Error Spotting — SSC CGL Study Notes

Overview

Error Spotting is a high-scoring section in SSC CGL English Comprehension that tests your grasp of grammatical rules without requiring you to write anything. Each question presents a sentence divided into 4–5 parts (usually A, B, C, D, and sometimes E for "No error"), and you must identify which part contains a grammatical mistake. The beauty of this section is its predictability—the same 15–20 error types repeat across years. If you master the common error patterns, you can quickly scan sentences and spot mistakes within 20–30 seconds per question.

SSC CGL typically includes 2–3 error spotting questions in Tier 1. These questions test subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, preposition usage, article errors, and other fundamental grammar rules. Unlike sentence improvement where you choose corrections, here you only identify the faulty part. This makes preparation straightforward: learn the error categories, practice recognition, and build speed. Students who systematically study error types often achieve 100% accuracy in this section, making it a crucial score-booster in a competitive exam where every mark counts.

Key Concepts

• **Subject-Verb Agreement**: The verb must match the subject in number (singular/plural) and person (first/second/third). Intervening phrases between subject and verb often create confusion, but the verb always agrees with the main subject, not nearby nouns.

• **Tense Consistency**: Related clauses in a sentence must maintain logical tense sequence. Mixing past and present inappropriately or using incorrect tense forms are common traps.

• **Preposition Errors**: English prepositions follow idiomatic usage, not logical rules. Phrases like "differ from" (not "differ with"), "consists of" (not "consists with"), and "arrive at" (not "arrive in" for small places) must be memorized.

• **Article Usage**: Choosing between a/an/the or using no article depends on whether the noun is countable, specific, or general. Omitting required articles or adding unnecessary ones are frequent errors.

• **Pronoun Reference**: Pronouns must clearly refer to a specific antecedent and match it in number, gender, and person. Ambiguous reference or pronoun-antecedent disagreement signals an error.

• **Modifier Placement**: Adjectives, adverbs, and phrases must appear near the words they modify. Misplaced or dangling modifiers create illogical or confusing meanings.

• **Redundancy and Wordiness**: Using two words that mean the same thing (like "return back") or unnecessary repetition indicates poor construction, though this is less common in SSC CGL error spotting.

• **Comparative and Superlative Forms**: "More better" is wrong (double comparative); "most best" is wrong (double superlative). Use either "more/most" or "-er/-est" endings, never both.

Formulas / Key Facts

1. **Subject-Verb Agreement**: Singular subject takes singular verb; plural subject takes plural verb. "Each," "every," "either," "neither" are singular.

2. **Since vs For**: "Since" with point in time (since 2020); "For" with duration (for 5 years).

3. **One of the + plural noun + singular verb**: "One of the boys *is* here" (not "are").

4. **Neither...nor / Either...or**: Verb agrees with the nearest subject. "Neither John nor his friends *are* coming."

5. **Collective Nouns**: Team, family, committee take singular verbs in British English when acting as a unit; can be plural in American usage when emphasizing individuals.

6. **Confused Prepositions**: Angry *with* person, angry *at* thing; good *at* (skill), good *in* (subject); die *of* disease, die *from* injury.

7. **Common Infinitive Errors**: "Make/let/bid + object + bare infinitive" (without 'to'). "He made me *go*" not "to go."

8. **Double Negatives**: Two negatives make a positive in standard English. "I don't know nothing" is incorrect; use "I don't know anything."

9. **Pronoun Cases**: Subjective (I, he, she, they) for subjects; objective (me, him, her, them) for objects. "Between you and *me*" not "I."

10. **Adjective Order**: Opinion-size-age-shape-color-origin-material-purpose + noun. Violations sound awkward.

Worked Examples

**Example 1**: Identify the error. *(A) The number of students* *(B) in the class* *(C) are* *(D) increasing every year.* *(E) No error*

**Solution**:

• Step 1: Identify the subject. "The number" is the subject (singular), not "students."
• Step 2: Check verb agreement. "Are" is plural but subject is singular.
• Step 3: Correct form should be "is increasing."
• **Answer: (C)** — should be "is" not "are."

**Example 2**: Identify the error. *(A) She has been living* *(B) in Delhi* *(C) since five years* *(D) with her family.* *(E) No error*

**Solution**:

• Step 1: Check time expressions. "Since" is used with a point in time.
• Step 2: "Five years" is a duration, requiring "for" not "since."
• Step 3: Correct phrase: "for five years."
• **Answer: (C)** — should be "for" not "since."

**Example 3**: Identify the error. *(A) Neither the teacher* *(B) nor the students* *(C) was* *(D) present in the class.* *(E) No error*

**Solution**:

• Step 1: Check neither...nor rule. Verb agrees with nearest subject.
• Step 2: Nearest subject is "students" (plural).
• Step 3: "Was" is singular; should be "were."
• **Answer: (C)** — should be "were" not "was."

Common Mistakes

1. **Ignoring the main subject due to intervening phrases**: Students see "The bouquet of flowers are" and think plural "flowers" needs "are," but the subject is "bouquet" (singular), requiring "is." *Fix: Always identify the core subject by stripping away prepositional phrases.*

2. **Confusing "since" and "for" with time expressions**: Writing "since three hours" instead of "for three hours" or "for 2015" instead of "since 2015." *Fix: Remember — since = point in time, for = duration.*

3. **Missing pronoun-antecedent errors**: Failing to notice "Each student must bring their books" where "each" is singular but "their" is plural. *Fix: Check that pronouns match their antecedents in number.*

4. **Overlooking double comparatives/superlatives**: Accepting "more better" or "most fastest" as correct. *Fix: Use either the "-er/-est" form OR "more/most," never both together.*

5. **Marking "No error" too quickly**: Assuming no error exists without systematically checking subject-verb, tense, preposition, and article in each part. *Fix: Develop a mental checklist and scan every part before selecting (E).*

Quick Reference

• Subject-verb agreement: singular subject = singular verb, regardless of intervening phrases.
• Since (point in time) vs For (duration) — drill this distinction repeatedly.
• Neither/nor, either/or: verb agrees with the nearest subject.
• One of the + plural noun = singular verb ("One of the boys **is**").
• Common preposition pairs: differ **from**, consists **of**, good **at**, angry **with** (person).
• No double comparatives: "better" or "more good," never "more better."
• Check every part systematically before choosing "No error."