English: Error Spotting for Upcoming Exams – Set 229

Directions(1-10): A sentence divided into four parts (A, B, C and D) is given. There may be an error in any of the two parts. Determine the pair of segments which requires correction and mark the relevant option as your answer. If the given sentence is error free, mark option E, i.e., "No error" as your answer.

1. You would continue (A)/ to receive dividends for the stock (B)/ in you’re names so there will be (C)/ sufficient funds for you all to move on. (D)
   A-C
   B-D
   B-C
   C-D
   No error
   Option A
   In part A, ‘would’ is the past form of "will". But the person shall be receiving the ‘dividends’ in the future and hence, it should be in future tense. In part C, ‘you’re’ is a contraction of ‘you are’. Applying it in the sentence yields no sense. It needs a possessive adjective like ‘your’ to make it correct.
   
    



2. Her dazzling achievements as a general (A)/ have obscured his much sober qualities as a ruler, (B)/ and even the sound strategy, with which he aimed (C)/ to be master of the narrow seas. (D)
   
   
   A-B
   C-D
   B-C
   A-C
   No error
   Option A
   In part A, the wrong pronoun ‘her’ has been used. The rest of the sentence indicates that the person in consideration is a male with the use of nouns and pronouns like ‘his’, ‘ruler’, ‘he’ and ‘master’. The correct pronoun should be ‘his’ here. In part B, the determinant ‘much’ has been incorrectly used. Since it is about a comparison, the determinant ‘more’ is appropriate here.
   
    



3. A success of a restaurant (A)/ rested more (B)/ on out-of-date memories (C)/ then the current excellence of its bill of fare. (D)
   A-D
   B-C
   C-D
   B-D
   No error
   Option A
   In part A, the indefinite article ‘a’ has been incorrectly used. From the sentence it is evident that a particular restaurant is being referred to. Hence, the definite article ‘the’ should come before it. Again, in part D, instead of ‘then’ which implies a sense of time, 'than' should be used as there is a comparison between two situations (memories vs current excellence).
   
    



4. Burr was unscrupulous, insincere (A)/ and notoriously moral, (B)/ but he was pleasing in his manners, generous to a fault, (C)/ and was intensely devote to his wife and daughter. (D)
   A-C
   B-D
   B-C
   C-D
   No error
   Option B
   In part B, the adjective ‘moral’ has been incorrectly used. All the other adjectives in the first part of the sentence describe the negative qualities of the person. The sentence states that Burr was not as unpleasant a man to his family members as he was to others.
   “Moral’ conveys a positive meaning. The correct adjective should be ‘immoral’, a word that is in consonance with words like "unscrupulous" (having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair) and "insincere". In part D, because of the use of the past tense words like ‘was’, the verb ‘devote’ should also be in the past tense form ‘devoted’.
   
    



5. White-owned companies may seek to cash up (A)/ the increasing apportionments (B)/ through formation of joint ventures (C)/ with minority-owned concern. (D
   A-D
   B-D
   B-C
   A-C
   No error
   Option A
   In part A, there is an error in using the phrasal verb ‘cash up’. ‘Cash up’ means count and check takings at the end of a day's trading, which is incorrect for the given sentence. The correct phrasal verb here is ‘cash in on’ which means take advantage of or exploit (a situation).
   In part D, instead of the singular ‘concern’, to maintain continuity, we need to use the plural ‘concerns’. This is because all other entities in the sentence are in plural form (companies, ventures, etc).
   
    



6. A closely-knit community of (A)/ around 5,000 Afghans live in Kolkata (B)/ even today, though it might no longer (C)/ be vendors of odds and ends. (D)
   A-B
   C-D
   B-C
   A-C
   No error
   Option C
   In part B, 'live' is the main verb for 'community' from part A. Since, community is a singular noun, it should be 'lives' in part B. In part C the pronoun 'it' refers to the 'Afghans' from part B as neither 'community' or 'Kolkata' can be 'vendors'. So, the correct pronoun is 'they' instead of 'it'.
   
    



7. Despite a five-year extension of (A)/ the deadline, a majority of Indian (B)/ power plants have been not able (C)/ to get there toxic emissions down. (D)
   A-B
   C-D
   B-C
   A-C
   No error
   Option B
   Negations ("not" from part C) should be placed between "have" and "been". "There" in part D, is a determiner, whereas it should be a possessive pronoun "their".
   
    



8. We know surprising little about (A)/ vanished civilizations who majesty (B)/ and whose ultimate demise were closely linked (C)/ to liberties they took with water. (D)
   A-B
   C-D
   B-C
   A-C
   No error
   Option A
   In part A 'surprising' which is an adjective, is used to describe another adjective. This is a grammatical error, as only adverbs can be used to describe adjectives. So, it should be 'surprisingly', instead of 'surprising'.
   We have to show a relation between "civilizations" and "majesty". So, it should be "whose" instead of "who" as "majesty" is not a person and belongs to "civilizations".
   
    



9. She had took a small (A)/ package containing bread, socks (B)/ and other amenities towards her (C)/ sister Sonia and brother Nathan.(D)
   A-B
   C-D
   B-C
   A-C
   No error
   Option D
   "Had" is used in past perfect tense followed by the participle form of the verb. The participle form of the verb is "taken", not "took".
   Towards is used when there is a movement in the direction of something. In part C however, just the destination of the "amenities" is mentioned. So, it should be "to" instead of "towards".
   
    



10. A lack of access to effective (A)/ menstrual products may limit the ability (B)/ of women and girls on their period (C)/ to go about their daily lives. (D)
    A-B
    C-D
    B-C
    A-C
    No error
    Option E
    
    
     

 

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