Spotting Errors Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The part that needs a change is 'happen'. In 'It's the second time this has happen' the verb comes after 'has', so it needs the past participle 'happened'. The words 'has lost' are correct for a present perfect sentence, and 'second' is a correct ordinal for the time. So 'happen' is the error to be changed.

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: A

The error is in part (1), None is.

The sentence compares 'none' with 'those who will not hear', a plural group, so 'none' here means 'no people' and takes a plural verb. The proverb is correctly 'None are so deaf as those who will not hear', often given as 'There are none so deaf as those who will not hear'.

The other parts are correct: 'so deaf as' is the standard form of comparison after a negative, 'as those' refers to people, and 'who will not hear' is the relative clause describing them.

Answer: D

The error is in part (4), with his own.

When the indefinite pronoun 'one' is the subject, the possessive that refers back to it should also be 'one's', not 'his': 'Cannot one do what one likes with one's own?' The sentence already keeps 'one' consistent in parts (1) and (3), so part (4) should match.

'Cannot one', 'do what' and 'one likes' are all correct as they stand.