Spotting Errors Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The part that needs a change is 'expected'. After 'didn't' the main verb takes the base form, so the sentence should read 'I didn't expect to pass the exam'. 'Surprised' and 'passed' are in the right forms, and 'didn't' is correctly used with the base verb that must follow it. So 'expected' is the one to change.

Answer: C

In the sentence, part (3), 'depends at several factors', has the error: the verb depends takes the preposition on, so it should read 'depends on several factors'. Part (1), 'Whether or not an', and part (2), 'unpleasant scent will linger', are correct. Since there is an error, 'No error' is wrong. The answer is part 3, option (C). The phrase depend on is the fixed combination, as in 'it depends on the weather', and no other preposition is used with it.

Answer: C

Part (3), 'their star like Mercury is to our sun', has the error. When a clause follows, as in 'Mercury is to our sun', the comparison needs the conjunction as, and the right form is 'as close to their star as Mercury is to our sun'. The word like is used with a noun or pronoun and not with a clause. Parts (1) and (2) are correct, and since there is an error, 'No error' is wrong. So the answer is part 3, option (C).

Answer: A

The error is in 'I losed my folder'.

'Lose' is an irregular verb whose past tense is 'lost', not 'losed'. The sentence should read 'I lost my folder'.

The other three segments, 'which had all my documents', 'while travelling' and 'to my hometown', are grammatically correct.

The past tense of 'lose' is 'lost', as in 'I lost my pen'. Verbs such as 'lose', 'choose' and 'freeze' do not take -ed, and 'losed' is therefore a common error. The other parts of the sentence need no change.

Answer: B

The error is in 'deprived from'.

The correct phrase is 'deprived of', as in 'deprived of his right'. 'Deprived from' is not used.

'He was', 'his right to' and 'his ancestral property' are correct.

The verb 'deprive' always takes 'of', as in 'deprived of freedom'. The other prepositions in the sentence, 'to' in 'right to', are correct. This is a common error and is often tested.

Answer: B

The spelling error is in altar.

'Altar' is a table in a place of worship. The sentence needs 'alter', which means to change.

'Decided', 'fitting' and 'loose' are correctly spelt.

'Altar' and 'alter' are homophones, words that sound the same but are spelt differently. The altar is a sacred table, and to alter means to change. Altering the fitting of a dress means changing how it fits, so the sentence needs 'alter'.

Answer: A

The spelling error is in berth.

A 'berth' is a sleeping place on a train or ship. The sentence needs 'birth', as in the birth of a child.

'Young', 'welcomed' and 'happiness' are correct.

'Berth' and 'birth' are homophones. A berth is a bunk or a place for a ship to dock, and birth is the act of being born. The sentence is about the arrival of a young child, so the correct spelling is 'birth'.

Answer: B

The error is in should be given.

After a verb of requesting, demanding or suggesting, formal English uses the subjunctive: the bare form of the verb with no auxiliary. The correct sentence is 'I requested that he be given the driving test today instead of tomorrow.' Adding 'should' makes the clause redundant, since the request already expresses the obligation.

'Requested that' is the correct way to introduce the clause. 'The driving test' is a correct noun phrase. 'Instead of tomorrow' correctly sets the alternative against 'today'.

Answer: B

The error is in part (B), 'My heart was interrupted beating'.

'Interrupt' does not work this way: a heart is not 'interrupted beating'. The idea of fear stopping the heartbeat is expressed idiomatically as 'my heart stopped beating' or 'my heart missed a beat'.

The other parts are acceptable: 'When the teacher alleged' introduces the time clause, and 'out of panic that I might be the victim' gives the reason. Since the sentence does contain an error, 'No error' is wrong.

Answer: C

The corrected sentence is The scenery is beautiful.

Scenery is an uncountable noun: it refers to the landscape as a whole and has no plural form, so sceneries is an error. As an uncountable noun it takes a singular verb, so are becomes is.

The other options keep the wrong plural. The sceneries were beautiful only changes the tense, and The sceneries was beautiful adds a mismatch between subject and verb. "No errors" is wrong because the sentence does contain one. Other uncountable nouns that learners wrongly pluralise include information, furniture, luggage and advice.