Spotting Errors Practice Questions

5 questions per page • Detailed step-by-step solutions

Directions (Q. )

Read each sentence to determine whether it contains any grammatical error. The error, if any, will be in only one part of the sentence. Mark the letter corresponding to that part as your answer. If the sentence is free of error, choose 'E'. (Ignore punctuation errors, if any.)

Question 1
Easy
A The amount of people
B who attended the rally
C was far more than
D the organisers expected
E No error
Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

'People' is countable, so 'amount of' is wrong. Use 'number of', so 'The amount of people' should be 'The number of people'.
Question 2
Easy
A The bus
B had already left
C when we reached
D the stop
E No error
Correct Answer: E

Explanation:

The past perfect 'had already left' correctly shows an earlier action before 'reached'. The sentence has no error.
Question 3
Medium
A He is one of those
B people who never
C gives up
D on their goals
E No error
Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The relative pronoun 'who' refers to the plural noun 'people', so the verb should be 'give up', not 'gives up'.
Question 4
Easy
A Mathematics
B are
C a compulsory subject
D for all students
E No error
Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

'Mathematics' is a singular noun although it ends in -s, so the verb should be 'is'.
Question 5
Medium
A Either the mangoes
B or the apples
C is ripe
D for the market
E No error
Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

With 'either...or', the verb agrees with the nearer subject, 'the apples', which is plural. So 'is ripe' should be 'are ripe'.