’.

3. (b) Delete ‘the most’, before ‘unique’. Unique, square, whole,full etc., are used as superlative. Avoid using twosuperlatives in sequence.

4. (b) Either write ‘better’ or ‘com par a tively good’.

5. (c) Replace ‘more tall’ by ‘taller’.

6. (a) Replace ‘A lots of’ by ‘lots of’ or ‘A lot of’.

7. (c) Write ‘better’. Avoid us ing two com par a tives.

8. (b) Replace ‘some’ by ‘any’.

9. (c) Replace ‘more cold’ by ‘colder’.

10. (d) Replace ‘more’ by ‘most’. When comparing more than twothings, use superlative.

11. (b) Change ‘each and every’ to ‘ each’. For ‘two’, use ‘each’.

12. (a) Rewrite ‘whole the’ as ‘the whole’.

13. (c) Replace ‘last’ by ‘lat est’.

14. (a) Replace ‘than’ by ‘to’. After’ junior/senior/ prior, usepreposition ‘to’.

15. (c) Replace ‘ ut most’ by ‘out er most’.

16. (b) Replace ‘much’ by ‘more’. The comparative form of ‘much’ is ‘more’.

17. (c) Replace ‘first’ by ‘ fore most’.

Error Related to Adverbs

Exercise 1

1. ‘Un der no cir cum stances (a)/ we can help you (b)/ in thisim moral pro ject’ (c)/, said the Chair man (d)/ Noer ror (e).

2. Some body in formed (a)/ the con trac tor that his (b)/brother had only died (c)/ five days be fore (d)/ No er ror(e).

3. She is very se nior(a)/ to me, so I (b)/cannot defy (c)/ heror ders (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. Who can be lieve (a)/ that she was not (b)/ hardly hit (c)/by the death of her son (d)/ No er ror (e) ?

5. Hardly she likes (a)/ to hear my name (b)/ after thedis pute which oc curred (c)/ between us last year (d)/ Noer ror (e).

6. By dis cuss ing only with (a)/ the of fi cer con cerned, (b)/they found out (c)/ the per son be hind the fraud (d)/ Noer ror (e).

7. The house is very good (a)/ but too much small (b)/ toac com mo date (c)/ the full fam ily (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. He does not (a)/ know to make (b)/ friends so he islead ing (c)/ a lonely life (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Ev ery mem ber of the fam ily (a)/ is ad dicted (b)/ todrink ing (c) and so Asha is (d)/No er ror (e).

10. He was very tired (a)/ of work so he said (b)/ that hewould (c)/ not ac com pany us (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 2

1. Shakshi was ex or bi tantly paid (a)/ for how skil ful she (b)/ welcomed (c)/ the vis i tors (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. She is al most quite com pe tent(a)/for the post ofMar ket ing Ex ec u tive(b)/so if given a chance, (c)/ she canshow the re sults (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. The stu dent re quested (a)/ the prin ci pal to be enoughkind (b)/ to grant him (c)/seven days leave (d)/ No er ror(e).

4. He has been try ing (a)/ to per suade her for sev eralmonths (b)/ but he has (c)/ not still suc ceeded (d)/ Noer ror (e).

5. Be fore the game he felt surely (a)/ of win ing, but withinfive min utes (b)/ he real ised that (c)/ he was wrong (d)/No er ror (e).

6. The amount which the com pany (a)/ paid to thede pend ents of (b)/ the de ceased was (c)/ fairlyun jus ti fied (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Al though he only earns (a)/ six teen hun dred ru pees permonth, (b)/ yet he man ages his (c)/ fam ily well (d)/ Noer ror (e).

8. I liked that op por tune mo ment (a)/ where the work ers(b)/ proved them selves (c)/ and came out vic to ri ous (d)/No er ror (e).

9. Where else (a)/ did you(b)/ go be sides (c)/ the bank ?(d)/ No er ror (e).

10. I hardly ever (a)/ see him (b)/ because in myopin ion(c)/he is not a re li able man(d)/ No er ror (e).

11. He is a lin guist (a)/ and al ways tries to(b)/ make his stu dents(c)/ pronounce the words cor rectly (d)/No er ror (e).

Answers with Explanations ä Exercise 1

1. (b) Replace ‘we can’ by ‘can we’. This is a question of Inversion.

2. (c) Use ‘only’ af ter ‘died’ to make the mean ing log i cal.

3. (a) Replace ‘very senior’ by ‘much senior’. ‘Very’ is used with

positive degree adjectives while ‘much’ is used with

comparative degree adjectives.

4. (c) Re place ‘hardly hit’ by ‘hit hard’.

5. (a) Write, ‘Hardly does she like’. In ver sion will be used here.

6. (c) ‘Did they find out’; a case of in ver sion.

7. (b) Replace ‘too much’ by ‘much too’. ‘much too’ is usedbefore an adjective and ‘too much’ is used before a noun.

8. (b) Replace ‘know to make’ by ‘know how to make’.

9. (c) Replace ‘so Asha is ’ by ‘so is Asha’. Inversion is appliedhere.

10. (e) No er ror.

10 Spotting the Errors

ä Exercise 2

1. (b) Write, ‘skilfully’. ‘Skilful’ is an adjective, can’t qualify averb.

2. (a) Delete ‘almost’. Use of adverb before ‘quite’ is incorrect.

3. (b) Write ‘to be kind enough’. Adverb ‘enough’ is used afterthe word it qualifies.

4. (d) Replace ‘still’ by ‘yet’. ‘yet’ is generally used in negativesentence while ‘still’ is used in affirmative sentence.

5. (a) Replace ‘surely’ by ‘sure’.

6. (d) Replace ‘fairly’ by ‘rather’; fairly is used in pos i tive sense.

7. (a) Write, ‘He earns only’. ‘Only’ should be used before theword it qualifies.

8. (b) Replace ‘where ‘ by ‘when’.

9. (a) Delete ‘else’, it is su per flu ous here.

10. (e) No er ror.

11. (b) Write, ‘and so he al ways tries to’.

Error Related to Verbs

Exercise 1

1. He or dered(a)/ as if he(b)/ was my (c)/ master (d)/ Noer ror (e).

2. God saves(a)/ the (b)/ queen of (c)/ Vicitoria er ror (d)/No er ror (e)

3. If it was so (a)/ poetry(b)/would cease (c)/ to mat ter (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. The merit (a)/ of these books (b)/ are known (c)/ toev ery one (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The con di tion of (a)/ people liv ing in(b)/ rural area(c)/are very bad (d)/No er ror(e).

6. The smell (a)/of these rose(b)/ flowers are(c)/ very sweet (d)/ No er ror (e)

7. The con do lence mes sages(a)/ received on the (b)/ deathof Mrs Gan dhi(c)/ speaks highly of her great ness (d)/Noer ror (e).

8. Eco nomic co op er a tion (a)/ between the two coun tries(b)/ have in creased (c)/ substantially (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. A band of mu si cians (a)/ have been en gaged(b)/ for the(c)/ inauguration func tion (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. The num ber(a)/of per sons in ter ested(b)/in psy chol ogyare (c)/generally small(D/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 2

1. The man ager’s com ments(a)/ on the prep a ra tion of thetest matches(b)/ for this tour(c)/ has been gen er allypraised(d)/No er ror (e).

2. The de tails(a)/of the in ci dent(b)/was not known(c)/tome (d)/No er ror(e).

3. The ma jor ity of (a)/ writers never(b)/ passes (c)/ thisstage (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. A large part of(a)/ the dis tinc tive fea tures(b)/ of the mind is due to its be ing (c)/ an in stru ment ofcom mu ni ca tion(d).

5. A part of (a)/ the mango (b)/ are (c)/ rotten (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. The gov ern ing body at (a)/ its first meet ing(b)/ havede cided (c)/ to con duct the test again (d)/No er ror(e).

7. The bank ers’ as so ci a tion (a)/ has sub mit ted amem o ran dum(b)/ for the ful fil ment of(c)/ theirde mands(d)/No errror (e).

8. Five quin tals of wooden coal (a)/ are (b)/ his an nualre quire ment(c) for the unit(d)/No er ror (e).

9. Dick ens have (a)/ criticised the (b)/ philosophy in (c)/‘Hard Times’ (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 3

1. All his money(a)/ is spent(b)/ and all his(c)/ hopesru ined(d)/No er ror (e).

2. This rule may(a)/ and ought to be(b)/disregarded (c)/ for the time be ing (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. He is one of the(a)/ richest man(b)/ if not the rich estman(c)/ in the world (d)/No er ror (e).

4. We can al most get(a)/ everything in(b)/ this (c)/ market(d)/ No er ror (e).

5. Ev ery (a)/ Tom, Dick and Harry(b)/ drink wine (c)/ thesedays (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. He and I(a)/ is part ners in(b)/ this (c)/ firm (d)/ No er ror(e).

7. He is one of the(a)/ great man (b)/ that have (c)/ everlived (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. The mag is trate and col lec tor(a)/ were (b)/ presentthere(c)/on the spot (d)/No er ror(e).

9. Horse and car riage (a)/ are (b)/waiting there (c)/ for thecou ple (d).

10. Rice and fish(a)/ are (b)/ my fa vour ite (c)/ dish (d)/ Noer ror (e).

Exercise 4

1. He is one of the (a)/ tallest man (b)/ if not the tall est man(c) in the city (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. He made a blun der (a)/ and worse than (b)/ that (c)/ acrime (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. The wheat (a)/ on this farm (b)/ is finer than(c)/ lastyear(d)/ No er ror (e).

4. I scarcely have (a)/ enough silk (b)/ for my (c)/ saree (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. Ev ery day (a)/ and ev ery night (b)/ bring its (c)/ ownplea sures for ev ery one (d)/No er ror (e).

6. He, more than(a)/ his par ents (b)/ are re spon si ble (c)/for his bad hab its(d)/No er ror (e).

7. Bread and but ter (a)/ are (b)/ a rich and (c)/ nourishingfood (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. Not only she (a)/ but all her sis ters (b)/ has beenmar ried(c)/ since long (d)/No er ror (e).

Spotting the Errors 11

9. There are(a)/ nothing but(b)/ miseries (c)/ in her life(d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Ei ther he(a)/ or I is(b)/ responsible (c)/ for the loss (d)/No er ror (e).

Answers with Explanations ä Exercise 1

1. (c) Replace ‘was’ by ‘were’.

2. (a) Replace ‘saves’ by ‘save’.

3. (a) Replace ‘was’ by ‘were’.

4. (c) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. Sub ject, ‘merit’ is sin gu lar.

5. (d) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. The subject ‘condition’ is singular.

6. (c) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. The sub ject ‘smell’ is sin gu lar.

7. (d) Replace ‘speaks’ by ‘speak’. The subject is ‘condolencemessages’ which is plural.

8. (c) Replace ‘have’ by ‘has’. Subject ‘economic cooperation’ issingular.

9. (b) Replace ‘have’ by ‘has’. ‘band’ is a collective noun sosingular verb is used.

10. (c) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. Singular verb is used with ‘thenumber’.

ä Exercise 2

1. (d) Replace ‘has been’ by ‘have been’. Subject, ‘manager’scomments’ is plural.

2. (c) Replace ‘was’ by ‘were’. Sub ject, ‘de tails’ is plu ral.

3. (c) Replace ‘passes’ by ‘pass’. Noun, ‘writ ers’ is plu ral.

4. (c) Replace ‘is’ by ‘are’. Noun ‘fea tures’ is plu ral.

5. (c) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’.

6. (c) Replace ‘have’ by ‘has’. ‘governing body’ is a collectivenoun, so singular verb will be used.

7. (d) Replace ‘their’ by ‘its’.

8. (b) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. ‘five quintals’ represents a definiteweight and used as collective noun so singular verb willbe used.

9. (a) Replace ‘have’ by ‘has’.Dickens is a name, a singularperson.

ä Exercise 3

1. (d) Write ‘are’ after ‘hopes’. If two different verbs are neededwith two nouns, use separate verb with each noun.

2. (a) Write ‘be’ af ter ‘may’.

3. (b) Say, ‘richest men’. Remember to use plural noun after‘one of’.

4. (a) Say, ‘we can get almost’ to make the meaning logical.

5. (c) Replace ‘drink’ by ‘drinks’; singular verb is used in suchsentences.

6. (b) Replace ‘is’ by ‘are’. When two nouns are joined with anduse plural verb.

7. (b) Say ‘men’. See the ex pla na tion of ques tion (3).

8. (b) Replace ‘were’ by ‘was’. Magistrate and collector is oneperson so singular verb should be used.

9. (b) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. ‘Horse and carriage’ represent oneunit.

10. (b) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. ‘Rice and fish’ is used as a unit.

ä Exercise 4

1. (b) Say, ‘tall est men’.

2. (d) Replace ‘a crime’ by ‘com mit ted a crime’.

3. (d) Write, ‘it was last year’ to make the comparison logical.

4. (a) Say, ‘I have scarcely’. This is a question of misplacement of an adverb.

5. (c) Write ‘brings’.

6. (c) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. The verb should agree with the nounthat comes first in such constructions.

7. (b) Replace ‘are’ by ‘is’. ‘Bread and butter’ is used as a unit.

8. (c) Replace ‘has’ by ‘have’. The verb should agree with thenearest noun in such constructions.

9. (a) Say ‘There is’. Use sin gu lar verb with ‘noth ing but’.

10. (b) Replace ‘is’ by ‘am’.

Miscellaneous Errors

Exercise 1

1. My self and Ganesh (a)/ will take care of (b)/ the func tion(c)/ on Sunday (d)/No er ror(e).

2. The SP has de clared that those who are found (a)/ guiltyof breach of law (b)/ or tak ing the law into their hands(c)/ they will be taken to task (d)/No er ror(e).

3. In spite of a thor oughly search (a)/ of the busi nesspre mises, the (b)/ tax au thor i ties could not find (c)/ anyin crim i nat ing doc u ments (d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

4. The last of the Mughal (a)/ emperors of In dia wasim pris oned (b)/ and later sent into (c)/ exile by theBrit ish (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. Hardly as I stepped (a)/ out of my house when (b) I sawsome po lice men (c)/ coming to wards my house (d)/ Noer ror (e). (Bank PO)

6. Swati has such a fine (a)/ memory that she can (b)/recollect any thing what (c)/ happened many years ago(d)/ No er ror (e).

7. In the meet ing, Mr Mehta’s (a)/ suggestions with re gardfor (b)/ certain ad min is tra tive re forms were (c)/ hailed by all the mem bers (d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

8. Chil dren who have had (a)/ good pre school ed u ca tion(b)/ are most likely to out- do (c)/ other chil dren at school (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. If I knew (a)/ that my friend had planned (b)/ to visit thetown to day (c)/, I would have made his stay com fort able(d)/No er ror(e). (SCRA)

10. When the den tist came in (a)/ my tooth was stoppedach ing (b)/ out of fear (c)/ that I might lose my tooth(d)/No er ror(e).

12 Spotting the Errors

Exercise 2

1. From Mumbai, (a)/ the Rajdhani Ex press (b)/ do not gostraight (c)/ to New Delhi (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Kolkata)

2. It could n’t have been (a)/ written by Kalidas be cause (b)/that kind of dress was not worn (c)/ till af ter his death(d)/ No er ror (e).

3. Harish is (a)/ very much (b)/ willing to (c)/ come withyou (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB Kolkata)

4. The lady said that (a)/ she should be away (b)/ fromhome to mor row as Malti’s (c)/ friend had come to visitMumbai (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. Jour ney by car is (a)/ as quick or per haps quicker (b)/than by train (c)/ in this par tic u lar case (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Kolkata)

6. He asked what the weather (a)/had been like (b)/duringmy hol i days (c)/and I re plied that it had been aw ful(d)/No er ror (e).

7. You are lucky (a)/ to get (b)/ such a (c)/ well paid job(d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB Kolkata)

8. If I would have (a)/ spoken to my fa ther (b)/ as you speakto me, (c)/ he would have beaten me (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Kolkata)

9. We are quite fond (a)/ of this house (b)/ because we areliv ing in it (c)/ for the last five years (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Not for noth ing (a)/ did he pros per (b)/ as a busi nesscon sul tant (c) since his ar rival in Amer ica 20 years ago (d) No er ror (e).

Exercise 3

1. This type of prod uct (a)/ is not avail able in (b)/ any of theshop (c)/ in the mar ket around plaza (d)/ No er ror (e).

(Bank PO)

2. Hardly had I (a)/ reached the air port, where (b)/ Ilearned about (c)/ the pow er ful bomb ex plo sion (d)/ Noer ror (e).

3. As a prac tice, (a)/ the last batch of (b) the tins un der goes(c)/ through check up (d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

4. One of my brother (a)/ told me about (b)/ the sad de mise(c)/ of your un cle (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. He is not only (a)/ sincere to wards his re spon si bil i ties(b)/ but also very com pe tent (c)/ to han dle the job (d)/No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

6. The min is ter alongwith his (a)/ party col leagues have(b)/ been given a warm (c)/ reception at the func tion (d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

7. You should not be (a)/ so quick in giv ing (b)/ advice lestyou will be (c)/ perceived as in ter fer ing in oth ers af fairs(d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

8. Be cause of his (a)/ innocence, he can not (b)/ distinguisha cheat (c)/ for an hon est per son (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Ev ery day when he (a)/ passes through this side (b)/, allthe em ployee gather (c)/ around to have a glimpse. (d)/No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

10. He said that (a)/ if I found the front door locked (b)/ I was to go round (c)/ to the back (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Kolkata)

Exercise 4

1. These Acts were (a)/ pushed through Par lia ment (b)/ inspite of op po si tion (c)/ but for lit tle mod i fi ca tion (d)/ Noer ror (e). (SBI PO)

2. The man who is (a)/ perpetually hes i tat ing (b)/ aboutwhich of the two things (c)/ to do first, will ul ti mately doei ther (d)/ No er ror (e). (SBI PO)

3. No hill sta tion (a)/ is as beau ti ful (b)/ as Darjeeling (c)/with its sce nic beauty (d)/ No er ror (e).

(SBI PO)

4. On my re quest, (a)/ Jatin in tro duced me (b)/ to his friend(c)/ who is singer and sci en tist (d)/ No er ror (e).

(SBI PO)

5. One of the most (a)/ widely spread (b)/ bad habit (c)/ isthe use of to bacco (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. Be ing a well known (a)/ cartoonist, he was (b)/ invited tode liver (c)/ a lec ture on Mod ern art (d)/ No er ror (e).

(SBI PO)

7. The chief idea of ev ery com mon type of trav el ler (a)/ is tosee(b)/ as many ob jects (c)/ of in ter est as he pos si blycould (d) No er ror (e). (SBI PO)

8. Atul’s habit of (a)/ delaying his work (b)/ puts hiscol leagues (c)/ to a lot of trou ble (d)/ No er ror (e).

(SBI PO)

9. My brother has been (a)/ living in Amer ica (b)/ with hisfam ily (c)/ for the past ten years (d)/ No er ror (e).

(SBI PO)

10. I did not like (a)/ going to night school (b)/ but I had noal ter na tive (c)/ as I have to work in day time (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB Kolkata)

Exercise 5

1. All the peo ple liv ing (a)/ in the house (b)/ including theser vant (c)/ was in vited there (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Lucknow)

2. Mahesh thought that he (a)/ would pass the ex am i na tion(b)/ although he did not an swer (c)/ most of theques tions cor rect (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB Lucknow)

3. The rob bers were (a)/ caught just as they (b)/ were aboutto (c)/ escape from the jail (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. No body be lieved him (a)/ when he said that (b)/ his sonwas gone (c)/ out of the coun try (d) No er ror (e).

5. As soon as he (a)/ opened the old (b)/ wooden box, than a rat (c)/ jumped out of it (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. Hardly did she went (a)/ out of her house (b)/ when thepost man came (c)/ with the tele gram (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. The faster he com pletes (a)/ the work given to (b)/ him,the larg est (c)/ will be his profit (d)/ No er ror (e).

Spotting the Errors 13

8. There has not been (a)/ any rain fall in this (b)/ part of the coun try (c)/ since the last two years (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

9. He has not only built (a)/ this big thea tre but also(b)/ afew (c)/ bungalows in this city (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Kunal’s fa ther ad vised (a)/ him not to (b)/ ride themo tor cy cle (c)/ lately at night (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

Exercise 6

1. He says that (a)/ he has (b)/ a car (c)/ beside a scooter(d)/No er ror(e).

2. If I was you (a)/ I would not have (b)/ committed (c)/ this blun der (d)/No er ror(e).

3. Not one of the hun dreds (a)/ of strik ing work ers (b)/were al lowed to go (c)/ near the fac tory (d)/No er ror(e).

4. Did you see (a)/ any of the child (b)/ when you were (c)/in the gar den? (d) No er ror (e). (BSRB Rajasthan)

5. The boy asked (a)/ his fa ther, why (b)/ he cut ting (c)/down the tree (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. The ap pli cant, (a)/ being a house holder, (b)/ he is (c)/entitled to vote (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. He walked (a)/ quick so that (b)/ he would not (c)/ belate (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB Rajasthan)

8. The teacher said (a)/ that Ajay was (b)/ capable of do ing(c)/ more better work (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Rajasthan)

9. Dinesh ex er cise (a)/ every day so (b)/ that he may (c)/keep him self healthy (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. The thirsty (a)/ children drank (b)/ up all (c)/ the wa ter(d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 7

1. One of his many (a)/ good traits that (b)/ come to mymind (c)/ was his mod esty (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Rajasthan)

2. He has a scheme (a)/ of his own which (b)/ he thinkspref er a ble (c)/ than that of any other per son’s (d)/ Noer ror (e). (BSRB Rajasthan)

3. Ten new mem bers (a)/ have been en rolled (b)/ and seven have (c)/ resigned (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Rajasthan)

4. Chil dren vis it ing the (a)/ park are amused (b)/ by themon keys (c)/ play in their cages.(d)/No er ror(e).

(SBIPO)

5. The man told to her (a)/ that he had not brought his dog(b)/ out for a walk (c)/ as he was afraid that it would rain(d)/No er ror(e).

6. I am sure that (a)/ neither the house (b)/ nor its con tents(c)/ is for sale (d)/No er ror(e). (Asstt Grade)

7. The Hindi and the Mara thi are (a)/ different forms ofSan skrit lan guage (b)/ which were once spo ken (c)/ inal most ev ery part of In dia (d)/No er ror(e). (Bank PO)

8. The Com mit tee Chief warned the party mem bers (a)/ that if they per sist (b)/ in their ob struc tion ist at ti tude (c)/ they would be sus pended (d)/No er ror(e). (CDS)

9. The ag i tat ing stu dents had taken (a)/ a vow not to re turnto their (b) classes un til their de mands were not (c)/accepted by the Prin ci pal (d) No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

10. To day, the cost of liv ing (a)/ is such higher that many(b)/ people find it dif fi cult to (c)/ keep their hearthsburn ing (d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

Exercise 8

1. When Charles was (a)/ in the hos pi tal (b)/ his sis ter sent(c)/ much fruit than his un cle (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Mr Sharma has (a)/ driven al most twice (b)/ so far as (c)/ Mr Khanna has (d)/ No er ror (e). (RRB)

3. All the play ers (a)/ except Sam uel (b)/ were pres ent (c)/on the field (d)/ No er ror (e). (RRB)

4. The teacher drew (a)/ an at ten tion of the (b)/ boys to theim por tance (c)/ of reg u lar prac tice (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The doc tor ad vised (a)/ Suresh and Ramesh for go ingswim ming (b)/ because it was (c)/ good for them (d)/ Noer ror (e). (RRB)

6. I am not (a)/ wealthy so I (b)/ cannot af ford to buy (c)/ aex pen sive car (d)/ No er ror (e). (RRB)

7. Kamala worked very (a)/ hard so that she (b)/ might notkeep the oth ers (c)/ wait too long (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. The teacher was (a)/ busy and asked (b)/ three of we todi vide the (c)/ work and do it (d)/ No er ror (e). (RRB)

9. The rul ing party stood (a)/ for im ple men ta tion of the Bill(b)/ and was ready to stake (c)/ their po lit i cal ex is tence(d)/No er ror(e).

10. The in ter viewer asked (a)/ the can di date (b)/ to whatdis trict (c)/ he came from (d)/No er ror(e). (SSC)

Exercise 9

1. Two peo ple, the (a)/ clerk and the (b)/ typ ist, helps me(c)/ in my of fice (d)/ No er ror (e). (RRB)

2. The short boy (a)/ has seven ru pees (b)/ and the fat boy(c)/ has only a ru pee (d)/ No er ror (e). (RRB)

3. Inspite of the doc tor’s (a)/ stern warn ing, (b)/ hecon tin ued tak ing (c)/ sugar in his tea (d)/No er ror(e).

(Stenographer)

4. Never set a bad (a)/ example; al ways re mem ber that (b)/good and bad (c)/ behavior is in cul cated by ex am ple (d)/No er ror (e).

5. For young Minu (a)/, peace in Kash mir (b)/ is al mostter ri ble (c)/ as war (d)/No er ror(e).

6. Be ing a very hot day (a)/ all of us re mained at home (b)/and watched tele vi sion and (c)/ enjoyed our selves thewhole day (d)/ No er ror(e).

14 Spotting the Errors

7. Had the func tion (a)/ not been post poned (b)/ because ofthe strike, (c)/ she may have been able to par tic i pate(d)/No er ror(e).

8. The teacher was (a)/very busy and asked three (b)/ of weto di vide (c)/ the work and com plete it. (d)/No er ror(e).

9. Neelima has such a fine, (a)/ memory that she can (b)/recollect any thing (c)/ what hap pened even many yearsago (d)/No er ror (e).

10. In a fit of tem per, (a)/ he tore up a sweet let ter (b)/, hiswife had (c)/ written to him (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB)

Exercise 10

1. Ev ery leaf (a)/ and ev ery flower pro claim (b) the glory ofGod (c)/ No er ror (d)/No er ror (e). (Income Tax)

2. My (a)/ house (b)/ is better (c)/ than John (d)/ Noer ror (e). (Hotel Management)

3. To per form (a)/ this ex per i ment, (b)/ drop lit tle sugar(c)/ into a glass of wa ter (d)/No er ror (e).

4. As he had taken (a)/ only a few sips, (b)/ there was stilllit tle wa ter (c)/ left in the glass (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. For her sake as well as for John (a)/, I hoped fer vently (b)/that she might (c)/ still be found (d)/ No er ror(e). (MBA)

6. Is there any other rea sons (a)/ that you can give us foryour fail ure (b)/ to take ac tion as (c)/ you prom ised (d)/No er ror (e). (MBA)

7. The fu ture is (a)/ yet to come (b)/ but you have (c)/ rightto shape it (d)/ No er ror(e). (BSRB)

8. He won’t (a)/ return the money (b)/ that he bor rowed (c), won’t he? (d)/No er ror (e).

9. Money not only sat is fies (a)/ the ba sic psy cho log i calneeds (b)/ but also the (c)/ higher or der psy cho log i calneeds (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB Kolkata)

10. All I know is that (a)/ I won’t be at peace (b)/ with my self(c)/ unless I do not go there (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Kolkata)

Exercise 11

1. A na tion wide sur vey (a)/ has brought up an (b)/interesting find ing (c)/ regarding in fant mor tal ity rate inIn dia (d)/No er ror(e).

2. Troy was taken (a)/ by Greeks; (b)/ this formed the ba sis ofthe story (c)/ which has be come fa mous(d)/No er ror(e).

3. What ever his in ten tions may be (a)/, he should con siderthem care fully (b)/ before he co mes to a de ci sion (c)/ Noer ror (d)/No er ror(e). (MBA)

4. These kind of shoes (a)/ seem to be ex pen sive (b)/ but are rel a tively (c)/ easy to care for (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The rea son we have not been (a)/ able to pay in come tax(b)/ is due to the fact (c)/ that we did not re ceive pay ontime (d)/No er ror (e).

6. A per son I met (a)/ in the thea tre (b)/ was the play wright(c)/ himself (d)/No er ror(e).

7. Dr Chandra (a)/ is only den tist (b)/ in (c)/ our vil lage(d)/No er ror(e).

8. The ma jor ity of the (a)/ computer pro fes sion alsrec om mends (b)/ that ef fec tive mea sures (c)/ should betaken against soft ware pi racy (d)/No error(e).

9. The ac cel er at ing pace of life (a)/ in our city (b)/ has hadtre men dous ef fect (c)/ on the cul ture and life-style of thepeo ple (d)/No er ror(e).

10. You are never prac ti cal (a)/ and your sug ges tions (b)/hold no wa ter (c)/ because they are not con vinc ing(d)/No er ror (e).

Exercise 12

1. I am (a)/ better ac quainted (b)/ with Ramesh (c)/ thanyou. (d)/ No er ror (e). (SBI PO)

2. It is said (a)/ by some per sons (b)/ that one of thena tion al ised bank (c)/ has started a new scheme oflend ing (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. The boy who (a)/ you see there (b)/ made the top score(c)/ in the last match (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. Hav ing been oc cu pied (a)/ with some im por tant mat ters,(b)/ he had no time (c)/ to at tend the meet ings. (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The sun, whose (a)/ ray give life to the (b)/ earth, wasven er ated as (c)/ God by our an ces tors (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. He was not pro moted (a)/ to the rank of col o nel (b)/ tillfor a few (c)/ months of his re tire ment. (d)/ No er ror (e).

(SBI PO)

7. Our sol diers (a)/ were better trained (b)/ than that (c)/ of the en emy (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. If it were pos si ble (a)/ to get near when (b)/ one of thevol ca nic erup tions take place, (c)/ we could see a grandsight (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Had I come (a)/ to know about(b)/ his dif fi cul ties, (c)/ Iwould have cer tainly helped him(d)/No er ror (e).

10. Be ing a very (a)/ hot day, (b)/ I (c)/ remained in doors(d)/No er ror(e).

Exercise 13

1. The de mand of the cit i zen’s (a)/ forum that the prices ofes sen tial (b)/ commodities to lower down will (c)/ soon becon sid ered by the Gov ern ment (d)/ No er ror (e). (RRB)

2. De spite of a good mon soon (a)/ this year, the pro duc tion(b)/ of foodgrains in the (c)/ country did not go up (d)/No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

3. What ever work (a)/ that which you un der take (b)/ putyour best ef forts (c)/ to achieve suc cess in it(d)/No er ror (e).

4. As it was Ranjan’s (a)/ first in ter view, he dressed him self(b)/ in his most (c)/ formal suit (d)/No er ror (e).

(Bank PO)

5. The rul ing party chief made it a point to state that (a)/ thePrime Min is ter and the Un ion Home Min is ter (b)/ shouldalso come (c)/ and see what his party men had seen(d)/No er ror(e).

Spotting the Errors 15

6. It is not dif fi cult to be lieve that a man (a)/ who has livedin this city (b)/ for a long time (c)/ he will never feel athome any where else in the world (d)/No er ror(e).

(NDA)

7. If the teacher is good (a)/ the stu dents (b)/ will re spond(c)/ positively to them (d)/No er ror(e). (BSRB)

8. Mr Sharma , our rep re sen ta tive, (a)/ will (b)/ attend themeet ing (c)/ on our be half (d)/No er ror(e).

9. One must use (a)/ his best ef forts (b) if one (c)/ wishes tosuc ceed (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. It is sug gested that (a)/ a ring road (b)/ should be built (c)/ to re lieve the con ges tion (d)/ No er ror (e). (SBI PO)

Exercise 14

1. Even though he found the sub ject (a)/ rather in ter est ing,Raghu could not (b)/ manage good marks (c)/ in theex am i na tion (d)/ No er ror (e). ( BSRB)

2. The en mity be tween the (a)/ two groups had reached alevel (b)/ where rec on cil i a tion has (c)/ becomeim pos si ble (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB)

3. My fa ther was (a)/ in (b)/ bad mood (c)/ yesterdaymorn ing (d)/No er ror(e).

4. Sunita opened a almirah (a)/ full of books (b)/ and tookone book (c)/ for read ing (d)/No er ror(e).

5. Ac cord ing to the Bi ble, (a)/ it is meek and hum ble (b)/who shall (c)/ inherit the earth (d)/No er ror(e).

6. Now that she is liv ing in her own flat, (a)/ she cleans thewin dows (b)/ twice a week in the sum mer (c)/ and once a week in the win ter (d)/No er ror(e).

7. Af ter look ing through many (a)/ advertisements, Sudhirde cide (b)/ to buy the cheap est (c)/ brand in the mar ket(d)/ No er ror (e). ( BSRB)

8. The in ter viewer asked me (a)/ if I knew that (b)/ Kaildaswas the greater (c)/ than any other poet (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

9. Mr Smith was ac cused for mur der (a)/ but the court found him (b)/ not guilty (c)/ and ac quit ted him (d)/No er ror(e).

10. It is not pos si ble (a)/ for me (b)/ to ex change the goods(c)/ once the sale has been com pleted (d)/No er ror (e).

(Stenographer’s)

Exercise 15

1. This town is n’t very (a)/ well known (b)/ and there is n’tmuch to see (c), so a few tour ists come here (d)/Noer ror(e).

2. On my re quest (a)/ Sarita in tro duced me (b)/ to herfriend (c)/ who is singer and a sci en tist (d)/No er ror(e).

3. Aruna was (a)/ unhappy about the re sults (b)/ of thedis cus sion she (c)/ has with Rashmi (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

4. He was driv ing slowly (a)/ down the high way (b)/ when a cat ran (c)/ across and he had to brake all of a sud den (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB)

5. It be ing rainy day, (a)/ most of the peo ple (b)/ out on thestreet were (c)/ carrying um brel las (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

6. The need to set up (a)/ a good li brary in the lo cal ity (b)/has been in the minds of peo ple (c)/ for some time (d)/No er ror (e). (BSRB)

7. The road (a)/ to fa mous mon u ment (b)/ passes through(c)/ a for est (d)/No er ror(e). (Stenographer’s)

8. Sev eral prom i nent fig ures (a)/ involved in the scan dal(b)/ are re quired to ap pear (c)/ to the in ves ti ga tioncom mit tee (d)/No error(e).

9. To make him suc ceed, (a)/ the cor rect thing to do (b)/ isto pun ish him (c)/ until he does not try (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

10. CV Raman was one of those great sons of In dia (a)/ whohas earned ev er last ing fame (b)/ for sci en tific (c)researches (d)/ No er ror (e). (NDA 1993)

Exercise 16

1. When ever they passes (a)/ through this city, (b)/ theynever for get to (c)/come to our house (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Patna)

2. Chil dren of ten (a)/ quarrel on (b)/ petty (c)/ issues(d)/No er ror(e).

3. When the teach ers are on strike (a)/ and a no tice to thisef fect (b)/ is pasted on the col lege gate, (c) there is nosense to go there (d)/No er ror(e).

4. Young chil dren should not sit close (a)/ to the T.V. set(b)/ as it af fects (c)/ on their eyes (d)/No er ror(e).

5. I am vexed (a)/ at him (b)/ about what (c)/ he has done(d)/No er ror(e).

6. The girls were play ing (a)/ outside the house whereas(b)/ the boys were sit ting (c)/ inside and played cards(d)/ No er ror (e).

7. The po lice men started (a)/ firing the crowd (b)/ when the strik ing (c)/ students turned vi o lent (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Patna)

8. He was about to tell ing (a)/ the in ves ti ga tors the truth(b)/ when his com pan ion (c)/ suddenly in ter rupted him(d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Mohini washes all her (a)/ clothes and cooks food (b)/ forthe fam ily be fore (c)/ she go ing to the of fice (d)/ Noer ror (e).

10. Praveen is so good (a)/ a bats man that (b)/ he would becer tainly (c)/ included in the team (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Patna)

Exercise 17

1. Our Math e mat ics teacher (a)/ of ten emphasises on (b)/the need for (c)/ a lot of prac tice (d)/No er ror(e).

2. We could not see (a)/ the places clear (b)/ as the train was (c)/ mov ing very fast (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. Al though the pa tient (a)/ was rudely with the (b)/nurses,he be haved (c)/ nicely with the doc tor (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. Al though the driver ap plied (b)/ the brakes, he could (b)/not pre vent the bus (c)/ from hit the tree (d)/ Noer ror (e). (BSRB Patna)

16 Spotting the Errors

5. Dileep’s per for mance in the (a)/ film was worst than (b)/Amit’s but was not (c)/ as bad as Vipul’s (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB Patna)

6. This kind of be hav iour (a)/ has not been (b)/ seen here(c)/ since the last four years (d)/No er ror(e).

7. Rekha was try ing for ad mis sion (a)/ in the En gi neer ingCol lege (b)/ even though her par ents wanted (c)/ her totake up med i cine (d)/No er ror(e).

8. As the party was go ing (a)/, we no ticed Mr. Roy fall back(b)/ in his chair (c), gasping for breath (d)/No er ror(e).

(Assistant Grade)

9. Of all the men (a)/ known to me, none is (b)/ in clined(c)/ to think ill to oth ers (d)/No er ror(e).

10. In a re port is sued by In dian Sta tis ti cal In sti tute (a)/, theIron and Steel in dus try (b)/ is in vest ing more than anyother (c)/ In dian In dus try, in fight ing pol lu tion (d)/Noer ror(e). (Central Excise)

Exercise 18

1. Monisha was the about (a)/ tell her teacher the (b)/ truthwhen her (c)/ friend in ter rupted her (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

2. Prayag and Parag used (a)/ to work for al most twelve (b)/ hours in the fac tory (c)/ they are work ing ear lier (d)/ Noer ror (e).

3. Af ter toil ing very hard (a)/ over a long pe riod of time(b)/, he found that peo ple re cog nised him (c)/ as asuc cess ful per son (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. The an gry man walked hur riedly (a)/ into the crowdedroom (b)/ and shouted loud (c)/ at the guests(d)/Noer ror (e).

5. He ran so fastly (a)/ that he reached (b)/ the des ti na tionin (c)/ just two min utes (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB)

6. Al though he is usu ally (a)/ rude will ev ery one, (b)/ hebe haved nice with (c)/ all of us to day (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Anjali’s per for mance in the (a)/ drama was best than (b)/Deepali’s but not (c)/ as good as Vaishali’s (d)/ No er ror(e).

8. The fire men could not (a)/ succeed in res cue the (b)/child al though they (c)/ could put out the fire (d)/ Noer ror (e).

9. When ever they go out (a)/ for swim ming, they (b)/ taketheir (c)/ blue bag with them (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. He was fas ci nated by in sects (a)/ and the more he stud ied(b)/ their hab its, (c)/ greater was his fas ci na tion (d)/Noer ror(e). (RRB)

Exercise 19

1. Ev ery one felt that (a)/ the big glit ter ing (b)/ diamond(c)/ was most unique (d)/No er ror(e).

2. I ad vised my son (a)/ to en gage two coo lies in stead of one(b)/ because the lug gage was too much (c)/ heavy for asin gle coo lie (d)/No er ror(e).

3. The chil dren were (a)/ playing with a ball (b)/ and runaround when (c)/ the ac ci dent oc curred (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. Avinash is not so (a)/ good a bats man to be(b)/ selectedfor the (c)/ national cricket team (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB)

5. I tried on (a)/ both the dresses (b)/ and fi nally de cided(c)/ to buy the least ex pen sive one (d)/No er ror(e).

6. He ul ti mately de cided (a)/ to will ingly and cheer fullyac cept(b)/ the re spon si bil ity (c)/ entrusted to him (d)/No error(e).

7. Be ing the only (a)/ people pres ent there, (b)/ theirpres ence was (c)/ most im por tant (d)/No er ror(e).

8. Firstly, you should (a)/ think over the mean ing (b)/ of the words (c)/ and then use them (d)/No er ror(e).

9. By all stan dards, (a)/ he is a best sol dier (b)/ our mil i taryschool (c)/ has pro duced so far (d)/No er ror(e).

10. My friends in sisted (a)/ that I should (b)/ see the movie(c)/ from be gin ning to the end (d)/No er ror(e).

(UDC) (BSRB)

Exercise 20

1. The car flew off the road (a)/ and fell into the val ley (b)/because Anish (c)/ was driv ing faster (d)/No er ror(e).

(SBI PO)

2. Watch how care ful (a)/ the spar row knits the (b)/ strawsinto one an other (c)/ to form a nest (d)/No er ror(e).

(Bank PO)

3. Of all the friends (a)/ I have (b)/ he is the most help ful(c)/ and less ar ro gant (d)/No er ror(e).

4. The au di ence (a)/ are re quested to be (b)/ in its (c)/ seats(d)/ No er ror(e). (SSC)

5. The rea son, we have not been able to pay in come tax (a)/is due to fact (b)/ that we did not (c)/ receive pay on time(d)/ No er ror(e). (SSC)

6. The Prime Min is ter has said that In dia would not havespent so much on de fence (a)/ if some of the neigh bour ing coun tries (b)/ adopted the pol icy of re strict ing (c)/defence ex pen di ture (d)/No er ror (e).

7. With lit tle pa tience, (a)/ you will (b)/ be able to (c)/ cross this hur dle (d)/No er ror (e).

8. My brother in laws (a)/ who live in Bom bay (b)/ havecome (c)/ to stay with us (d)/No er ror(e).

9. Sheila Chandra be gan her con cert by chant ing Om (a)/turning it fi nally into an ex pe ri ence (b)/ close with (c)/prayer (d)/No er ror (e). (NDA 1993)

10. I ad vised my son (a)/ to en gage two coo lies in stead of one(b)/ because the lug gage was too much (c)/ heavy for asin gle coo lie (d)/No er ror(e). (NDA)

Spotting the Errors 17

Exercise 21

1. As there was only one taxi avail able, (a)/ I had no otheral ter na tive but (b)/ to pay the fare (c)/ demanded by thedriver (d)/No er ror(e). (SSC )

2. Good night (a)/ I am glad (b)/ to see (c)/ you (d)/ Noer ror (e).

3. We all (a)/ take veg e ta ble (b)/ and (c)/ fruit (d)/Noer ror(e).

4. Ge om e try and Draw ing (a)/ are more eas ier (b)/ than(c)/ Geography and So cial Stud ies (d)/No er ror(e).

(NDA)

5. He is (a)/ too in tel li gent (b)/ to make (c)/ a mis take(d)/No er ror (e).

6. My ob ser va tion (a)/ is that (b)/ between Vivek and Shashi (c)/, Vivek is the most in tel li gent (d)/ No Er ror (e).

(Bank PO)

7. She saw that there was noth ing else (a)/ she could do (b)/ because the room was so clean as (c)/ it has never beenbe fore (d)/No er ror(e).

8. It is the duty of ev ery cit i zen (a)/ to do his ut most (b)/ tode fend the hardly won (c)/ freedom of the coun try(d)/No er ror(e).

9. Even though it was (a)/ raining heavy, (b)/ I went out(c)/ to get some med i cines (d)/No er ror(e). (Bank PO)

10. Inspite of work ing (a)/ very neat and care ful (b)/, hecould not win (c)/ even the third prize (d)/No er ror(e).

Exercise 22

1. On his at ti tude, (a)/ it seems that he wants (b)/ that thede ci sion mak ing power (c)/ should rest with him (d)/Noer ror(e). (Bank PO)

2. A large scale ex change of nu clear weap ons (a)/ willpro duce un prec e dented amounts of ra di a tion (b)/ thatcan pen e trate (c)/ into the en vi ron ment. (d)/No error(e).

(Assistant Grade)

3. I have ad vised my brother (a)/ to dis pose of (b)/ his oldcar and (c)/ buy new one (d)/No er ror (e).

4. My un cle fre quently (a)/ goes to abroad (b)/ on busi ness(c)/ by air (d)/No er ror(e). (NDA)

5. Our lax ity in duty (a)/ increases (b)/ with our (c)/aversion for work (d)/No er ror(e). (I Tax)

6. It is wrong (a)/ on your part to call into (b)/ question thein teg rity (c)/ of your youn ger brother (d)/No er ror(e).

7. Glob al iza tion is not likely (a)/ to usher (b)/ economicprog ress of (c)/ the coun try as we are ex pect ing (d)/Noer ror(e).

8. The sit u a tion is so tense (a)/ in the city that (b)/ even asmall in ci dent can spark (c)/ communal ri ots in the city(d)/No er ror(e).

9. The world (a)/ comprises of (b)/ good and (c)/ badpeo ple (d)/No er ror(e).

10. Two thirds (a)/ of the book (b)/ were (c)/ rubbish (d)/No er ror(e). (CDS 1993)

Exercise 23

1. He will cer tainly help (a)/ if you will ask him (b)/ in a (c)/ pleasant man ner (d)/No er ror(e). (CDS)

2. The war den (a)/ forbade the stu dent (b)/ from leav ing(c)/ the hos tel (d)/No er ror (e).

3. You must ei ther tell me (a)/ the whole story or (b) at least(c)/ the first half of it (d)/No er ror (e).

4. Twice (a)/ twelve, (b)/ makes (c)/ twenty four (d)/ Noer ror (e). (CDS)

5. It is nec es sary (a)/ that ev ery body (b)/ must have (c)/ ahouse (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS)

6. The school is (a)/ within hun dred yards (b)/ from the (c)/ church (d)/No er ror(e).

7. It is easy to see that (a)/ a law yer’s de meanor in court (b)/ may be prej u di cial against (c)/ the in ter ests of his cli ent(d)/No er ror(e). (CDS)

8. I am hear ing (a)/ a lot about (b)/ the prob lem (c)/ ofAIDS these (d)/No er ror(e).

9. You can get (a)/ all the informations (b), you want (c)/ inthis book (d)/No er ror(e). (CDS)

10. He per sisted (a)/ to do it (b)/ in spite of my (c) sinceread vice (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS)

Exercise 24

1. That house (a)/ costs me (b)/ ten (c)/lacs ru pees (d)/Noer ror(e). (CDS)

2. I won der, (a)/ how am I (b)/ to (c)/do it (d)/ No er ror(e). (CDS)

3. A re cent study has (a)/ indicated that there (b)/ isper cep ti ble change in (c)/ the at ti tudes of the peo ple(d)/No er ror (e).

4. If a man dil i gently seeks to come into con tact (a)/ with the best that has been thought (b)/ and said in this world, (c)/ he will be come sim ple and self ish (d)/No er ror(e).

5. I go to (a)/ the bed (b)/ at eight (c)/ every night (d)/Noer ror(e).

6. What will hap pen (a)/ suppose if we (b)/ don’t meet him(c)/ in the ban quet hall (d)/No er ror(e).

7. When asked (a)/ about his chil dren, (b)/ the vet eransports man said (c)/ that his youn gest son’s health was toogood (d)/No er ror (e).

8. Re gard less of (a)/ what peo ple (b)/ say, I must re peat that these are the facts con cern ing (c)/ the re quire ments forthe po si tion (d)/No er ror(e).

9. There is (a)/ no ob jec tion to us (b)/ joining the feast if heis will ing (c)/ to share the ex penses (d)/No er ror(e).

10. It is duty (a)/ to take off our shoes (b)/ before en ter ing the sanc tum sanctorum (c)/ of any tem ple or mosque (d)/Noer ror(e). (NDA)

18 Spotting the Errors

Exercise 25

1. Vishu was try ing to pass (a)/ through the gap on (b)/ thefence when he (c)/ tore his shirt (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Fool ishly, Madhu threw (a)/ some wa ter on the elec tricheater (b)/ when it catches fire (c)/ and she got a shock(d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

3. Rajesh was ex pect ing (a)/ a tele gram from his un cle (b)/which would in form (c)/ him whether he should go or not(d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

4. Nei ther of the plans (a)/ suits him, there fore, (b)/ hede cided not to (c)/ go out yes ter day (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. In spite of the ru mours (a)/ of an im pend ing take over (b)/ by gov ern ment, (c)/ Ram Lal bought more shares ofthat com pany (d)/ No er ror (e). (Bank PO)

6. Sim plest so lu tion (a)/ than this ex pen sive (b)/ method thatyou are sug gest ing (c)/ should be found out (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. The book was so (a)/ advanced that even (b)/ thegrad u ates in the dis ci pline (c)/ found it dif fi cult (d)/ Noer ror (e). (Bank PO)

8. The only good thing (a)/ about these pens (b)/ are their(c)/ colour.(d)/No er ror (e). (NDA)

9. She’s al ways (a)/ lamenting the lack (b) of sports fa cil i ties (c)/ in town(d)/ No er ror (e).

10. As we’ve not (a)/ got the proper ma te ri als, (b)/ we’ll havejust to(c)/improvise (d)/ No er ror (e). (NDA 2005-I)

Exercise 26

1. He could not plan his strat egy(a)/ until he knew(b)/whom(c)/his op po nents could be (d)/No er ror(e).

(Railways)

2. If I were (a)/ he, I would have taught (b)/ those cheats(c)/ a les son just now (d)/No er ror(e).

3. Last sum mer, (a)/ he went (b)/ to his un cle’s vil lage, (c)/and en joyed very much (d)/No er ror(e). (CDS)

4. As I kept a strict watch (a)/ with my way of liv ing, (b)/ Icould see that (c)/ it was nec es sary to econ o mize (d)/ Noer ror (e). (BSRB PO)

5. His fa ther has left him a for tune (a)/ but he is soex trav a gant (b)/ that he will spent (c)/ it all be fore he is30 (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. The fa ther told his son (a)/ that he was a lazy boy (b)/ and that he had done (c)/ his work very bad (d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB PO)

7. If I would have real ised (a)/ what a bad driver you were,(b)/ I would not have (c)/ come with you (d)/ No er ror(e). (BSRB PO)

8. He con fi dently asked the crowd (a)/ if they thought that(b)/ he was right (c)/ and the crowd shouted that they do(d)/ No er ror (e).

9. I saw the ac ci dent (a)/ but for tu nately, I did not have to(b)/ give ev i dence as there were (c)/ a large num ber ofother ev i dences (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Arun is not only em i nent (a)/ for his writ ings in Eng lish(b)/ but also for his (c)/ paintings on spir i tual themes(d)/ No er ror (e). (BSRB PO)

Exercise 27

1. I can hear (a)/ the bell ring ing (b)/ but no body seems tobe com ing (c)/ to open ing the door (d)/ No er ror (e).

(BSRB PO)

2. I have been teach ing in this school (a)/ since sev eral years(b)/ but have never met (c)/ such a hope less class as this(d)/ No er ror (e).

3. When he went out (a)/ he left the ra dio on (b)/ so that hispar ents shall think (c)/ that he was still in the house (d)/No er ror (e). (BSRB PO)

4. May I (a)/ know, who (b)/ you want (c)/ to see, please ?(d)/No er ror(e). (Hotel Management)

5. Be ing a des ti tute, (a)/ I ad mit ted him (b)/ to an old (c)/people’s home(d)/No er ror (e).

6. There is (a)/ no ques tion (b)/ of my fail ing (c)/ in theex am i na tion (d)/No er ror(e).

7. The sci en tist must fol low (a)/ his hunches and (b)/ hisdata (c)/ wherever it may lead (d)/No er ror(e)

(Asstt. Grade)

8. Due to me (a)/ being a new comer, (b)/ I was un able to get a house (c)/ suitable for my fam ily (d)/No er ror(e).

9. I sup pose (a)/ that you have heard (b)/ the lat est news(c)/ Jack has mar ried that girl (d)/No er ror(e).

10. Wher ever they go ,(a)/ Indians eas ily (b)/ adapt to (c)/the lo cal cir cum stances (d)/No er ror(e).

Exercise 28

1. There are a num ber of rea sons, (a)/ I do not like him, (b)/but his (c)/ selfishness is in tol er a ble (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2000)

2. I have read an in ter est ing book yes ter day (a)/ andun der lined the new words (b)/ which were sim ple (c)/but ef fec tive (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. He can not be trusted (a)/ with im por tant se cretinformations (b)/ otherwise I would have made him (c)/my as sis tant (d)/ No er ror (e) (CDS 2000)

4. Is there fur ther rea sons (a)/ you can give me for yourfail ure (b)/ as you (c)/ promised?(d)/ No er ror (e)

(CDS 2000)

5. Dur ing the fi nal min utes of his speech, (a)/ the speakerre quested to (b)/ the au di ence to have (c)/ patience (d)/No er ror (e).

6. He is run ning tem per a ture since last Fri day (a)/ anddoc tors sus pect (b)/ that he is (c)/ down with ty phoid(d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Travel agents around the world have to rely on com put ers(a)/ to book seats in air flights or rooms in ho tels, (b)/either now (c)/ or a year from now (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. She ex pressed her gratitudes (a)/ to all those (b)/ whohad sup ported (c)/ her in elec tion. (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2000)

Spotting the Errors 19

9. When the meet ing was over, (a)/ he was very tired (b)/so that he went (c)/ home im me di ately (d)/ Noer ror (e).

10. Mod ern man must pull him self off to gether (a)/ and acthis part in life (b)/ as God’s own most (c)/ favouritecrea ture (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2000)

Exercise 29

1. The teacher was happy (a)/ when he entere the class (b)/which com prised of (c) a hun dred stu dents (d)/ Noer ror (e).

2. In China, schol ars have dis cov ered in a lan guage (a)/ thatwomen in volved among them selves (b)/ with a script thatwas less (c)/ complex than the of fi cial (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2001)

3. In most of the States, (a)/ forty per cent of peo ple un der(b)/thirty (c)/is un der nour ished(d)/ No er ror (e).

4. Yet, firms and other con cerns are spend ing large sums ofmoney all time (a)/ and some how we take this for granted (b)/ and never stop to won der (c),where it co mes from(d)/No er ror (e).

5. Scarcely we had fin ished ob serv ing this, (a)/ when wewere sur prised by about a dozen of the old birds (b)/

jumping in the most, un safe (c)/ and funny man nerto wards the sea (d)/No er ror (e). (CDS 2001)

6. I asked (a)/ if she has looked ev ery where (b)/ and she(c)/ said, ‘yes’ (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2001)

7. Had I real ised (a)/ that it was such a long way, (b)/ Iwould take (c)/ a taxi (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. Thank you for your in vi ta tion for lunch (a)/ which I am (b)/very pleased (c)/ to ac cept (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2001)

9. As peo ple keep more an i mals as pets, (a)/ more and morean i mal re lated law suits (b)/ reaching (c)/ the courts (d)/No er ror (e).

10. The Brah mins, in the pe riod of their de cline, took stock ofthe sit u a tion (a)/ and real ised where the de fi cien cies ofthe an cient creed lied (b)/ and how they (c)/ should bemet (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 30

1. Don’t think you can say un pleas ant things (a)/ aboutsome one (b)/ behind his back and (c)/ not found out (d)/No er ror (e). (CDS 2001-II)

2. The Amer i cans speak (a)/ different from us (b)/ thoughour gram mar (c)/ is the same (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. This is an in stance (a)/ of blind (b)/ leading (c)/ the blind(d)/ No er ror (e).

4. He took to drink (a)/ to lessen (b)/ his men tal (c)/ tension (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2001-II)

5. My fa ther could lead (a)/ full and happy life (b)/ withoutspend ing (c)/ a lot of money (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2001-II)

6. All In dian Ra dio broad casted (a)/ a very good programme (b)/ this (c)/morning (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. There were so much cat tle (a)/ on the road that (b)/ itwas dif fi cult (c)/to drive safely (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2001-II)

8. What could have pro voked him to be have (a)/ in such aman ner (b)/ at din ner (c)/ last night ?(d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2001-II)

9. They were rich zamindars in the thir ties (a)/ but now they have fallen on the evil days (b)/ and have lost (c)/ muchof their prop erty (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. The for eign am bas sa dor was (a)/ noted for both hischarm ing man ners (b)/ as well as his wide (c)/knowledge of lan guage (d)/No er ror (e).

Exercise 31

1. Oil has and (a)/ still is (b)/ in great (c)/ demand (d)/ Noer ror (e). (CDS 2002)

2. He worked hard (a)/ so he might top the list (b)/ and win(c)/ a medal (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2002)

3. Thanks to the ef forts of the last bats man (a)/ in themo ment of cri sis (b)/ the de feat (c)/ was averted (d)/ Noer ror (e).

4. Dread of hy dro gen bomb pro motes fa nat i cism (a)/ andfa nat i cism, is more likely than any thing else, will lead to(b)/ actual use of (c)/ the hy dro gen bomb (d)/ Noerror (e). (CDS 2002)

5. Be cause of the high prices, (a)/ they first dis con tin uedjam on toasts (b)/ and then sub sti tuted mar ga rine (c)/ for but ter (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. The lit tle show was or gan ised (a)/ not only for him (b)/but for you (c)/ and I as well (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. They seem to en joy (a)/ being rung up (b)/ in all hours of(c)/ the day and night (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2002)

8. The right to make war, like the right to strike (a)/ but in afar high de gree (b)/ is very dan ger ous in a world gov erned (c)/ be sci en tific tech nique (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. I ad mit that some news pa pers in their bid (a)/ to sell more have jet ti soned the high stan dard (b)/ that the press inIn dia (c)/ has fol lowed since years (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2002)

10. As the crow put the frog aside in or der to sharpen its beak,(a)/ the frog leapt in the well (b)/ and be gan to croak (c)/in de ri sion (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 32

1. We had to can cel our trip to Delhi (a)/ be cause when wereached the rail way sta tion (b)/ the (c)/ train left (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Many a stu dent (a)/ has failed in the Math e mat ics (b)/but Dilip has scored (c)/100 per cent (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. The Gen eral with over 1000 of fi cers and sol diers (a)/ havesur ren dered to the In dian troops (b)/ who are pa trol ling(c)/ the val ley (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS (2002 II))

4. If he had wrote the ex am i na tion faster (a)/ and an sweredone more ques tion, (b)/ he would have (c)/ scored better(d)/ No er ror (e).

20 Spotting the Errors

5. For de cades, (a)/ there have been (b)/ a de bate onwhether schizo phre nia is a psy cho log i cal (c)/ condition(d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS (2002-II))

6. Mohan is the one (a)/ who al ways finds fault (b)/ withwhat ever (c)/ Ram does (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS (2002-II))

7. There is a need (a)/ to re vis ing gov ern ment pol i cies (b)/on con trol ling (c)/ unauthorised con struc tions (d)/ Noer ror (e).

8. We know where it be gins (a)/ but we don’t know (b)/ that (c)/ where it ends (d)/ No er ror (e).

[CDS (2002-II)]

9. The sim plest method (a)/ of weld ing two pieces of metalto gether (b)/ is known as (c)/ pressure weld ing (d)/ Noer ror (e). [CDS (2002-II)]

10. One of the im por tant ben e fits (a)/ of ma chine age (b)/ isthat our stan dard of liv ing (c)/ has im proved (d)/ Noer ror (e).

Exercise 33

1. This is the sec ond com mu ni ca tion we have sent (a)/ andwe are much sur prised (b)/ at hav ing re ceived (c)/ noan swer (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Sev eral guests no ticed Mr. Sharma (a)/ falling back in hischair (b)/ and gasp ing (c)/ for breath (d)/ No er ror (e).

[CDS (2003-I)]

3. Long life is good (a)/ if one be happy (b)/ and has (c)friends (d)/ No er ror (e) [CDS (2003-I)]

4. His as sis tants have and are still do ing (a)/ excellent work(b)/ for the (c)/ organisation (d)/ No er ror (e).

[CDS (2003-I)]

5. None of the dip lo mats at (a) the con fer ence (b)/ was ableei ther (c)/ to com pre hend or to solve the prob lem (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. Rather than go (a)/ with Amit, he (b)/ decided to (c)/stay at home (d) / No er ror (e)

7. He al ways prac tices (a)/ the jus tice and (b)/ cares for (c)/moral prin ci ples(d)/No er ror (e).

8. The whole block of flats (a)/ including two shops were(b)/ destroyed (c)/ in fire (d)/ No er ror (e).

[CDS (2003- I)]

9. He feels his trou bles (a)/ as much as or (b)/ even more(c)/ than they (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Such rules (a)/ do not ap ply to (b)/ you (c)/ and I (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 34

1. Teacher re peat edly warned the stu dents (a)/ not make anoise (b)/ but the stu dents (c)/ did not obey (d)/ No er ror (e).

[CDS (2003- II)]

2. My left leg has just been op er ated by (a)/ a sur geon (b)/in (c)/ Lohia hos pi tal (d)/ No er ror (e)

3. Teach ing in this school would cer tainly im prove (a)/ if ithad less boys (b)/ in all the (c)/ higher classes (d)/ Noer ror (e). [CDS (2003- II)]

4. In some ways, the Diwali fes ti val cor re sponds withChrist mas (a)/ which is cel e brated (b)/ with en thu si asmby the Chris tians (c)/ all over the world (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The ex pert ma son re ported to the con trac tor (a)/ thatthere was no ques tion (b)/ of the (c)/ wall’s fall ing down(d)/ No er ror (e). [CDS (2003- II)]

6. He went on com mit ting crime af ter crime (a)/ but in spiteof my best ef forts (b)/ I could not pre vent (c)/ him to doso (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. The pop u la tion of Kolkata (a)/ is greater than Delhi (b)/although Delhi (c)/ is the cap i tal of In dia (d)/ No er ror.

[CDS (2003- II)]

8. Though he de nied his in volve ment in the case (a)/, thefacts made it clear (b)/ that he had hand in the (c)/ cruelmur der of his friends (d)/ No er ror (e). [CDS (2003- II)]

9. The po lice (a)/ has ar rested (b)/ four smug glers (c)/ inMumbai and Delhi (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Scarcely we had left the ho tel (a)/ when the (b)/thunderstorm burst (c)/ over our heads (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 35

1. Her clothes (a)/ were spat tered (b)/ by (c)/ mud (d)/ Noer ror (e). (CDS (2004- I))

2. He was be side(a)/ him self with rage (b)/ when he saw(c)/ the mess (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. We have bene fited from (a)/ the dis cov er ies be queathedat us (b)/ by the sci en tists of (c)/ the last cen tury (d)/ Noer ror (e). [CDS (2004- I)]

4. Al though she did n’t men tion me by name, (a)/ I know herre marks (b)/ were in tended (c)/ for my ben e fit (d)/ Noer ror (e).

5. He was n’t (a)/ just unconsiderate, (b)/ he was (c)/downright rude (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. She’s a bit (a)/ of a doubt ing Thomas (b)/ she won’tbe lieve you’re back (c)/ till she sees you (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS (2004- I))

7. There were gasps of hor ror from (a)/ the spec ta tors as he(b)/ fell from (c)/ the tight rope (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS (2004- I))

8. This drug should (a)/ be taken only (b)/ with thesu per vi sion (c)/ of a doc tor (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Dif fer ent words with the (a)/ same spell ing aredis tin guished (b)/ in this dic tio nary by (c)/ a su per scriptnum ber (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. I won’t go into all the de press ing de tails (a)/ let it suf fice it to say that the (b)/ whole af fair was (c)/ an ut ter di sas ter(d)/ No er ror (e).

Spotting the Errors 21

Exercise 36

1. De spite of a good mon soon this year (a)/ the pro duc tionof foodgrains in the coun try (b)/ did not (c)/ go up (d)/No er ror (e).

2. The last of the Mughal Em per ors of In dia was firstim pris oned and (b)/ was later sent into (c)/ exile by theBrit ish (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. Hardly as I stepped out of my house (a)/ when I saw somepo lice men (b)/ coming to wards (c)/ my house (d)/ Noer ror (e). (CDS (2004- II))

4. To day, the cost of liv ing (a)/ is such higher that manypeo ple (b)/ find it dif fi cult to keep (c)/ their hearthsburn ing (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS (2004- II))

5. Rina was try ing for ad mis sion in the En gi neer ing Col lege(a)/ even though her par ents (b)/ wanted her to (c)/ takeup med i cine (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS (2004- II))

6. Yavanika is one of the lat est (a)/ additions to good drama(b)/ which ap peared (c)/ in re cent times (d)/ Noer ror (e).

7. Chil dren vis it ing the park (a)/ are amused by the mon keys (b)/ play in (c)/ the cages (d)/ No er ror (d).

(CDS (2004- II))

8. I am better ac quainted (a)/ with the coun try (b)/ than (c)you (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Be ing oc cu pied with im por tant mat ters (a)/ he had nolei sure (b)/ to see (c)/ us (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS (2004- II)

10. He was not pro moted to the (a)/ rank of a Col o nel (b)/ till be fore a few months of (c)/ his res ig na tion (d)/ No er ror(e).

Exercise 37

1. No stu dent is (a)/ as in tel li gent (b)/ as (c)/ my son (d)/No er ror (e). (CDS (2005- I)

2. The most im por tant fea ture (a)/ of our prod ucts are that(b)/ they are (c)/ developed in-house (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. When he was tired (a)/ he took rest un der (b)/ the shade(c)/ of a tree (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS (2005- I)

4. The prin ci pal along (a)/ with the stu dents (b)/ have gone(c)/ to Shimla. (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. When you have gone (a)/ through my book (b)/ give (c)/the same to me (d)/ No er ror (d). (CDS 2005- I)

6. He said a num ber of lies (a)/ and then went with out (b)/saying me (c)/ good bye (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. Not only we saw (a)/ the Ed u ca tion Min is ter but (b)/ alsothe (c)/ Chief Min is ter (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2005- I)

8. I came di rectly (a)/ to my res i dence (b)/ from the (c)/airport (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2005- I]

9. I signed on the re ceipt (a)/ in the morn ing but the pay (b)/has not been (c)/ disbursed to me so far (d)/ No er ror (d).

10. This is the same story (a)/ which I heard (b)/ from him(c)/ yesterday (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2005- I)

Exercise 38

1. There would be fewer fol lies (a)/ and hap pi ness and goodfeel ing all around (b)/ if we ap plied the sci en tific at ti tude(c)/ for all our af fairs (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2000)

2. Meera told to the teacher (a)/ that she could n’t come forthe re hears als (b)/ the (c)/ next day (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. I am told that Anjali has been (a)/ suffering from fe ver(b)/ since (c)/ ten days (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. The armed forces have been work ing around the clock(a)/ to bring a sem blance of nor mal ity (b)/ in the (c)/flood-affected was (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2000)

5. Just when Al fred No bel’s dis cov er ies were be gin ning toget him re wards (a)/ which were to make him one of therich est man of his days (b)/ an anti-No ble cam paign (c)/was started in France (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2000)

6. There is no def i nite rule (a)/ regarding the length of apre cis (b)/ with re la tion to (c)/ that of the orig i nalpas sage (d)/ No er ror (e).

7. You had better hurry up (a)/ if want to (b)/ get home (c)/before dark (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. When I shall get back (a)/ I shall pay off the money (b)/that I bor rowed (c)/ from you last month (d)/ Noer ror (e).

9. A mu sic and dance show have been or gan ised (a)/ to raise funds for the or phan age (b)/ on the first Sat ur day (c)/ ofnext month (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2001)

10. Both the boys (a)/ came late in the hall (b)/ and sat (c)/besides me (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 39

1. Ed u ca tion helps us un der stand and tol er ate dif fer ences(a)/ and so holds out the prom ise (b)/ that we can live(c)/ together har mo ni ously (d)/ No error (e).

(CDS 2001-II)

2. He re fused to dis close to his friends (a)/ whether he willleave for Eng land (b)/ immediately af ter fin ish ing (c)/ his stud ies (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. De spite of her pro tests, (a)/ I de cided to buy (b)/ thesaree (c)/ which she did not like (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2001-II)

4. The gov ern ment warned the shop- keep ers (a)/ that ifthey per sist in charg ing un fair prices (b)/ their licen ces(c)/ would be cancelled (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. The fa mous poet and the scholar (a)/ Dr Suman has beenail ing for (b)/ the last (c)/ one month (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. All the an i mals (a)/ including the ze bras and the stags inthe zoo (b)/ are sent to more colder (c)/ places in thesum mer (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2002)

7. All the pa tients (a)/ have been ad mit ted (b)/ and re ceived (c)/ careful at ten tion (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. I can not un der stand (a)/ why does he not do the work(b)/ as (c)/ instructed (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2002)

9. There are sev eral dif fer ent at ti tudes (a)/ that may beadopted (b)/ for the spec ta cle of (c)/ intolerable suf fer ing (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Both of them (a)/ help one an other (b)/ in the time of (c)/ need (d)/ No er ror (e).

22 Spotting the Errors

Exercise 40

1. There is sense of ur gency (a)/ in lo cat ing al ter na tivesource of wa ter (b)/ to aug ment the (c)/ dwindling sup ply (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. Al though there is vir tu ally no pro duc tion in In dia, (a)/ the ‘En cy clo pe dia Bri tan nica’ es ti mate (b)/ that In dia hasper haps the larg est ac cu mu lated (c)/ stock of sil ver in theworld (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS (2002- II))

3. Nei ther the se vere earth quake (a)/ or the sub se quentfam ine (b)/ could de mor al ise the (c)/ people of thecoun try (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. As soon as I shall reach New Delhi (a)/ I shall send you the file (b)/ you have (c)/ asked for (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS (2002- II)

5. All the furnitures have been (a)/ replaced by the owner ofthe house (b)/ before (c)/ shifting (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. It is a (a)/ quarter to ten (b)/ by my (c)/ watch (d)/ Noer ror (e). (CDS 2003- I)

7. I like read ing (a)/ more (b)/ than (c)/ to play games (d)/No er ror (e).

8. The sum and sub stance (a)/ of this poem (b)/ is (c)/ asfol lows (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2003- I)

9. The team was (a)/ now in the field and (b)/ about to take(c)/ their place (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Per haps you know (a)/ that I have passed (b)/ the (c)/examination in 1990 (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2003- I)

Exercise 41

1. Af ter a stay of sev eral years abroad, (a)/ he has re turnedback (b)/ to (c)/ Delhi (d)/ No er ror (e).

2. How can we break upon (a)/ the bar ri ers of fear andhos til ity (b)/ which di vide the (c)/ two com mu ni ties?(d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2003- II)

3. Road ac ci dents are so com mon now-a-days (a)/ that many peo ple (b)/ lose their (c)/ lives ev ery day (d)/ No er ror(e).

4. The cricket match had called up (a)/ at the last mo ment as the pitch had been dug up (b)/ and oil had been (c)poured on it (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. It is in cum bent (a)/ with all the stu dents (b)/ to abide by(c)/ the col lege rules (d)/ No er ror (e).

6. I would not sul len (a)/ my hands (b)/ by ac cept ing a (c)/bribe (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2004- I)

7. He gave her (a)/ a sug gest ible glance (b)/ and she (c)/blushed (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS (2004- I)

8. He un leashed (a)/ a tor ren tial of abuse (b)/ against the(c)/ unfortunate shop as sis tant (d)/ No er ror (e).

9. There is (a)/ unlikely (b)/ to (c)/ be rain (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. The ho tel room (a)/ was bare (b)/ and (c)/ uninviting(d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2004- I)

Exercise 42

1. The man who is per pet u ally (a)/ hesitating which of thetwo things (b)/ he will do first, (c)/ will ul ti mately doei ther (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2004- II)

2. No hill sta tion is as (a)/ beautiful as Darjeeling (b)/ with(c)/ its sce nic beau ties (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2004- II)

3. Be ing a well known Phys i cist, (a)/ he was in vited to de liver(b)/ a lec ture on (c)/ laser tech nol ogy (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. The chief idea of ev ery com mon type (a)/ of trav el ler is tosee as (b)/ many ob jects of in ter est as he (c)/ possiblycould (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. He was hard down (a)/ for money and was (b)/ being (c)/ harassed by his cred i tor (d)/ No er ror (e).

(CDS 2004- II)

6. She’s got (a)/ a down at me (b)/ I don’t (c)/ know why?(d)/ No er ror (e).

7. What to speak of (a)/ food when even wa ter (b)/ was not(c)/ available (d)/ No er ror (e). (CDS 2005- I)

8. It was dif fi cult to get out (a)/ because the street was full of peo ple (b)/ from one end (c)/ to the an other (d)/ Noer ror (e).

9. It has been our cus tom (a)/ from time im me mo rial to be(b)/ hospitable to those (c)/ who come to our doors (d)/No er ror (e). (CDS 2005- I)

10. She does not hardly (a)/ know what (b)/ happened (c)/yesterday (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 43

1. I be gan to sus pect trou ble(a)/ as soon as one of theboys(b)/ threw stone at (c)/ the po lice man (d)/ Noer ror(e). (NDA 2001-I)

2. It is all the more better(a)/ for you to take theex am i na tion(b)/ than to with draw (c)/ your form(d)/ Noer ror(e).

3. When a group of teen ag ers vis ited the en ter tain mentcen tre, (a)/ little did they know(b)/ that their out ing will(c) lead them to a hos pi tal(d)/ No er ror(e).

(NDA 2001-I)

4. If you had not been so se cre tive (a)/ you had told me allthe facts ear lier(b)/ I could have (c)/ helped you (d)/ Noer ror (e).

5. Al though there are some sim i lar i ties(a)/ in thequal i fi ca tions of both the can di dates, (b)/ the dif fer ences

among them (c)/ are con sid er ably pro nounced (d)/ Noer ror (e). (NDA 2001-I)

6. The king did not mind(a)/ for putt ing the old peo ple todeath(b)/ because he was (c)/ young him self (d)/ Noer ror(e) (NDA 2001-I)

7. In my opin ion, (a)/ a pen cil is al ways (b)/ morepref er a ble (c)/ to a pen (d)/ No er ror (e).

8. It is harm ful to sit close(a)/ to the tele vi sion set (b)/ as it(c)/ affects on the eyes(d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2001-II)

9. She soon lost her heart(a)/ to her class mate(b)/ andde cided to (c)/ be his life part ner (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. One of our sub scriber (a)/ reads four or five de tec tivesto ries ev ery week(b)/ besides oth ers which he gets from(c)/ another li brary (d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2001-II)

Spotting the Errors 23

Exercise 44

1. The el derly man ager of the bank(a)/ together with hisstaff(b)/ have (c)/ resigned(d)/ No er ror(e).

(NDA 2001-II)

2. He served in this fac tory(a)/ since it started(b)/ after a(c)/ long clo sure in 1960 (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. The hall was al ready packed (a)/ and there was less roomfor the group of re port ers (b)/ who came to cover the (c)/event (d)/ No er ror(e).

4. We went to the zoo (a)/ and had spent an en joy able day(b)/ looking at the var i ous (c)/ creatures there (d)/ Noer ror (e). (NDA 2002-I)

5. It is noth ing else than(a)/ his stu pid ity which stands(b)/in the (c)/ way of his prog ress(d)/ No er ror(e).

(NDA 2002-I)

6. Now that my chil dren are grown up and gone out into theworld, (a)/ I would like to spend my old age (b)/ in the(c)/ village where I was born(d)/ No er ror (e).

7. When he per sisted in mak ing the same mis take(a)/despite con stant re mind ers (b)/, I ex plained him wherehe (c)/ had gone wrong(d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2002-I)

8. The teacher asked me (a)/ if I had done myhome work(b)/ and I re plied in (c)/ the neg a tive (d)/ Noer ror (e). (NDA 2002-I)

9. Ev ery group of birds(a)/ that fly to the breed ingground(b)/ will have an equal num ber (c)/ of males andfe males (d)/ No er ror (e).

10. Be ware of(a)/ a fair- weather friend(b)/ who is nei ther afriend in need (c)/ nor a friend in deed(d)/ No er ror (e).

(NDA 2002-II)

Exercise 45

1. Co per ni cus proved(a)/ that Earth(b)/ moves round (c)/the Sun (d)/ No er ror (e). (NDA 2002 II)

2. Sel dom we have been treated(a)/ in such a rudeman ner(b)/ by the po lice (c)/ personnel(d)/ No er ror(e).

(NDA 2002 II)

3. Some men are born great (a)/ some achieve great ness(b)/ and some had great ness (c)/ thrust on them (d)/ Noer ror(e).

4. The prop erty (a)/ was di vided (b)/ among the two (c)/brothers (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. I am quite cer tain (a)/ that the lady is not only greedy(b)/but (c)/ miserly (d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2002 II)

6. The air craft was over loaded (a)/, there was some thingwrong of the bat tery(b)/ but the en gine was mak ing a (c)/ queer noise (d)/ No er ror (e). (NDA 2003 I)

7. A thor ough in quiry of the mis ap pro pri a tion of funds (a)/is now im per a tive (b)/ to bring the (c)/ guilty to book (d)/ No er ror(e).

8. His bril liant suc cess in the ex am i na tion (a)/ as well as his(b)/ record in sports (c)/ deserves high praise (d)/ Noer ror(e). (NDA 2003 I)

9. While trav el ling by a train(a)/ on a cold win ter night, (b)/ an ar gu ment rose be tween two pas sen gers in our (c)/compartment (d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2003 I)

10. I can not find (a)/ where has he gone(b)/ though I have(c)/ tried my best (d)/ No er ror (e).

Exercise 46

1. The se vere bout of flu(a)/ debilitated Amit so much(b)/that he was too tired (c)/ to go for work for a week(d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2003 II)

2. This is the crux of the en tire prob lem (a)/ everythingcen tres on (b)/ it be ing (c)/ resolved (d)/ No er ror (e).

3. One of the ma jor aims of the Air Force(a)/ was com pletede mo li tion of all means of trans por ta tion(b)/ by thebomb ing of rail lines (c)/ and ter mi nals (d)/ No er ror (e).

(NDA 2003 II)

4. His strong voice cut over (a)/ the hum of con ver sa tion(b)/ like a knife (c)/ through but ter (d)/ No er ror (e).

5. Even though they were n’t ex pect ing us(a)/ they man agedto knock-up(b)/ a mar vel lous (c)/ meal(d)/ No er ror (e).

(NDA 2003 II)

6. The cel e brated singer was(a)/ surrounded by the usual(b)/ crowd (c)/ of lack eys and hanger-ons(d)/ Noer ror (e).

7. If it were n’t(a)/ for you(b)/ I would n’t be (c)/ alive to day(d)/ No er ror (e). (NDA 2004 I)

8. He looked like a lion(a)/ balked from(b)/ its (c)/prey(d)/ No er ror (e).

9. Wide spread flood ing (a)/ is ef fect ing (b)/ a large area of (c)/ the vil lage (d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2004 I)

10. She re gards(a)/ negotiating prices with cus tom ers(b)/ asher (c)/ special pre serve (d)/ No er ror (e). (NDA 2004 I)

Exercise 47

1. Of ten, in po lit i cal cam paigns, a point is reached at which (a)/the can di dates take out their gloves(b)/ and start slug ging(c)/ with bare fists (d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2004 I)

2. If I was (a)/ the Prime Min is ter of In dia (b)/ I would have(c)/ worked won ders (d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2003 I)

3. I pre tended as if(a)/ interested in the con ver sa tion(b)/but re ally (c)/ it was very bor ing (d)/ No er ror (e).

4. I don’t usu ally like stay ing at ho tels(a)/ but last sum merwe spent a few days (b)/ at a very nice (c)/ hotel by sea(d)/ No er ror (e).

5. I will try to be on time(a)/ but do not worry (b)/ when I(c)/ am late(d)/ No er ror (e). (NDA 2004 II)

6. The teacher re marked that(a)/ they all had(b)/ done it(c)/ very badly(d)/ No er ror(e) (NDA 2004 II)

7. The train is sup posed (a)/ to ar rive at 10 amyes ter day(b)/ but it was (c)/ an hour late (d)/ Noer ror (e).

8. Ritu will be sur prised(a)/ as she hears(b)/ the (c)/news(d)/ No er ror(e). (NDA 2004 II)

24 Spotting the Errors