Spotting Errors

Identify the error in the given sentence

110 practice questionsPage updated 27 Mar 2026Review metadata pendingPractice questions

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.

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: 'Committee' is a collective noun that can take singular or plural verb depending on whether it acts as a unit or individuals.
Step 3: The pronoun 'its' indicates the committee is being treated as a single unit.
Step 4: Therefore, the verb should be singular 'has' not plural 'have'.
Step 5: Additionally, 'yesterday' indicates past tense is needed.
Answer: Error is in Part (B). The verb should be 'has submitted' or simply '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 to 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'.

Spotting Errors

Key concepts

Subject-Verb Agreement

Tense Errors

Articles (A, An, The)

Preposition Usage

Pronoun Errors

Modifiers and Parallelism

Worked examples

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Representative solved questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Common mistakes and useful habits

Ready to test your understanding?

Key concepts

Subject-Verb Agreement

Tense Errors

Articles (A, An, The)

Preposition Usage

Pronoun Errors

Modifiers and Parallelism

Worked examples

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Representative solved questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Common mistakes and useful habits

Ready to test your understanding?

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