Error Spotting — IBPS PO Prelims Study Notes

Overview

Error Spotting is a consistent 5–10 mark section in IBPS PO Prelims that tests your command of English grammar rules. The format is straightforward: a sentence is divided into parts (typically labelled A, B, C, D), and you must identify which part contains a grammatical error. One option is always "No Error."

This topic rewards students who have internalized grammar rules rather than those who rely on "what sounds right." Native intuition often fails here because errors are designed to sound acceptable but violate formal grammar. The good news: the error types are predictable. IBPS recycles the same 12–15 grammar concepts repeatedly. Master these rules, and you can score 80–100% accuracy in under 30 seconds per question.

Error Spotting bridges vocabulary and grammar skills. Strong performance here also improves your Sentence Improvement and Cloze Test scores since they test overlapping concepts.

Key Concepts

• **Subject-Verb Agreement**: Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. Watch for tricky subjects like "each," "everyone," "neither," and collective nouns.

• **Tense Consistency**: A sentence should maintain the same tense throughout unless there's a logical reason to shift. Past actions need past verbs; present habits need present verbs.

• **Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement**: Pronouns must match their antecedents in number and gender. "Everyone" is singular, so it takes "his/her," not "their" (in formal grammar).