Error Spotting
About 6 min · English Language · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 381 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
The format is straightforward: a sentence is divided into parts (usually 3–4), and you must identify which part contains a grammatical error. Sometimes, "No Error" is also an option.
Key ideas
- Subject-Verb Agreement: The verb must match the subject in number. Intervening phrases between subject and verb often create confusion. ("The list of items is ready" — not are.)
- Tense Consistency: A sentence should maintain the same tense unless there's a logical reason to shift. Watch for sudden jumps from past to present.
- Correct Preposition Usage: Many verbs and adjectives take specific prepositions. ("Depend *on*", "consist *of*", "different *from*" — not interchangeable.)
- Article Errors (A/An/The): Use "a" before consonant sounds, "an" before vowel sounds. "The" for specific or previously mentioned nouns. Omit articles with uncountable abstract nouns used generally.
- Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Pronouns must match their antecedents in number and gender. ("Each student must bring his or her book" — not their in formal grammar.)
Quick reference
- Subject-verb agreement: Find the true subject, ignore phrases between subject and verb.
- "Along with / as well as / together with" = subject stays singular.
- "Prefer A to B", never "than B".
- "An" before vowel sounds, not just vowel letters.
- "Either...or / Neither...nor" → verb matches the nearer subject.
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. If there is no error, choose option D. Neither the manager nor his assistants (A) / was present at the office (B) / during the inspection yesterday. (C) / No error (D)
2. Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. If there is no error, choose option D. The number of students appearing (A) / for the examination have increased (B) / significantly this year. (C) / No error (D)
3. Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. If there is no error, choose option D. He is working in this company (A) / for the last five years (B) / and is well respected by everyone. (C) / No error (D)
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 18 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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