Error Detection

Error Detection forms a subsection of the reading comprehension. It forms a subset of the section on correct sentences. The main aim of error detection is to be able to identify sentences that can be corrected or that need correction. That section will follow but here in this article, we will see how to identify wrong sentences. Let us begin.

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Error Detection

A sentence is defined as a collection of words that have a meaning. In the English language, the sentences usually follow a grammatical structure of subject followed by the verb and then the object. It is also the SVO – structure. Further, there are other parts of a sentence, parts like the articles, the tense, the punctuation, the articles, modals etc. We will see examples of each case in the following sections. Let us begin now.

Adverb, Article, Adjective Errors

We shall begin with examples.

Q 1: People (1) are believing/ (2) in the medicine that/ the government dispensaries (3) have.

A) (1)             B) (2)               C) (3)             D) (1) & (2)

Answer: In these questions, the sentences have been split into sections with the help of slashes. One or more of these sections may be incorrect. You need to identify the section and pick the number for the section. The correct sentence can be written as: People believe in the medicine that the government dispensaries have. So the correct option is A) (1).

Q 2: (1) She walking (2) briskly (3) meant that she was in a hurry.

A) (1)      B) (2)            C) (3)             D) (2) & (3)

Answer: The correct sentence will be: Her walking briskly meant that she was in a hurry. Thus the correct option is (1).

Q 3: The vehicle was not (1) moving swiftly/ as it (2) stopped frequently/ at (3) regularly intervals.

A) (1)       B) (2)          C) (3)        D) (2) & (3)

Answer: If you read the sentence you will find that the noun intervals is being qualified by the adverb regularly. An adverb qualifies a verb and not a noun. To qualify a noun we use an adjective. The adjective of regularly is regular. Thus the correct sentence here is: The vehicle was not moving swiftly as it stopped frequently at regular intervals. The correct option thus is C) (3).

Browse more Topics under Correct Sentence

• Sentence Improvement
• Sentence Formation
• Sentence Connectors
• Phrase Replacement
• Common Errors in Spoken English
• Sentence Correction Practice Questions

Other Errors

Q 1: The (1) radically polarised/ (2) sections of the society /are (3) no good to anyone./ (4) No error.

A) (1)                B) (2)              C) (3)                 D) (4)

Answer: The sentence seems to be correct. So the option to be chosen here is D (4).

Q 2: The (1) function was held/ at Mumbai /(2) and as a result, /(3) not much of them/ (4) were able to attend it.

A) (1)                B) (2)              C) (3)                 D) (4)

Answer: The phrase not much of them is used for uncountable nouns. Hence the error here is in (3) and the correct option is C) (3).

Q 3: (1) The then/ (2) Prime Minister had issued/ (3) an order though /he was not (4) supposedly to/.

A) (1)                B) (2)              C) (3)                 D) (4)

Answer: The correct sentence is: The then prime minister had issued an order though he was not supposed to. So the answer is D) (4).

Passage Errors

Sometimes the sentences will be given as part of a passage and you will be asked to pick the incorrect sentence. Let us see with the help of a few examples.

In the following passage, sentences have been numbered in order. Some or all of them are incorrect. Detect the incorrect sentences.

(1)Very orderly and methodical he looked, with a hand on each knee, and a loud watch ticking a sonorous sermon under his flapped waist-coat, as though it pitted its gravity and longevity against the levity and evanescence of the brisk fire. (2) He had a good leg, and was a little vain of it, for his brown stockings fitted sleek and close, and were of a fine texture; his shoes and buckles, too, though plain, were trim. (3) He wore an odd little sleek crisp flaxen wig, setting very close to his head: which wig, it is to be presumably, was made of hair, but which looked far more as though it were spun from filaments of silk or glass.

A) (1)             B) (2)                C) (3)                  D) (1) & (3)

Answer: The correct sentence is: He wore an odd little sleek crisp flaxen wig, setting very close to his head: which wig, it is to be presumed, was made of hair, but which looked far more as though it were spun from filaments of silk or glass. Thus the correct option is C) (3)

Practice Question

In the following passage select the incorrect sentence.

(1) His linen, though not of a fineness in accordance with his stockings, was as white as the tops of the waves that broke upon the neighbouring beach, or the specks of sail that glint in the sunlight far at sea. (2) A face habitual suppressed and quieted, was still lighted up under the quaint wig by a pair of moist bright eyes that it must have cost their owner, in years gone by, some pains to drill to the composed and reserved expression of Tellson’s Bank. (3) He had a healthy colour in his cheeks, and his face, though lined, bore few traces of anxiety. (4) But, perhaps the confidential bachelor clerks in Tellson’s Bank were principally occupied with the cares of other people; and perhaps second-hand cares, like second-hand clothes, come easily off and on.

A) (1)             B) (2)                C) (3)                  D) (1) & (2)

Ans: D) (1) & (2)