Spotting Errors questions with answers and concepts
Learn spotting errors with concept notes and worked examples, then practise focused questions with explained answers. Build accuracy for placement and competitive aptitude tests before trying timed mode.
Spotting errors is a crucial verbal ability topic that tests your command of English grammar. Questions typically present a sentence divided into four parts (A/B/C/D), and you must identify which part contains a grammatical error. This skill is essential for effective communication and is frequently tested in competitive exams, placement tests, and language proficiency assessments.
Key concepts
Subject-Verb Agreement
The subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number (singular/plural). A singular subject takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb. Common errors occur with collective nouns (team, committee), indefinite pronouns (each, every, either, neither), and phrases separating the subject from the verb. Examples of errors: 'The team are playing well' (should be 'is'), 'Each of the students have passed' (should be 'has'). Watch for inverted sentences where the verb comes before the subject.
Tense Errors
Errors in tense usage occur when there's a mismatch between the time expressed and the verb form used, or when sequences of tenses are inconsistent. Common mistakes include using present tense when past is required, incorrect use of perfect tenses, and confusion between simple past and present perfect. Pay attention to time markers (yesterday, since, for, already) that dictate specific tense usage. Ensure consistency when reporting past events or when a sentence contains multiple clauses.
Articles (A, An, The)
Article errors involve incorrect usage or omission. 'A' is used before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds (based on pronunciation, not spelling). 'The' is used for specific references, unique entities, superlatives, and ordinal numbers. Common errors: omitting 'the' before unique nouns (sun, moon), using 'the' with proper nouns unnecessarily, confusing countable/uncountable noun article usage. Remember that abstract nouns used generally don't take articles, but when specific, they might.
Preposition Usage
Preposition errors involve incorrect choice of preposition or unnecessary prepositions. Many errors occur with phrasal verbs (listen to, prefer to, consist of), time prepositions (at for specific times, in for months/years, on for days/dates), and place prepositions (at for specific points, in for enclosed spaces, on for surfaces). Common errors include: 'discuss about' (should be just 'discuss'), 'enter into' (should be 'enter'), 'prefer than' (should be 'prefer to'). Some verbs are transitive and don't need prepositions.
Pronoun Errors
Pronoun errors include incorrect case (subjective vs. objective), unclear antecedents, and disagreement in number or gender. Common errors: 'Between you and I' (should be 'me'), 'Everyone should do their best' (traditionally 'his/her' in formal English). Ensure pronouns clearly refer to specific nouns and match in number with their antecedents. Watch for errors with relative pronouns (who/whom/which/that) and reflexive pronouns.
Modifiers and Parallelism
Modifier errors occur when words or phrases are misplaced or dangling, creating confusion about what is being modified. A dangling modifier has no clear subject to modify. Parallelism errors occur when items in a series or comparison aren't in the same grammatical form. Examples of parallelism errors: 'She likes singing, dancing, and to swim' (should be 'swimming'). Ensure all items in a list, comparison, or correlative construction (either...or, neither...nor, both...and) use parallel structure.
Worked examples
Example 1
Identify the error in: 'The committee (A) / have submitted (B) / its report (C) / yesterday. (D) / No error (E)'
Solution
Step 1: Analyse the sentence structure - Subject: 'The committee' (collective noun), Verb: 'have submitted', Time marker: 'yesterday'.
Step 2: The pronoun 'its' in part (C) treats the committee as a single collective unit, requiring a singular verb.
Step 3: Crucially, the definite past-time adverbial 'yesterday' strictly requires the simple past tense ('submitted') rather than the present perfect ('have submitted' or 'has submitted'). Present perfect cannot collocate with finished past time points.
Step 4: Therefore, the verb must be corrected to simple past 'submitted'.
Answer: Error is in Part (B). Replace 'have submitted' with 'submitted'.
Example 2
Identify the error in: 'Each of the players (A) / are required to (B) / sign the agreement (C) / before the match. (D) / No error (E)'
Solution
Step 1: Identify the subject - 'Each' is the subject, not 'players'. 'Each' is singular.
Step 2: The phrase 'of the players' is a prepositional modifier, not part of the subject.
Step 3: Singular subjects require singular verbs.
Step 4: 'Each' requires 'is' not 'are'.
Step 5: Common error is being distracted by the plural noun 'players' that follows.
Answer: Error is in Part (B). It should be 'is required to' instead of 'are required to'.
Example 3
Identify the error in: 'He prefers (A) / tea than (B) / coffee in (C) / the morning. (D) / No error (E)'
Solution
Step 1: Identify the verb 'prefers' and what follows.
Step 2: The verb 'prefer' is followed by 'to', not 'than'.
Step 3: 'Prefer to' is the correct structure for comparing two preferences.
Step 4: 'Than' is used with comparative adjectives (better than, more than).
Step 5: The error is a preposition error using 'than' instead of 'to' with 'prefer'.
Answer: Error is in Part (B). It should be 'tea to' instead of 'tea than'.
Example 4
Identify the error in: 'The teacher asked (A) / the students that (B) / why they were (C) / late for class. (D) / No error (E)'
Solution
Step 1: Analyse the reporting verb 'asked' and the reported question.
Step 2: When 'asked' introduces a question, the conjunction 'if' or 'whether' is used for yes/no questions, or no conjunction for wh-questions.
Step 3: The word 'that' is not used after 'asked' when introducing a question.
Step 4: 'That' is used with statements (say, tell, state), not questions.
Step 5: For wh-questions like 'why', simply remove 'that'.
Answer: Error is in Part (B). Remove 'that' - it should be 'asked the students why'.
Representative solved questions
See the kind of question in this topic before opening the full practice set.
Question 1
The teacher told (A) / us that the Earth (B) / was round (C) / and moves around the sun. (D) / No error (E)
Answer: C. C
ExplanationError in part C.
Universal truths remain in present tense even in reported speech.
'Is round' should be used instead of 'was round'.
Sources and review notes
This is an AISEA-authored practice question.
Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening
Question 2
He prefers (A) / tea (B) / than (C) / coffee in the morning. (D) / No error (E)
Answer: D. C
ExplanationError in part C.
'Prefer' is followed by 'to' not 'than'.
'Tea to coffee' should be used.
Sources and review notes
This is an AISEA-authored practice question.
Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening
Question 3
She suggested (A) / to go (B) / to the museum (C) / on Sunday. (D) / No error (E)
Answer: A. B
ExplanationError in part B.
'Suggest' is followed by a gerund or that-clause.
'Going' or 'that we go' should be used instead of 'to go'.
Sources and review notes
This is an AISEA-authored practice question.
Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening
Common mistakes and useful habits
- Read the entire sentence first to understand the context and meaning before analysing individual parts.
- Check subject-verb agreement carefully - identify the actual subject, ignoring phrases between subject and verb.
- Pay attention to time markers (yesterday, since, for, already, yet) as they dictate specific tense requirements.
- Remember that collective nouns (team, committee, family) take singular verbs when acting as a unit, plural when as individuals.
- For prepositions, learn common phrasal verbs and standard preposition combinations as they often don't follow logical rules.
- When dealing with 'either...or' and 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
- Words like 'each', 'every', 'either', 'neither', 'anyone', 'someone' always take singular verbs and singular pronouns.
- In conditional sentences, check that tenses follow the appropriate patterns (if + present, then + future for real conditions).
- Look out for unnecessary prepositions after transitive verbs (discuss, enter, marry, resemble don't take prepositions).
- If no error is apparent after thorough analysis, select 'No error' confidently - not every sentence contains an error.
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