ERROR FINDING IN A SENTENCE

QUERY 1 1.With a view to help the third world countries (a)/the IMF and the world bank

keep sending (b)/ their exports to different regions of the world ©/NE

2. The Eminent speaker's Speech (a)/ was broadcasted over (b)/ all the major radio

stations ©/NE

3. Speak loudly/I cannot/Hardly Listen./NE

4. When the police accused him with theft/Nobody believed it/as he was well known

for his honesty/NE

5. The boy laid in the shelter/ for a long time before/ somebody came to rescue him.

RONNIE BANSAL

It's an idiom 'with a view TO DOING something'; so TO HELP (first form of the

verb) will be wrong here; and will be replaced by the gerund (verb+ing). Therefore

HELP will be replaced by HELPING. Note this another example---------He is

decorating the house with a view to selling it.

We need IIIrd form of the verb 'broadcast' which is 'broadcast' itself; and not

'broadcasted'. Ist---broadcast, IInd---broadcast & IIIrd---broadcast

Replace 'cannot' with 'can'. The adverb HARDLY, in one of its uses, is used after

'can' or 'could' and before the main verb to emphasize that it is difficult to do

something. COULD is not possible as the present tense is needed here.

Replace 'WITH' by 'OF' as the correct phrase is 'accuse somebody of something'.

The correct sentence is: The boy lay in the shelter for a long time before somebody

came to rescue him.

The verb in the sentence is 'lie' and not 'lay'. Therefore past tense of LIE i.e. LAY is

correct. LIE=to be or put yourself in a flat or horizontal position so that you are not

standing or sitting.

NOTE: For more on this topic plz see the sub-forum RULES OF GRAMMAR

QUERY 2 Over half of the domestic flights was/delayed because/of bad weather condition./No

Error

You should know/that the final decision in the matter/rests upon the board of

directors/NE

Manslaughter is/where a person/is killed/unlawfully/NE

Any novelist/would be thrilled to have/his novels compared with Dickens/NE

She told him respectfully that/that was the only way/to be happy and rich/NE

RONNIE BANSAL

The SUBJECT in this sentence is OVER HALF OF THE DOMESTIC FLIGHTS.

And the main word of this is not HALF; it's FLIGHTS rather. As the word

FLIGHTS is plural; plural verb will be used, which is WERE DELAYED rather

than WAS DELAYED.

Remember the verb must agree with it's subject in number and person.

Now look at this example:

The quality of the mangoes was not good. In this sentence the subject is THE

QUALITY OF THE MANGOES. Here it's main word is QUALITY rather than

MANGOES. Hence singular verb WAS.

No error

Replace 'WHERE' with 'WHEN'. The noun 'manslaughter (the name of a crime)' is

not the name of a place. So the word 'where' can't be used. The word 'IS' will remain

intact as 'Manslaughter is' should be used as a clause here.

Part C should be 'his novels been compared with those of Dickens'. The comparison

is between two person's novels; not the persons themselves. DICKENS is the name

of a person here.

Replace 'BE' with 'BECOME'. The word 'be' is used for a state whereas the word

'become' is a deliberate action, which is needed here.

QUERY 3 I remember my mother/smiling and holding my hand/and leading me to the

church./NE

The vaccine/which hit the Indian market recently/is dragged with controversy/NE

3 .The future of good companies/seems quite secure/owing to ever-growing

demand./NE

The teacher asked/why were we/so confused/NE

The doctors advised Mr Murgun that,/ because of his severe cramps/he should lay

in the bed for a few days./NE

RONNIE BANSAL

Remove 'THE' before church, as the church is being visited for primary purpose.

When the places BED, CHURCH, COURT, HOSPITAL, PRISON,

SCHOOL/COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY are visited or used for secondary purpose

only then the article 'THE' is used with them.

In part 'c' replace WITH by IN. The phrasal verb is DRAG IN; and not DRAG

WITH. DRAG IN=MENTION/POINT OUT. So DRAGGED IN is the right

option.

Replace 'good' with 'goods'. Goods=things that are produced to be sold. The ever-

growing demand is of GOODS which is quite understandable.

'B' part will be 'why we were'. This sentence is in INDIRECT SPEECH. In indirect

speech question form of a sentence cant be used. We all know if the subject of the

verb or helping verb appears before the subject it's a question.

Replace 'lay' by 'lie'. LAY is a transitive verb while LIE is intransitive. In the

sentence the OBJECT is not there, so intransitive form should be used.

QUERY 4 The sceneries/of Kashmir/is very charming/No Error.

I sat down opposite him/and produced/the packet of cigarettes./NE

This happened/just exactly/ five years ago./NE

Ramesh smiled when he was remembering/his hard/early years/and his long road

to success./NE

Good Heavens !/How has she/grown!/NE

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace 'The sceneries' by 'the scenery' (The noun SCENERY is uncountable); so

it's form wont change.

No error. The word PRODUCED is right here. PRODUCE sth (from/out of sth) in

one of it's meanings= to make something appear from somewhere. EXAMPLEHe

produced a letter from his pocket. MAIN USKE SAAMNE JAAKAR BAITH GYAA

AUR SIGRATE KAA PACKET NIKAALA. Use of the article THE before

PACKET is correct. Means specific packet, wo packet jo uski pocket etc mein tha.

Remove JUST in part 'b'. The words JUST and EXACTLY cant be put together.

The word 'exactly' is correct.

Replace 'was remembering' with 'remembered' (the verb remember cant be used in

continuous tenses. Hence the past tense of remember i.e. remembered is correct).

How has she (This is an exclamation here; and in an exclamation question form of

the verb is not used. Therefore helping verb 'has' will come after the word 'she').

QUERY 5 o I had/ a test in maths/ today morning.

o A girl must be gracious/ if she wishes/ to be a ballerina.

o In a very harsh tone/ he shouted at his servants/ and told them that he does

not need their services.

o The committee is thinking/ not to bring around any change/ in the basic

structure.

o The CM had no time/ to pay attention/ on such simple matters.

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace IN by ON. It's TEST ON,; not TEST IN

Replace GRACIOUS by GRACEFUL. Ballerina=a female dancer in BALLET.

Ballet is a style of dancing that tells a dramatic story with music but no talking or

singing. GRACEFUL=moving in a controlled, attractive way and having a smooth

attractive form. See these examples: 1. The dancers were all tall and graceful. 2. He

gave a graceful bow to the audience. GRACIOUS is a word which is used for people

or their behaviour that is kind, polite or generous.

Replace DOES by DID in part 'C' . DOES will become DID as the reporting verb

(SHOUTED) is in the past tense.

Part 'b' has two mistakes. The word NOT will be preceded by ABOUT and

AROUND will be removed. So the correct will be : ABOUT NOT TO BRING ANY

CHANGE.

Replace ON SUCH SIMPLE MATTERS by TO SUCH SIMPLE MATTERS

QUERY 6 I was driving under the bridge/as a football/hit my window.

Because of the emergency help (a) / that the patient received, (b) / he would have

died.© / no error (d).

It rained all/day last(1)/week so we did not (2)/ enjoy our vacation(3)/No error(4)

When I reached/ the finishing line,/ I was too exhausted.

I told her when/ she came to Delhi,/ I would show her all historical monuments./

no error.

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace AS by WHEN in part 'b'. We use WHEN (not AS or WHILE) to talk about

an action that takes place at the same time as some longer action or event described

in the main clause. Here I WAS DRIVING UNDER THE BRIDGE is the main

clause. We see that the action HIT (a very short action) took place when the action

DRIVING (a longer action) was on.

See the following:

They were playing in the garden when they heard a scream.:

Ram was repairing the fan when the doorbell rang.

But we can use AS, WHEN or WHILE to talk about something that is/was

happening when something else took place:

AS/WHEN/WHILE Ram was repairing the fan, the doorbell rang. Or you can say

The doorbell rang, AS/WHEN/WHILE Ram was repairing the fan.

2. Replace BECAUSE OF by BUT FOR in the option 'a'. BUT FOR is an idiom

here which means IF IT WERE NOT FOR. Rogi ko jo emergency help mili yadi wo

usko nahin milti to wo mar jaata.

ALL DAYS instead of ALL DAY should be there as we are talking the entire week.

But it must be a typing error by the person making the query, as COULD will

certainly replace DID in part 2. DID NOT is wrong. We DID NOT ENJOY OUR

VACATION means we deliberately did it; actually hey were forced rather because of

bad weather.

Adverb TOO=MORE THAN ENOUGH (in a sense more than required); and

VERY or MUCH=RELATIVELY HIGH DEGREE OF SOMETHING. So there

should be either VERY or MUCH instead of TOO in part 'c'. But MUCH cant be

used before a participle (here exhausted) except in passive; So use of VERY is correct

here.

The article THE will be there between ALL and HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

QUERY 7 It was fortunate/ all of the inmates escaped/ from the blazing fire.

Drinking and driving/ are/ a major cause of accidents.

They are standing/ at the gate of the auditorium/ as there is no place inside.

He is/ having many/ friends here.

Looking forward/ to meeting you/ in person.

RONNIE BANSAL

The mistake is in part 'b'. This sentence has two clauses which should be connected

by the word THAT. When FORTUNATE is the verb of thr first clause the other

clause is added to it by THAT. So replace ALL OF THE INMATES ESCAPED by

THAT ALL THE INMATES ESCAPED.

Replace ARE by IS. DRINKING and DRIVING here are not two separate parts of

the subject; rather this whole phrase refer to one single unit. Thus the verb should

be in singular form.

Replace 'as there is no place inside' by 'as there is no room inside'

NO ERROR. Well, this sentence is absolutely fine. HAS MANY FRIENDS and

HAVING MANY FRIENDS are slightly two different notions and therefore their

context of usage is different. See how: Suppose you go to some different

place/country for the first time and you do not know anybody there. Obliviously,

after a time you’ll have some acquaintances/friends there. In such a circumstance

you can’t say I HAVE MANY FRIENDS HERE, you need to say it in the present

continuous tense. You should say I’M HAVING MANY FRIENDS HERE. At the

most you can say NOW I HAVE MANY FRIENDS; not I HAVE MANY

FRIENDS. In other cases HAVE MANY FRIENDS is right.

This group of words is no sentence. The subject in this sentence is missing. So we

need I AM/WE ARE/HE IS etc before LOOKING FORWARD in part 'A'.

QUERY 8 Galileo proved that/ the earth revolves/ around the sun.

I want/ that you should/ perform well.

The servant/ hanged the lamp/ on the wall.

In the back side/ of our house/ we have a rock garden.

Ask her to call me/ when she/ will come back.

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace PROVED by DISCOVERED. PROVE=To use facts, evidence, etc to show

that sth is true: THEY HOPE THIS NEW EVIDENCE WILL PROVE HIS

INNOCENCE. DISCOVER=To be the first person to become aware that a

particular place or thing exists: SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE

WORKING TO DISCOVER A CURE FOR CANCER.

Replace THAT YOU SHOULD by YOU TO. The verb WANT does not follow a

THAT-CLAUSE.

Replace HANGED by HUNG (the verb HANG can be used in two ways chiefly:

i). to attach sth, or be attached, at the top so that the lower part is free or loose e.g.

HANG YOUR COAT ON THE HOOK.

ii). to kill sb, usually as a punishment, by tying a rope around their neck and

allowing them to drop e.g. HE WAS THE LAST MAN TO BE HANGED FOR

MURDER IN THIS COUNTRY.

For both of these meanings it has two different verb forms; or meaning 1 they are

HANG, HUNG, HUNG. For the second meaning they are HANG, HANGED,

HANGED.

Replace IN THE BACK SIDE by AT THE BACK SIDE. IN THE BACK SIDE

means inside of the back of something, e.g. inside the back of the knee; AT THE

BACK SIDE means 'a little far away' or just atteched to something.

Replace WILL COME BACK by IS BACK or HAS COME BACK. The simple

present is used to refer to the future, not WILL, in clauses introduced by time

conjunction WHEN. Other such words are AFTER, BEFORE and UNTIL.

QUERY 9 The curator told us/ the museum was not opened/ to the public on Sunday.

Long car journeys/ are even less pleasant/ for it is quite impossible to read even.

I declined the invitation /not because I did not want to go,/ but because I have no

time.

Kindly confirm by letter and telephone/ that you will be able/ to attend the

interview.

He may loyal(1)/and did (2)/good service in the war.(3)/No error(4)

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace SUNDAY by SUNDAYS. SUNDAY needs to be made plural i.e.

SUNDAYS; means the museum was not opened to the public on every Sunday.

The focus is on LONG CAR JOURNEYS, and therefore the adverb EVEN must

describe this phrase and be attached with it. So, ARE EVEN LESS PLEASUNT will

be replaced by EVEN ARE LESS PLEASUNT.

Replace HAVE by HAD (past tense is needed here as the remaining part of the

sentence is in past.) .

Replace AND by OR.

Replace MAY by WAS in part 'a'. MAY is always followed by a verb, but there is no

verb in that clause. LOYAL is not a verb, it's rather an adjective. So MAY needs to

be replaced by a verb. This is understandable that the tense of that verb will be the

past simple tense.

QUERY 10 Each of the students in the computer class(1)/has to type(2)/their own research

paper this semester.(3)/N.E(4)

RONNIE BANSAL

The mistake is in part '3'. Replace THEIR by HIS. With ANY OF, EACH OF,

EITHER OF, NEITHER OF or NONE OF + PLURAL NOUN/PRONOUN a

singular verb is used in standard English; though in spoken English a plural verb is

also possible. But in an exam only STANDARD ENGLISH matters.

DEEPAK's POINT

book is absolutely right on this, for a change... brother.. use of "their" is 100%

correct....why it is being assumed that class doesn't comprise of girls... "their" is

CORRECT.

RONNIE BANSAL on Deepak's Point

THE RULE: An adjectival pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person,

number and gender. For example: 1. Every man must bring his luggage. 2. All

students must do their home work. 3. Each student must bring his books. 4. Each of

the girls must carryher own bag. (Taken from Objective English of Tata McGraw-

Hill)

Now what pronoun should be used to refer back to anybody, everyone, each, etc

when the sex is not determined? Some grammarians recommend that the pronoun of

the masculine gender should be used as there is no singular pronoun of the third

person to represent both male and female, e.g., 1. Anybody can do it if he tries. 2.

Everyone ran as fast as he could. (Taken from Wren & Martin)

The point you said (The use of THEIR instead of HIS here) happens only in

INFORMAL English. But in exams only FORMAL matters Deepak bhaai.

QUERY 11 If he is a millionaire/he would help/the millennium project./No error

The Prime Minister along with his cabinet colleagues/ have been welcomed by the

Chief Minister/ at a formal ceremony/No error

The political candidate talked/as if she has already been elected/ to the

presidency/No error.

The way to increase the production of the food/ is to bring more land/under

cultivation/No error.

The girls watched intently/as the model applied her make-up/with a practiced

hand/No error.

RONNIE BANSAL

If he WERE a millionaire (option 'a')

It's improbability of the person (he) being a millionaire, in the past; so PAST

SUBJUNCTIVE form of the verb IS will be used. The subject is HE (third person

singular); therefore WERE is the right word here.

HAS been welcomed by the Chief Minister (option 'b')

Words joined to a singular subject by WITH, AS WELL AS, ALONG WITH, etc

are parenthetical (given as extra piece of information); therefore the verb should be

put in singular form; as,a) The house with its contents was insured. b) Sanskrit as

well as English was taught there.

as if she HAD already been elected (option 'b')

The main clause (The political candidate talked) is in past, so in the IF-CLAUSE

also will be in past tense.

The way to increase the production of food (0ption 'a')

The article THE wont be used before FOOD as FOOD is an uncountable noun and

has been used in general sense here; not in a specific way.

Replace 'WITH A PRACTICED HAND' by WITH ONE OF HER PRACTICED

HANDS (option 'c')

With cloths and parts of the body possessive adjectives are used; so part 'c' shuld be

WITH ONE OF HER PRACTICED HANDS or WITH HER PRACTICED

HANDS.

EXAMPLES:

o She changed her shoes. ii) He injured his back.

BUT there are some exceptions to it. e.g.

o She seized the child's collar. = She seized the child by the collar.

o I patted his shoulder. = I patted him on the shoulder.

o The brick hit John's face. = The brick hit John in the face.

Similarly in the passive a possessive adjective can be avoided:

o He was hit on the head. ii) He was cut in the hand.

QUERY 12 If I were Zubin \ I would not attend \ the wedding, come what may. \ no error.

She is 1)so capable 2) of doing this job 3)no error 4)

I am but (a) / a humble seeker after truth (b) / and bent upon finding it. © / no

error (d).

Though she appears to very tall(A) /she is a just an inch(B)/ taller than me©./no

error(D).

Gowri told me (1)/ his name after (2) / he left (3) / No error (4).

RONNIE BANSAL

No error. The problem what candidates come with is COME WHAT MAY. This is

an idiom; and as such the tense here is not to be changed. COME WHAT MAY =

despite any problems/difficulties you may have. E.g. He promised to help her come

what may.

Replace SO by QUITE in the second part. CAPABLE is an adjective. When an

adjective is followed by a preposition (here OF) should be preceded by QUITE

rather than SO if it's not a THAT clause.

Option 'c' is the answer. Replace UPON by ON as the correct idiom is BENT ON

DOING SOMETHING (here bent on finding it) which means DETERMINED TO

DO SOMETHING.. In part 'a' BUT is an adverb which means ONLY. Main kewal

truth ki talaash karne waala ek humble praani hun jo isko paane ke liye determined

hai. Also see this: SHE SEEMS BENT ON MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT FOR ME

Option 'A'. When APPEARS is followed by TO it always takes the verb. Here it will

be APPEARS TO BE.

Option '3'. The second action (LEAVING) was performed before the first action

(TELLING) was completed, so it needs to be in the perfect tense. Gowri and the

person whose name he/she told are different.

QUERY 13 I am used to/ many guests everyday/ but there was none today/ no error.

Each girl was given/ a bunch of flowers/ which pleased her very much/ no error.

It was with great difficulty /that each of the brothers /could get their share of

property /no error

Each of the students in the computer class/ has to type/ their own research paper

this semester.

Everybody/ it must be admitted/ has their ups and downs.

RONNIE BANSAL

Option 'C'. The verb (here WERE) should agree with its antecedent which is

GUESTS (plural).

The word EACH or the phrase EACH OF always takes singular verb and singular

pronouns. So option 'd' (No error) is correct.

Replace THEIR by HIS in the option 'C'. Explanation is the same as given above.

Replace the word THEIR in option 'c' by HIS. Explanation is the same as given

above.

Like EACH, EVERYBODY takes singular verb and pronouns etc. So the mistake is

in part 'c'. Replace THEIR by HIS. But in question tags the pronoun should be in

plural as in: Everybody warned you, didn't THEY?

QUERY 14 Though the project is in its infancy (1) / it is a progress (2)/ by the day (3)/ no error

(4)

Book answer is (2) progressing

Don't respect such persons/ who have/ no respect for elders

It was almost/ ten years ago since he wrote/ a letter to me enquiring about my well

being/ no error.

I never remember/ to have met a more intelligent/ man in my life/ no error.

My father/ is very quicker than/ I at chess.

RONNIE BANSAL

Option '2'. The word PROGRESS needs to be as a verb rather than a noun; and it

must be with ING as the helping verb BE is there. Though BE can be a helping verb

of third form of the verb, but it happens only in the passive voice. The sentence here

needs to be in the active voice.

Option 'A' is incorrect. Remove the word SUCH in option 'A'. SUCH is followed by

ADJECTIVE + NOUN, but here only the nouns PERSONS is there.

Option 'A' needs to be in the present tense, so replace WAS by IS. Also remove AGO

as its use is superfluous.

No error

A comparative adjectives is not described by an adverb, so remove VERY in part 'B'.

Or it should be VERY QUICK.

QUERY 15 Myself and Gopalan (a) / will take care of (b) / the function on Sunday. © / No

Error (d)

The doctor (a) /attended to the patient (b)/ very quietly © / no error (d)

If I were the principal of the college (a) / I would have never accepted (b) / such

demands of the students ( c) / No error (d)

A shiver ran to Sachin's spine (a) / when he recalled the accident (b) / in which he ©

/ was luckily saved . (d )/ No error (e)

Ordinarily , when in difficulty (a) / Ruchi prefers keeping her counsel (b) / than

running about © / taking advice. (d) / no error (e)

RONNIE BANSAL

Option 'A'. It will be GOPALAN and I. The personal pronouns should be in the

order: SECOND PERSON, THIRD PERSON, FIRST PERSON. Any name is a

third person, so it will be GOPALAN and I. As the subjective case of the pronoun is

needed, MYSELF cannot be used.

Good manners require that we should say:

You and I'; not 'I and you'.

'You and he'; not 'he and you'.

'Hari and I'; not 'I and Hari'.

'He and I'; not I and he'.

For example:

You and I must work together.

You and he must mend your ways.

Option 'd' (No error) is correct. ATTEND TO SB/STH is a phrasal verb which

means To take care of sb/sth: A NURSE ATTENDED TO HIS NEEDS

CONSTANTLY.

Remove SUCH in option 'C' as this word must be followed by ADJECTIVE +

NOUN. See there is no adjective between SUCH and DEMANDS.

In option 'C' replace IN by FROM. Use of IN would have been correct if it was IN

WHICH HE GOT HIS LEG FRACTURED etc.

In option 'c' replace THAN by TO. RUNNING ABOUT is quite correct. There is a

comparison between KEEPING HER COUNSEL and RUNNING ABOUT

TAKING ADVICE; and the word PREFERS takes TO, not THAN.

QUERY 16 Rohan was leading (a) / a happy and leisurely (b ) / life after his retirement © /

from service (d) / no error (e)

The future is (a) / yet to come (b) / but you have a © / right to shape it. (d) / No

error (e)

The teacher told to(A) / the students that (B)/ they must attend school regularly.©/

No error(D)

4, Modern youth pay more attention (A)/ to seeing films (B)/than to read books.©/

No error(D)

Old habits(A) / die (B)/ hardly©/ No error(D)

RONNIE BANSAL

AFTER HIS RETIREMENT is a time expression, when it's so we use the past

simple tense. So WAS LEADING in option 'a' will be replaced by LED.

The noun RIGHT here is specific; means RIGHT TO SHAPE. So it will be

preceded by the article THE rather than 'A'. Therefore the option 'c' is faulty.

In indirect speech active voice of the verb TELL (here past of TELL i.e. TOLD) is

not followed by the word TO. So the option 'A' is the answer.

Option 'C'. Here it's comparison, and that comparison is between two activities

SEEING OF FILMS and READING OF BOOKS. After ATTENTION the word

TO is a preposition; so it should be a gerund after that (here SEEING). Therefore

the other activity also should be a gerund. Hence replace TO READ by READING.

Option 'C'. Replace the word HARDLY by HARD. HARD = with difficulty;

HARDLY is a negative word which is incorrect to use here.

QUERY 17 Sir, in some spotting error questions it becomes difficult to know which option

should be the answer. If i correct something in option A, the sentence would be right

and if correct something in option B, the sentence would be right again. In this case

which option should be the answer............some of these types of questions are as

follows:

If he came to me/ I would have given/ him my car/ no error.

If he tried again,/ he can pass the exam/ with flying colours/ no error.

If he drives fast/ he could reach the station/ in time/ no error.

Leisure should be utilised (a) / not in idling with the time saved (b)/ but in engaging

in © / some useful and pleasurable activity (d)/ No error (e)

Mere transfer of ownership of public sector unit (a) / to private sector eventually (b)

/ ensure efficiency and excellence ©/ No error (d)

RONNIE BANSAL

JAYANT Bhaai on this:

My view is that........start reading the sentence........immediately after reading the part

A we cannot say something is wrong here........but after reading the whole sentence

we can make out what the author wishes to say........the intention of the author

should not be changed........accordingly keeping both in my mind. Therefore in such

a sentence you should leave the first part as it is and make the other part corrected.

It is conditional type-II. So option 'B' is faulty, and therefore WOULD HAVE

GIVEN will be replaced by WOULD GIVE.

Replace 'CAN' by 'COULD' as the first clause is in past. (Again conditional type-II)

I dont see a mistake in it. In part 'b' COULD is quite correct. Here COULD is for

possibility. Also you can use WILL (certainty), CAN (ability), MIGHT (possibility,

but not strong possibility) also.

I think WITH should be replaced by ALONG in part 'b'. Sorry not quite sure.

Replace ENSURE by ENSURES in part 'c' as the main word of the subject of the

sentence is TRANSFER which is singular.

QUERY 18 I(A) /have been studying(B) /since four hours© / No error.(D)

If he had walked(A) / fast enough(B) / he will get the bus ©/ No error(D)

Speakers after Speakers (A) / came on the stage(B) / to perform/© No error(D)

The headmaster Suresh Gupta usually/ comes late/ in the school./ no error

Not a word does he know/ of any language/ but his own/ no error

RONNIE BANSAL

Option 'C'. Replace SINCE by FOR as it's not a point of time, rather it's a period of

time.

Option 'C'. Replace WILL GET by WOULD HAVE GOT. If the verb in the IF-

CLAUSE is in the past perfect tense (here HAD WALKED); the verb in the main

clause is in the perfect conditional.

Option 'A'. Replace 'Speakers after speakers' by 'Speaker after speaker'.

Replace 'in' by 'to' in the third part. Here we mean 'IN THE DIRECTION OF

SCHOOL' so the word TO will be correct. If you have to show the existence you

should use IN, e.g., The headmaster is IN the school.

But OF his own (option 'C'). The word OF is a must to insert here, otherwise it'd

mean HIS OWN LANGUAGE; but it should be WORDS OF HIS OWN

LANGUAGE.

QUERY 19 Having deprived of their houses / in the recent earthquake / they had no other

option but to take shelter in a school / no error

Most of the people / are / afraid of snakes. / no error

I should /have preferred /to go by myself. no error

I had to / pay twenty rupees / less for / that pen./ NE

Hari was appointed leader/ of a group of young social workers / that have accepted

to help and develop the village in three months / no error

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace HAVING DEPRIVED by HAVING BEEN DEPRIVED in option 'A'. Here

passive form of the perfect participle (having deprived) is needed. The context is

clear they did not do the action of DEPRIVING by deliberately; rather they were

forced. So passive is needed. Though HAVING DEPRIVED also is a perfect

participle, but in the active form.

The word PEOPLE here is referring persons in general; not any special kind, there

must not be an article before it. So remove the article THE preceding it; and hence

the word OF also won't be used.

Replace BY MYSELF with MYSELF in option 'C'. BY MYSELF means

WITHOUT ANY HELP whereas MYSELF means the person himself, not any

other.

No error. Though with countable nouns (here RUPEES), fewer is used; but when we

talk about a DISTANCE or SUM OF MONEY we use LESS, not FEWER. e.g.

Geeta said the beach was TWENTY MILES away, but I thought it was LESS than

that.

Replace THAT by WHO in part 'C'. We need the relative pronoun of WORKERS;

WORKERS here are persons; and for persons the relative pronoun is WHO, not

THAT. THAT is frequently used in this sense, but that use is informal only. In an

exam only FORMAL matters.

QUERY 20 Last month we celebrated (a) / the wedding of our sister for whom (b)/ we have

been looking for a suitable alliance for three years. © / no error (d)

There was very heavy rain last night (a) / and the rivers have overflown their banks

(b) / causing hardship to the people living by them © / No error (d).

Females (a)/ are not appointed (b)/ in our college ©/ No error(d).

Choose only (a) / such friends (b) / that you can trust © / No error (d).

The ground outside the village (a) / abounding with frogs and snakes (b) / the

enemies of mankind © / is soft and marshy (d) / No error (e)

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace HAVE by HAD in part 'c'. Past tense is required here as the first clause

LAST MONTH WE CELEBRATED THE WEDDING OF OUR SISTER is in

past and the purpose of LOOKING FOR AN ALLIANCE has already been

accomplished because of the person being married.

Replace BY with ON in option 'c'. BANK = the side of a river, canal, etc and the land

near it. Obviously those people were living on the banks.

Replace IN by AT in part 'c'. When it's an organization we use the preposition AT

with the verb APPOINT, and if it's something like committee we use TO, e.g. HE

HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO THE COMMITTEE.

Replace THAT by WHO in part 'c'. We need the relative pronoun of FRIENDS;

FRIENDS here are persons; and for persons the relative pronoun is WHO, not

THAT. THAT is frequently used in this sense, but that use is informal only. In an

exam only FORMAL matters.

No error. ABOUNDING is correct here. Here It's used as the PRESENT

PARTICIPLE (adjective denoting the activity represented by a word in the present);

means the frogs and the snakes were still growing in the ground when the sentence

was said.

QUERY 21 1.The driver showed (1)/ great talent in keeping (2)/ the damaged car under control

(3) / No error (4)

2. Tea grows (1) / both in Assam (2) / and Ceylon (3)/ No Error (4)

3. I shall avail (1) / of this opportunity (2)/ to meet you there (3)/ No error (4)

I was having a holiday (1)/ by seaside last summer (2)/ when I ran into captain

Robinson. (3)/ No error (4)

When I entered the bedroom (1)/ I saw a snake crawling (2)/ on the ground (3)/ No

error (4)

RONNIE BANSAL

Replace TALENT by SKILL in option '2'.

TALENT= natural ability; means the ability got by birth.

SKILL=developed ability through some sort of training or by any other means.

Replace BOTH IN ASSAM by IN BOTH ASSAM (option '2'). The word BOTH is

attached with the noun, so preposition IN will precede it. BOTH OF is possible at

certain places; e.g. BOTH OF US KNEW HER.

The phrase is AVAIL ONESELF OF STH; so the mistake is in part '1'. It will be I

SHALL AVAIL MYSELF

The word SEASIDE takes the article THE. THE SEASIDE = Near to sea.

When talking of a room, hall etc the correct word is FLOOR, not GROUND. So

replace GROUND by FLOOR in option '3'.

NOTE: Though the sentence can be corrected by making a change in the option '1'

only, but it's not suggested to correct a sentence like this when it can be corrected by

making changing in any of the other parts. If done so the option '1' will be WHILE I

WAS ENTERING THE ROOM.

QUERY 22 The food tastes deliciously/delicious.

Its high time you ____ to a decision.

You should not be angry WITH/AT your son.

She counted the books/ to make sure that/ none of them/ were missing. no error

Which of the sentence is correct..

o If you will pay heed to the small details, the general plans will surely succeed.

o If you pay heed to the small details the general plans will surely succeed.

RONNIE BANSAL

DELICIOUS is an adjective whereas DELICIOUSLY an adverb. The verb taste

here is a LINKING VERB like BE; which means TO HAVE A PARTICULAR

FLAVOUR. In other words we can say when the verb is a linking verb it should be

an adjective after it rather than an adverb. Therefore the word DELICIOUS is

correct there.

IT IS TIME can be used in two ways----

o It can be followed by the infinitive (First form of the verb preceded by 'to' or

without 'to'; like in IT'S TIME TO START. Or by 'for + object + infinitive';

like in IT'S TIME FOR US TO START. In both these uses we mean

CORRECT TIME HAS ARRIVED TO DO SOMETHING.

o It can be followed by a subject + past subjunctive (unreal past). When it's

used like this it implies that it's a little late; and therefore the subject would

have started doing what's required. Hence the past 'came' here is correct.

Sometimes the word 'high' is added to emphasize the idea. One more

example----IT'S HIGH TIME WE LEFT.

Some words always follow some particular specific words. Angry/Pleased/Satisfied

are added with "WITH", if next word is a person.

But after these words, if there is a Quality/Adjective these would be connected with

"AT" So WITH is correct here.

Replace WERE by WAS in option '4'. NONE OF + PLURAL COUNTABLE

NOUN is followed by a singular verb. Though some people use plural verb instead

of singular, but this use is INFORMAL. In the exam only formal matters.

Here, Sentence (b) is correct. Note this point ----its type of Conditional Sentence

Type-I-where first activity follows present tense (with "if") and second another

follows future.

QUERY 23 One question about subjects/prepositions

My dog, along with her seven puppies, has chewed all of the stuffing out of the sofa

cushions.

They say that 'my dog' is the only subject. Here is the reasoning below:

"Here, both 'my dog' and 'her seven puppies' are chewing on the sofa, but because the

puppies are part of the prepositional phrase 'along with her seven puppies', the only

word that counts as the subject is 'dog'."

MY QUESTION---How does that work? I mean, if the dog and puppies are

chewing, then isn't that whole entire phrase really is the subject, not just 'my dog'?

We understand it as 'my dog' and 'puppies' doing the action, so how can that be.

Please explain?

Is this sentence correct?

I have been trying for various govt jobs.

Are the meanings of following two sentences same?

o More than one girl was absent.

o More girls than one were absent.

Which is right ?

Two tons of coal

o two ton coal

No boy and no girl ........... takes singular or plural verb ?

RONNIE BANSAL

Words joined to another word or set of words by WITH, AS WELL AS, ALONG

WITH, etc are called parenthetical (word or group of words giving extra

information). As such they are not part of the true subject. The verb, therefore, also

does not get affected by a parenthetical. With, AS WELL AS, ALONG WITH, etc

are prepositions and the other group of words attached is only the object of that

preposition, so an object can't ever be a subject. Though such a group of words

appears to be the part of subject, lekin aisa hota nahin h. So HAS CHEWED is

correct.

Not correct bhaai. The tense form of the verb in your sentence is PERFECT

CONTINUOUS. And in perfect continuous there must be time to express from what

period of time the action of the verb is in continuation; e.g. FOR TWO YEARS or

SINCE 2009 etc. So here it should be I AM TRYING FOR VARIOUS GOVT

JOBS.

NOTE: Though the present perfect continuous can also be used without the time

factor being used, in that case it expresses the action finished already. In such cases

the continuity of the activity is emphasized as an explanation only. For example:

Question----Why are your clothes so wet? Answer----I have been watering the

plants.

Both the sentences convey same meaning; but the second one is incorrect. The

phrase “more than one” can be either singular or plural, depending on how it’s used,

When “more than one” modifies a singular noun, it goes with a singular verb: “More

than one person is going.” But when it’s followed by 'of' and a plural noun, it takes a

plural verb: “More than one of the people are going.” When “more than one” stands

alone (without a noun), it can be either singular or plural, depending on whether you

want to emphasize the oneness or the more-than-oneness.

Both are correct. TWO TON OF COAL is also correct.

OUNCE, POUND and TON each can be used without 's' or with 's' in the use like

above; e.g. SIX POUND OF SUGAR or SIX POUNDS OF SUGAR. But STONE

and HUNDREDWEIGHT do not take 's': e.g. TWO HUNDREDWEIGHT OF

COAL; you cannot say TWO HUNDREDWEIGHTS OF COAL.

KILO or KILOGRAM take 's' when used like above: e.g. TWO KILOS OF APPLES

or TWO KILOGRAMS OF APPLES.

Singular. If words like EACH, EVERY, MANY A or NO come before the subject,

the verb is singular: e.g. EACH BOY AND EACH GIRL WAS PRESENT IN THE

PLAYGROUND.

QUERY 24 Correct this sentence

When we visited his office we found that he was sipping coffee with some of his

colleagues.

2 (a) MEA has no objection to holding of the conference titled ' Eelam Tamil

Rights'.

(b) Fareed admitted to having plagiarised from the New Yorker portions .

After 'TO' first form of the verb comes OR anything can come as in these

sentences?

which one is correct...

o copy it word to word.

o copy it word by word.

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

He had promised me to finish his work before leaving.

Is this grammatically correct?

The government has decided to dedicated more than "FIFTEEN CRORES OF

RUPEES" in the research of ozone-friendly sources of energy.

RONNIE BANSAL

The sentence already is quite fine. Though A FEW OF can replace SOME OF here,

the sentence is already correct grammatically. The phrase SOME OF can follow

countable plural nouns also, but A FEW OF can't ever follow a uncountable noun.

Both of the sentences are correct. The word TO often causes confusion as it can

either be a part of an INFINITIVE (verb-I), or a PREPOSITION. When a verb is

placed immediately after a preposition the gerund form (verb+ing) must be used. In

both the sentences above the word TO is a preposition attached with the words

OBJECTION & ADMITTED. So the gerund form of the verb hold (holding) and

have (having) is there; and hence correct. The word TO in both the above sentences

is like AT in this sentence: He is good AT swimming.

Also see these sentences: I'm looking forward TO SEEING you. I am used TO

STANDING in queues.

Be careful not to confuse between I USED TO/HE USED TO etc and I AM USED

TO/HE IS USED TO etc. USED TO expresses a past habit or routine (They used

to burn coal; now they burn fuel oil only.) whereas I AM USED TO= accustomed

to/familiar with sth. As in He is used to working at night. (He doesn't mind it.)

A good way of finding out whether a TO is a preposition or a part of an infinitive is

to see if it's possible to put a noun /pronoun after it. For example a noun could be

placed after I AM ACCUSTOMED TO: e.g. I am accustomed to THE DARK. So

here in this sentence the word TO is a preposition.

Neither is correct . It will be WORD FOR WORD.

WORD BY WORD is system according to which words are arranged in a sequence;

means ALPHABETICALLY. But when something has to be copied, either orally or

otherwise, we use WORD FOR WORD.

Here are two past actions PROMISE & LEAVE; when two past actions are there

and the timing of the both is different, the action which was done first is in PAST

PERFECT. So 'had promised' is correct.

Fifteen crores of rupees is correct here. The error is TO DEDICATED; it should be

TO DEDICATE. Second or third form of the verb never follows the word TO.

QUERY 25 Correct this if needed

He had lay in the shelter for a long time before somebody came to rescue him.

What/ kind of animal/ is the dodo?/ no error.

Since I have/ returned from the USA/, they haven't met me.

She told him respectfully that/that was the only way/to be happy and rich/NE

A)Although they listen to me / (B) but their actions / © prove otherwise / (D) No

Error.

RONNIE BANSAL

When we use a time expression (e.g. BEFORE, AFTER, AS SOON AS, WHEN) to

say that one event happened after another, we use either the PAST SIMPLE or

PAST PERFECT for the event that happened first and the PAST SIMPLE for the

event that happened second.

Here BEFORE is such an expression. Therefore HAD must follow the 3rd form of

the verb to make it in the past perfect tense (the past simple can't be used here; that

have been made clear just below). The verb here is intransitive; so it is LIE, the third

form of which is LAIN. So the correct sentence will be: HE HAD LAIN IN THE

SHELTER FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE SOMEBODY CAME TO RESCUE

HIM.

NOTE: Here the simple past tense of LIE in place of HAD LAIN can't be used as

this has some restricted use; see how:

When we have to emphasize that the second event is the result of the first, we prefer

the PAST SIMPLE instead of PAST PERFECT for the event that happened first:

e.g. SHE BECAME FAMOUS AFTER SHE APPEARED ON THE TV

PROGRAMME.

Remove article THE before DODO (option 'c'). DODO is a certain kind of animal.

The article THE before such a noun is used only when it represents the whole group

of its race; but this is not the case here.

HAVE in part 'a' needs to be omitted. The word SINCE is never followed by a

perfect tense (here HAVE RETURNED), rather it takes the past simple tense.

(RETURNED).

Replace THAT by IT in part 'B'. THAT as an adjective or a pronoun has no place in

indirect speech. If you will see THAT is the part 'B' is a pronoun.

RULES of THIS and THESE

THIS used in time expressions usually becomes THAT: e.g.

He said, "She is coming THIS week." = He said that she was coming THAT week.

(THIS WEEK is a time expression.)

THIS, THAT, THESE used as adjectives usually change to THE: e.g.

He said, "I bought THIS book for my brother." = He said that he had bought THE

book for his brother. (THIS is an adjective here.)

THIS & THAT usually become IT and THESE usually become THEY/THEM

when used as pronouns: e.g. HE said, "We will discuss THIS tomorrow." = He said

that they would discuss IT the next day. OR He said that they would discuss THE

MATTER the next day. (THIS is a pronoun here.)

THIS and THESE (adjectives or pronouns) used to indicate choice or to distinguish

some things from others, can become THE ONE(S) NEAR HIM etc., or the

statement can be reworded (=to write sth again using different words in order to

make it clearer): e.g.

He said to me, "I'll have this." = He said he would have THE ONE NEAR HIM. OR

He POINTED TO/TOUCHED/SHOWED me the one he wanted.

Remove BUT from part 'B' as with the use of ALTHOUGH we can't add the other

clause with BUT.

NOTE: We use ALTHOUGH or THOUGH when we we want to say that there is

an expected contrast between what happened in the main clause and what happened

in the other, and we join/separate those clauses with a comma. Here THEIR

ACTIONS PROVE OTHERWISE and THEY LISTEN TO ME are two such

clauses here.

If we want to use BUT we'll have to write this sentence like this:

THEY LISTEN TO ME, BUT THEIR ACTIONS PROVE OTHERWISE.

QUERY 26 My work/is/ superior to /his/NE

Correct error if any:

His five hairs is grey.

In the garden/were the more beautiful flowers/and silver bells/no error

Correct the sentence:

He no sooner did see me then he ran away.

He has not/played cricket/nor hockey/NE

MAHA GUPTA

No error. HIS here is possessive pronoun of HE, means HIS WORK.

Look here:

This is his book.

This book is his.

In the first sentence HIS is an adjective; possessive adjective of HE, but in the

second HIS is rather a pronoun; possessive pronoun of HE.

HAIR (all the hair on one's head, chest, etc) is considered uncountable; but if we

consider each hair separately it becomes countable, and its plural form becomes

HAIRS. So we can say ONE HAIR, TWO HAIRS etc. So the correct sentence is:

HIS FIVE HAIRS ARE GREY.

We can also say:

Five of his HAIR are grey. See here HAIR is not countable.

Replace THE MORE by MOST in part 'B'.

NOTE: When there is comparison between two things we use comparative degree

without any article. When there there are more than two things we use superlative

degree with the article THE; the superlative sometimes is formed by putting MOST

before the positive.

But the text here says there is no idea of comparison, rather there is merely a desire

to indicate the possession of quality in a very high degree; in such a case the

superlative is used without the article THE.

Translation: Garden mein bahut hi sunder flowers aur silver bells the.

He had no sooner seen me than he ran away.

When we say that one event happened immediately after another we can use

sentences with NO SOONER. Then we often use a past perfect tense, not a simple

past, in the clause with NO SOONER and a simple past in the other clause and those

clauses are added by THAN, not THEN.

NOTE: In a literary style, we often use the word order NO SOONER + HELPING

VERB + SUBJECT + MAIN VERB at the beginning of the first clause. The given

sentence then will be, this is called inversion of the verb, means question form of the

verb is used in assertive.:

No sooner had he seen me than he ran away.

Replace NOR by OR in part ' C'.

We can not put NEITHER before the verb PLAYED as the choice is between

cricket and hockey. The word NEITHER is a negative word and therefore the

sentence should be affirmative; not negative. NOR often pairs up with “neither,” but

not always. When the verb is negative, use OR if the second part is a noun, adjective

or adverb phrase. Here it's a noun (hockey). So replace NOR by OR in part 'C'.

QUERY 27 A commission has been appointed (A)/to investigate (B)/into this scandal ©/no

error (D)

The thief escapes (A)/before I opened the door B)/no error ©

You had better (A)/gone now, (B)/or you will be late ©/No Error (D)

I went there (A)/with a view to survey (B)/the entire procedure ©/no error (D)

He was present (A)/ in the court (B)/ to give witness ©/no error (D)

MAHA GUPTA

Remove INTO from part 'C' as the verb INVESTIGATE is not followed by a

preposition.

Replace the verb ESCAPES by HAD ESCAPED as here are two actions in the past

occurring one after another means after a certain gap. The Past perfect tense is used

for the action that took place first and the past simple for the another.

Replace GONE by GO in part 'B'. HAD here is an UNREAL PAST; the meaning

actually is present. HAD BETTER is used for advice or a warning.

SECOND PERSON or THIRD PERSON as a subject of HAD BETTER is used as

advice or a warning and is followed by the first form of the verb. Therefore replace

GONE by GO. The speaker means to say YOU ARE ADVISED TO GO NOW

OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE LATE.

Option 'B'. WITH A VIEW TO is always followed by a gerund (Ist form of a verb +

ing). So replace SURVEY by SURVEYING.

Option 'B'. Remove THE before the noun COURT. When a

court/bed/church/hospital/prison/school/college/university is visited for its

primary purpose is not preceded by the article THE. TO GIVE WITNESS is right.

TO BE WITNESS in part 'C' is not right. TO BE WITNESS is an idiom and is

always followed by an object, and it's not given in the sentence you see.