Error Spotting with Shortcut tricks Set 04

Answer: (b) Part (b)

Explanation:
1. In a reported (indirect) question the helping verb does not come before the subject; the order is subject + verb, as in a statement.
2. Correct form: 'how she could manage to attain fame'.
3. The other parts are correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. After a reporting verb such as asked, use statement word order.
2. Question order (how could she) is only for direct speech.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. 'Preferable' already has a comparative sense and takes 'to', so 'more' is redundant.
2. Correct form: 'preferable to that of any other person'.
3. Never use more, most or than with words like preferable, superior, inferior and senior.

Teacher's Note:
1. Superior, inferior, senior, junior, prior and preferable are followed by 'to', not 'than'.
2. Do not put 'more' before them.

Answer: (d) Part (d)

Explanation:
1. A period of time that has continued up to now is introduced by 'for', while 'from' and 'since' need a starting point.
2. Correct form: 'for the last 12 years'.
3. The present perfect continuous 'has been working' is correctly used in part (b).

Teacher's Note:
1. Since + point of time, for + length of time.
2. 'From last 12 years' is never correct.

Answer: (a) Part (a)

Explanation:
1. The phrasal verb is 'look forward to', so the preposition 'for' is wrong.
2. Correct form: 'We now look forward to'.
3. The rest of the sentence is grammatically sound.

Teacher's Note:
1. Learn fixed prepositions: look forward to, look for, look after.
2. 'To' in 'look forward to' is a preposition, so a gerund can follow it.

Answer: (a) Part (a)

Explanation:
1. 'Since last June' marks the starting point of an action that is still going on, so the present perfect continuous tense is required.
2. Correct form: 'We have been playing tennis together every morning since last June'.
3. A simple present 'play' cannot be used with 'since'.

Teacher's Note:
1. Since or for with a continuing action calls for the present perfect (continuous).
2. Simple present is used for general habits without since.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. The noun 'show' is a singular countable noun and needs a determiner before it.
2. Correct form: 'the show was' (or 'his show was').
3. 'In spite of his being a Quiz Master' is correct: a possessive is used before a gerund.

Teacher's Note:
1. A singular countable noun cannot stand without an article or other determiner.
2. Possessive + gerund (his being) is the formal, correct pattern.

Answer: (d) Part (d)

Explanation:
1. The noun 'attention' is followed by the preposition 'to' when it means care given to someone.
2. Correct form: 'personal attention to each child'.
3. Part (c) is correct once the article is present (a superlative takes 'the').

Teacher's Note:
1. Attention is followed by 'to'.
2. A superlative such as 'best' needs 'the' before it.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. We say that the sky is cleared 'of' clouds; 'cleared by' wrongly shows the clouds as the doer.
2. Correct form: 'cleared of clouds'.
3. The preposition after clear (meaning free from) is 'of'.

Teacher's Note:
1. Verbs of removing or freeing take 'of': cleared of, robbed of, deprived of.
2. Lightning (flash in the sky) has no 'e' before 'ning'.

Answer: (d) Part (d)

Explanation:
1. The noun 'importance' is followed by 'of' when we say what is important.
2. Correct form: 'the importance of your work'.
3. 'Get whatever you deserve' is correct in part (b).

Teacher's Note:
1. Importance of something is the standard pattern.
2. Check noun + preposition combinations.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. The correlative pair 'not only ... but also' must join items of the same grammatical form.
2. In (b) 'not only' is followed by 'the main report', so 'but also' must be followed by 'the agenda notes and minutes'; the extra 'for preparing' breaks the parallel.
3. Correct form: 'but also the agenda notes and minutes'.

Teacher's Note:
1. Place the words after not only and but also in the same grammatical form.
2. Repeating the verb or preposition after only one half spoils parallelism.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. The verb 'suffer' takes the preposition 'from' for the cause of trouble.
2. Correct form: 'suffer from shortage of funds'.
3. Parts (a), (b) and (d) are correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. Suffer from (a disease or lack), not suffer of.
2. Memorise verb + preposition pairs.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. A passive verb needs the past participle (third form) after 'were'.
2. Correct form: 'were overlooked by'.
3. 'Overlook' is the base form and cannot follow 'were'.

Teacher's Note:
1. Passive voice = form of be + past participle.
2. Watch for a base form after was, were, is, are.

Answer: (e) No error

Explanation:
1. All four parts are idiomatic and grammatical.
2. 'Do not trouble yourself about writing' and 'in the humour for it' are both correct.
3. So the sentence needs no correction.

Teacher's Note:
1. Do not hunt for an error that is not there.
2. Mark 'No error' only after checking each part.

Answer: (b) Part (b)

Explanation:
1. 'Much' is not used before an adjective in the positive degree, and the comparison with 'higher altitudes' calls for 'more' (more windy / windier).
2. Correct form: 'becomes more windy'.
3. The other parts are correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. Before an adjective in the positive degree use 'very' or 'more' as needed, not 'much'.
2. 'Much' goes with comparatives such as much windier.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. The negative infinitive is 'not to' + verb; 'to not to' repeats 'to'.
2. Correct form: 'advised all the staff not to indulge in gossip'.
3. 'Indulge in' is the correct phrasal verb in (d).

Teacher's Note:
1. Negative infinitive = not + to + verb, as in 'not to go'.
2. Never write 'to not to'.

Answer: (b) Part (b)

Explanation:
1. When the object of a verb is the same person as its subject, a reflexive pronoun must be used.
2. Correct form: 'dressed himself'.
3. 'Him' would refer to some other person.

Teacher's Note:
1. Subject and object are the same person: use himself, herself, themselves etc.
2. Use him or her only for a different person.

Answer: (e) No error

Explanation:
1. The plural subject 'activities' correctly takes the plural verb 'come'.
2. 'Come to a standstill' and 'paucity of funds' are standard expressions.
3. No part needs correction.

Teacher's Note:
1. Find the real subject (activities, not government) before checking the verb.
2. 'Due to' after a verb is accepted in modern usage.

Answer: (a) Part (a)

Explanation:
1. The idiom meaning 'on the point of' is 'was about to', and the word order is fixed.
2. Correct form: 'I was about to go out of my house'.
3. The rest of the sentence is correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. Be about to + verb means to be on the point of doing something.
2. Word order in set phrases cannot be changed.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. The action happened in the past (while he was away), so the verb must be in the past tense.
2. Correct form: 'his office received an important letter'.
3. Present-tense 'receive' does not agree with the past tense of the clause.

Teacher's Note:
1. Keep verb tenses consistent with the time of the story.
2. A singular subject 'office' in the present would also need 'receives'.

Answer: (d) Part (d)

Explanation:
1. The main clause is in the past (was expecting, would inform), so the noun clause must use the future-in-the-past form.
2. Correct form: 'whether he would go or not'.
3. Parts (a), (b) and (c) are correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. Follow sequence of tenses: past main verb, past form (would/should) in the dependent clause.
2. Whether he went or not does not express a future decision.

Answer: (b) Part (b)

Explanation:
1. The reporting verb 'promised' is in the past, so in indirect speech 'will' changes to 'would'.
2. Correct form: 'that he would explain it'.
3. 'If they came' and the time phrase in (d) already follow the past-tense pattern.

Teacher's Note:
1. After a past reporting verb, shift will to would and present tense to past tense.
2. Keep every verb in the reported clause in the past pattern.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. 'Scarcely/Hardly ... when' is the correct pair; 'that' cannot replace 'when'.
2. Correct form: 'when he was told'.
3. The inversion 'Scarcely had he gone' in (a)-(b) is correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. Hardly or scarcely goes with when; no sooner goes with than.
2. Never pair them with that.

Answer: (a) Part (a)

Explanation:
1. 'One of' must be followed by a plural noun.
2. Correct form: 'One of the objectives'.
3. The singular verb 'was' is correct because the subject is 'one'.

Teacher's Note:
1. One of the + plural noun + singular verb.
2. A plural noun after 'one of' is compulsory.

Answer: (c) Part (c)

Explanation:
1. 'Everyone' is a singular indefinite pronoun and takes a singular verb.
2. Correct form: 'everyone was standing in silence'.
3. 'Was being sung' is a correct past continuous passive.

Teacher's Note:
1. Everyone, everybody, each and nobody take singular verbs.
2. Do not be misled by the plural noun nearby.

Answer: (d) Part (d)

Explanation:
1. The main verb 'neglects' is in the present tense, and a permanent fact (the college is near) must also be in the present.
2. Correct form: 'though college is only a few yards away from his house'.
3. The other parts are correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. Keep tense consistent between the main clause and the 'though' clause.
2. Statements that are always true take the present tense.

Answer: (d) Part (d)

Explanation:
1. The idiom is 'have a difference with someone over/about something'; 'at' is not used.
2. Correct form: 'the chairman over his statement'.
3. 'Had a difference' is correct backshift in reported speech.

Teacher's Note:
1. Fix the preposition: differ with a person, differ on or over a matter.
2. At is used with anger, surprise or a place.

Answer: (a) Part (a)

Explanation:
1. A participle adjective ending in -ing describes the cause, while -ed describes the person who feels the effect.
2. Correct form: 'We were shocked'.
3. 'Shocking' would describe the news, not us.

Teacher's Note:
1. Shocked, surprised, tired etc. describe feelings; shocking, surprising describe the cause.
2. People feel; things cause the feeling.

Answer: (b) Part (b)

Explanation:
1. 'Being tried' is a passive form and cannot take the object 'their best'; the active form is needed.
2. Correct form: 'are trying their best'.
3. 'To popularise preventive measures' is correct.

Teacher's Note:
1. Use the active voice when the subject performs the action on an object.
2. Try one's best is an active phrase.