Improve your Grammar
To answer the questions on ‘error spotting’ and ’sentence correction’, one has to know a bit of grammar. Normally, errors are found in subject-verb agreement, modifiers, parallelism, wrong usage of words, etc. We will briefly discuss some basic concepts here.
Subject-verb agreement:
Verb: It is an action word and represents action in the sentence.
Subject: It is the doer of action or verb.
Object: It is on whom the action is being performed.
Consider the sentence: Ram kicks the ball. Here the action word is ‘kick’. ‘Ram’ is the subject and ‘the ball’ is the object.
The meaning of subject-verb agreement is: When the subject is singular, use a singular verb. When the subject is plural, use a plural verb. In other words, the subject of the sentence and its verb should agree in number.
However, the following exceptions should be taken into consideration.
Collective Nouns (nouns representing a collection, like a bouquet of flowers, committee, etc.) take a singular verb. e.g.
(a) The jury ___ giving the verdict today. (is/are)
(b) A group of boys ___ waiting outside (is/are)
(c) Some boys ___ waiting outside (is/are)
In the first sentence, Jury is a collective noun and hence a singular verb is. Many would have gone for are in the second sentence. But the subject in this sentence is not merely boys but a group of boys which is collective noun and will thus take a singular verb is. However, we make the verb agree with the subject some boys and use the plural verb are in the third sentence. So the trick is in identifying whether the subject is singular or plural.
Whenever one refers to any quantity or number, a singular verb is used. e.g.
Five hundred rupees ___ not enough to buy a car. (is/are)
The answer is ‘is’.
Nouns — parenthesis and subject-verb agreement
Consider the following sentences.
(a) The father along with his sons___ going for fishing. (is/are)
(b) John as well as Jake ___ here at the party. (is/are)
The answer in both of them is is. Most of the students will have gone for are. Here the concept of parenthesis is used. Punctuate the first sentence. It is punctuated as: The father, along with his sons, is going for fishing. What one sees here is that what is separated off by the comma has no relation grammatically to the subject of the sentence, father. Since father is singular, the verb is singular. What one has separated off by commas is called a ‘parenthetical element’ or ‘parenthesis’. A parenthetical element between the subject and the verb has no influence on the verb. The subject decides the verb. Similarly, in the second sentence as well as Jake is a parenthetical element, which has no bearing on the subject, John. Hence, a singular verb.
Modifiers:
Adjectives modify a noun in a sentence. Adverbs modify a verb, another adverb, or an adjective in a sentence. Therefore, adjectives and adverbs are modifiers and these modifiers, in whatever forms (adj./adv-phrase/clause), modify something else in the sentence.
The following points should be noted. The modifier should be placed immediately before/after what it modifies (as is appropriate). If the modifier is not so placed, the error that results is called a misplaced modifier. e.g.
(a) He is enough tall to play basket ball.
(b) We could not discuss our problems completely.
(a) The modifier (adverb) is enough and it is modifying adjective tall. Here it is not appropriate to place modifier before tall, but it should be placed after tall. The correct sentence is: He is tall enough to play basket ball.
(b) The modifier (adverb) is completely. Is it modifying problems or the verb discuss? It is modifying discuss and hence it should be placed with it. The correct sentence is:
We could not completely discuss our problems.
Example: After finishing his speech, the audience was invited to ask questions.
Here, ‘After finishing. . .’ modifies the speaker and not the audience. Hence, the speaker/ he has to follow. The correct sentence is:
After finishing his speech, he invited the audience to ask questions.
Parallelism:
Parallelism means giving words equal importance, equal form and equal weight in a sentence. Each word should be of same order in the sentence. e.g.
.
(1) He spoke forcefully and with clarity.
(2) The job of the secretary was to file papers, to answer calls and typing.
These sentences do not have parallel construction. The correct sentences are as follows. (1) He spoke forcefully and clearly. (Equal importance to ‘forcefully’ and ‘clearly’)
(2) The job of the secretary was to file papers, to answer calls and to type. (Same order)
Redundancy:
This error is in saying the same thing twice through different words. e.g.
Revert back within 15 days.
Here ‘revert’ and ‘back’ have the same meaning. The correct sentence is:
Revert within 15 days.
Exercise
Choose the alternative that best replaces the underlined part.
1. The major reasons students give for failing to participate in the political process is that they have demanding assignments and work at part time jobs.
a. is that they have demanding assignments and work at
b. are demanding assignments and they work at
c. are that they have demanding assignments and that they have
d. is having demanding assignments and having
2. Planning a life ahead is easier than to live it.
a. Planning a life ahead is easier than to live it.
b. To plan a life in front of you is easier than to live it.
c. To plan a life ahead is easier than living it.
d. To plan a life ahead is easier than to live it.
3. A woman who is over 75 years are not allowed to travel alone.
a. A woman who is above 75 years are not allowed to travel alone.
b. 75-year-old women are the ones who are not allowed to travel alone.
c. A woman who is over the age of 75 is not allowed to travel alone.
d. A woman who is above 75 is not allowed to travel.
4. Neither she nor her plight were any longer amusing.
a. Neither her nor her plight were any longer amusing.
b. Neither she or her plight was any longer amusing.
c. Neither she nor her plight was any longer amusing.
d. Neither she nor her plight were any longer amusing.
Answers :
1. Here the error is of subject-verb agreement and parallelism. The major reasons students is a plural situation and hence the verb should be are. It is there only in (b) and (c). Option (b) does not have parallel construction. Hence, (c) is the answer.
2. Here the error is of parallel construction. Planning has –ing form and live has to live form. Only (b) and (d) have correct parallel construction. But (b) changes the meaning. Therefore, (d) is the answer.
3. Here the error is of subject-verb agreement. There is only one woman in the sentence. So the verb should be is. Only (c) and (d) have the correct form of the verb. Option (d) changes the meaning, as the word alone is not there, and is too general. The answer is (c), as it is specific, and its meaning is similar to the main sentence.
4. Here there is only one person being mentioned. Hence, the subject is singular. So the verb should be was. Only (b) and (c) have the correct form of the verb. But after Neither, the word nor comes. Hence, the answer is (c).
Sentence Completion Ex.
Directions:
Each sentence below has one or two blanks. Each blank shows that something has been omitted. Under each sentence five words are given as choice. Choose the one correct word for each blank that best fits the meaning of the sentences as a whole.
1. The fact that the____ of confrontation is no longer as popular as it once was____progress in race relations.
A. insidiousness … reiterates
B. practice … inculcates
C. glimmer … foreshadows
D. technique … presages
E. reticence … indicates
Ans : D
——————————————————————————————-
2. A child should not be ____ as being either very shy or over aggressive.
A. categorized
B. instructed
C. intoned
D. distracted
E. refrained
Ans : A
——————————————————————————————-
3. President Anwar el – Sadat of Egypt, disregarding ____ criticism in the Alab world and in his own Government, ____ accepted prime minister Menahem Begin’s invitation to visit Israel in order to address the Israeli parliament.
A. acrimonious … formally
B. blemished … stiffly
C. categorical … previously
D. malignant … plaintively
E. charismatic … meticulously
Ans : A
——————————————————————————————-
4. In his usual ____ manner, he had insured himself against this type of loss.
A. pensive
B. providential
C. indifferent
D. circumspect
E. caustic
Ans : D
——————————————————————————————-
5. We never believed that he would resort to ____ in order to achieve his goal; we always regarded him as a … man.
A. charm … insincere
B. necromancy … pietistic
C. logic … honorable
D. prestidigitation … articulate
E. subterfuge … honest
Ans : E
——————————————————————————————-
6. ANGLE : DEGREE
A. area : square inch
B. milk : quart
C. society : classes
D. letter : alphabet
E. time : minutes
Ans : A
——————————————————————————————-
7. CONFIRMED : INVETERATE
A. knowledge : supposed
B. financial : bankrupt
C. immature : callow
D. credible : incredible
E. careful: punishing
Ans : B
——————————————————————————————-
8. LULLABY : BARCAROLE
A. birth : marriage
B. night : morning
C. cradle : gondola
D. song : poem
E. carol : sonneteer
Ans : C
——————————————————————————————-
9. ZOOLOGY : ANIMALS
A. ecology : pollution
B. botany : plants
C. chemistry : atoms
D. history : people
E. mathematics : geometry
Ans : B
——————————————————————————————-
10. DORY : VAN
A. dairy : cow
B. fish : vehicle
C. freighter: caisson
D. runners : wheels
E. danish : Dutch
Ans : C
English Practice Ex - 2 (Sentence Correction)
Correct the following sentences
1. Daniel come to judgment!
2. The army have been called to carry out the rescue operations.
3. The parliament is divided on the bill.
4. Do not pride on your youngness because one day you shall grow old.
5. Keep on laughing. Laugh is the best medicine.
6. His brother committed a thiefhood in his house.
7. The chair is made of a wood.
8. He wears glass to aid his short-sighted eyes.
9. Lata works as a she-servant in the house.
10. The team camped at Namkum. They followed a rigorous routine.
11. White experimenting on the guinea pig, the doctor took his special care.
12. Time passes in his chariot majestically.
13. The earth treats us as his children, not strangers.
14. When the moon comes between the earth and the sun, her shadow causes lunar eclipse.
15. Take care of the vixen because they are wily creatures.
16. the trees bore mangos last summer,
17. Who shall win if there is a contest between the dwarves and the giants?
18. Sunil Gavaskar scored more than ten thousands run.
19. He does not cut paper with blade, but with scissor.
20. The same board is used for chess as well as draught.
21. The Indians are a religious minded people.
22. It is very difficult to chase huge score in the forth innings.
23. Children should not seek admissions to the elders’ society.
24. The down-to-earth never forget the grounds on which they stand.
25. The law of indexes proves very helpful in algebric calculations.
26. The bright lamps gave much lights.
27. The practices of the lawyers very from those of the doctors.
28. The vehicle is a carrier of goods.
29. I spoke to Kumar Gaurav’s the actor’s secretary.
30. He brought the cake from Deepak’s.
31. There was no money in the bank in Mava’s and Veena’s joint account.
32. The cup’s base was rounded.
33. You will be promoted in the time of a year.
34. Mr. M is ready to make any sacrifice for the sake of justice.
35. Devendra Kaushik is Anand of our chess circle.
36. The fleet of ships move at a uniform speed.
37. Aurangzeb’s religious bigitism caused severe harm to the Mughal Empire.
38. The tin is a precious metal.
39. Queen Elizabeth is the monarchess of
40. the milkwomen said that she would not supply milk on holidays.
Answers (English Practice Ex - 2 (Sentence Correction))
Answers to Sentence Correction Exercise
1. come- came
2. have- has
3. on- by
4. youngness- youth
5. laugh- laughter
6. thiefhood- theft
7. of a- of
8. glass- glasses
9. she-servent- maid
10. they- it
11. his- its
12. its- his
13. his- her
14. her- its
15. they are- she is a
16. bore- bored
17. dwarves- dwarfs
18. thousands- thousand
19. scissor- pair of scissors
20. draught- draughts
21. no error
22. no error
23. admissions- admission
24. forget the ground
25. indexes- indices
26. lights- light
27. practice of the lawyers vary
28. no error
29. gaurav’s- gaurav
30. no error
31. no error
32. base of the cup
33. a years time
34. justice’s sake
35. is the anand
36. ship moves
37. bigotism- bigotry
38. no error
39. monarchess- monarch
40. milkwomen- milkmaid
