Spotting Errors (Grammar)

Spotting Errors (Grammar)

🟢 Lite

Key Pattern/Rule

Find the one part of the sentence that breaks a grammar rule — the answer is always one underlined segment.

Memory Trick

“Spell It Out” — Subject-verb, Articles, Prepositions, Inverted word order, Number (singular/plural), Parallel structure, Tense, Modifier placement. Check each in that order.

1-Sentence Summary

GATE tests your ability to spot which underlined portion of a sentence violates standard English grammar rules.

The Big 5 Error Categories

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

• “Each of the students were given” → were → was (each = always singular)
• “Neither the students nor the teacher has been” → has → have been (verb agrees with nearer subject)
• “The committee have decided” → have → has (collective noun = singular in American English)

Watch for:

• Phrases between subject and verb: “The quality of the products are…” → quality IS (not are)
• “And” vs “with/besides/along with”: “The CEO and the employees are…” (both = plural); “The CEO along with employees is…” (CEO = singular)

2. Article Errors (a/an/the)

• “An one-way street” → An → A (one begins with consonant sound /w/)
• “She is a intelligent girl” → a → an (intelligent begins with vowel sound /ɪ/)
• “The honesty is a rare quality” → remove “the” (abstract nouns don’t take articles)
• “He is the manager of the company” → correct (specific role with unique reference)

Sound rule: “an” before vowel SOUNDS (/æ/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ɒ/, /ʌ/, /ɑː/, /ɔː/, /uː/, /iː/) — but also: an hour, an honest man, an heir, an honour (silent h). “a” before consonant sounds.

3. Tense and Verb Form

• “I have seen him yesterday” → have seen → saw (yesterday = past, not present perfect)
• “If I was you, I would…” → was → were (subjunctive mood — “If I were,” “If he were”)
• “It is important that he submits” → submits → submit (subjunctive after “important that”)

4. Preposition Errors

• “Comply to the rules” → to → with
• “Dependent from others” → from → on
• “In spite of the rain” → “In spite of” is correct! (but “Despite the rain” is simpler)
• “Prefer to going” → to going → going (prefer + gerund, not infinitive “to go”)

Common fixed prepositions:

• Comply with, approve of, consist of, differ from, depend on
• Capable of, fond of, aware of, guilty of, similar to
• Interested in, married to, afraid of, proud of

5. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

• “Everyone must bring their own pen” → their → his/her (Everyone = singular; “their” is sometimes accepted in modern usage but GATE may prefer his/her)
• “Each student and teacher have” → have → has (each + and = singular)
• “Neither of the options seem right” → seem → seems (neither = singular)

Quick Example

Q: “Neither the students nor the teacher has been informed about the change.” A: (B) has been → have been — compound subject takes the verb agreeing with the nearer noun “students” (plural). The rule: with “neither…nor” or “either…or,” the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

Common Trick Cases

Pattern	Rule
”The number of”	Always singular: “The number of students is rising"
"A number of”	Always plural: “A number of students are present"
"Every”	Singular: “Every student has arrived"
"Neither/nor”	Verb matches the nearer subject
”Data”	Increasingly treated as plural: “The data show…” (GATE may accept both)
“Between…and”	Not “between…or"
"I would have liked to go”	Not “I would have liked going”

⚡ GATE Exam Tip: When you can’t find the error, check the non-underlined parts of the sentence — the error often involves how the underlined portion interacts with the rest of the sentence. If three options clearly have no error, the fourth must be it — go with your instinct.

🟡 Standard

Concept

Spotting Errors is one of the oldest and most reliable question types in GATE Verbal Ability. You’re given a sentence with four underlined portions (A, B, C, D) and asked to identify which one contains a grammatical error. Sometimes there’s a “no error” option. The key is to approach the sentence systematically — read it once for meaning, then scan for the most common trouble spots.

The grammar rules tested are the standard ones you learned in school but probably forgot: subject-verb agreement across distances and intervening phrases, article selection based on whether the noun is countable or abstract, preposition selection that depends on the verb or adjective paired with it, and pronoun clarity about what each pronoun refers to.

GATE doesn’t try to trick you with obscure rules. They test the fundamentals that trip up even educated writers: subject-verb number mismatch when the subject is separated from its verb by a clause or phrase, wrong article forms (saying “an” before a consonant sound), tense shifts within a sentence, and wrong prepositions after fixed expressions.

Types & Approach

Subject-Verb Agreement — Spot it when the subject is far from the verb, or when “and” vs “with/besides/together with” changes the verb number. Approach: ignore intervening phrases, identify the true subject, match its number.

Article Errors (a/an/the) — Spot it when you see a noun preceded by an article. Check if the sound that follows the article matches the article form: “an hour” (h is silent), “a university” (yoo = consonant sound), “an honest man.” Also watch for “the” vs “a/an” for specific vs general nouns.

Tense Consistency — Spot it when you see multiple time references in one sentence. Once you establish the narrative time (past, present, ongoing), no unexplained shifts. Watch for “had been” + “was” mismatches in complex sentences.

Preposition Errors — Spot it when a verb or adjective is followed by an unusual preposition. Many prepositions are fixed by convention: “comply with,” “depend on,” “independent of.” You just have to know them.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement — Spot it when a pronoun (he/she/it/they) refers back to a noun. Singular antecedents get singular pronouns; plural get plural. Watch for collective nouns (“team is” — singular, though some style guides allow plural).

Step-by-Step Example

Q: “Each of the contestants were given a chance to speak.” Approach: Step 1 → Identify subject: “Each” (singular). Step 2 → Check verb agreement: “were given” is plural. Step 3 → Confirm: “Each of” always takes a singular verb. Answer: (C) were given → was given

Common Mistakes

• “Neither/nor” treated as always plural → Actually, verb agrees with the nearer subject: “Neither he nor his friends are coming” (friends = plural) vs “Neither he nor his friend is coming” (friend = singular).
• “The number of” is singular, “A number of” is plural → Don’t confuse them.
• Present Perfect tense used where Simple Past is needed → “I have seen him yesterday” → “I saw him yesterday.”
• Using “that” for people (“the man that told me”) → Use “who” for people.

🔴 Extended

Full Concept Explanation

Spotting Errors questions in GATE are deceptively simple-looking but require you to hold many grammar rules simultaneously in your head while reading for meaning. The typical format presents a sentence with four segments underlined (A, B, C, D, E) and asks you to identify the grammatically incorrect portion. There is sometimes a “no error” option, which is correct roughly 10-15% of the time — don’t be afraid to select it if you’ve genuinely checked everything.

The reason this question type exists in a technical entrance exam like GATE is straightforward: engineers and scientists must write precise technical reports, papers, and documentation. Grammatical errors in technical writing can cause misunderstandings with real consequences. GATE tests grammar that matters in professional communication, not grammatical pedantry about splitting infinitives or ending sentences with prepositions.

Let’s systematically examine each grammar area GATE tests:

Subject-Verb Agreement extends beyond simple singular-plural matching. The trickiest case is compound subjects joined by “and” versus those joined by “as well as,” “along with,” “together with,” “in addition to,” or “but.” Only the first group takes a plural verb. “The CEO as well as the employees is attending” — the subject is CEO (singular), so the verb is singular despite “employees” being plural and closer to the verb. This is the “proximity trap” and it’s tested constantly.

Another nuance: collective nouns like “team,” “jury,” “committee,” “family,” and “government” take singular verbs in American English when the unit acts as one entity, but plural verbs when members act individually. “The jury is deliberating” (one unit) vs “The jury are divided in their opinions” (individual members). In GATE, assume singular unless context strongly suggests otherwise.

Article Usage requires you to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns, between specific and general references, and between vowel sounds and consonant sounds. The “an” rule is based on sound, not spelling: “an MBA” (M begins with a vowel sound), “a UPS unit” (U begins with a consonant sound /ʌ/), “an FBI agent,” “a PhD.” For abstract nouns and uncountable nouns like “information,” “advice,” “furniture,” “research,” never use “a/an” — they take “some” or nothing at all.

Tense Consistency in complex sentences is about maintaining a logical narrative time. The main rule: don’t shift tenses without a reason. If the main clause is in past tense, the subordinate clause should generally stay in past unless it represents a general truth. “He discovered that water freezes at 0°C” — “freezes” is present because it’s a general truth. “He discovered that water was contaminated” — past because it’s a specific past event within the past narrative.

Parallel Structure demands that items joined by “and,” “but,” “or,” or correlative conjunctions (“both…and,” “neither…nor,” “not only…but also”) have the same grammatical form. “She likes hiking, swimming, and to bike” is wrong — the list should be “hiking, swimming, and biking.” Watch especially for “not only…but also” constructions where the second half sometimes gets a different form.

Modifier Placement errors occur when a modifier is positioned where it could grammatically attach to the wrong word. A classic dangling modifier: “Walking to class, the library looked old.” Who is walking? The library can’t walk. The sentence should be “Walking to class, I noticed how old the library looked.” Squinting modifiers are ambiguous because they could modify either what comes before or after: “Students who study regularly often pass” — does “regularly” modify “study” or “often pass”? Usually context resolves it, but such sentences are considered poorly constructed.

GATE-Level Practice

Q1: “The committee have decided to postpone the meeting until next week.” Answer: (A) have → has — “Committee” is a collective noun treated as singular in standard formal English. While British English sometimes treats collective nouns as plural, GATE follows American conventions. The committee acts as one unit and takes a singular verb.

Q2: “It is important that every student submits their assignment on time.” Answer: (C) submits → submit — After “important that,” use subjunctive mood: base verb without -s. This is a fixed construction: “It is essential that he be present,” “It is crucial that she submit the form,” “It is necessary that every employee sign the document.” The -s form is wrong here even though “every student” is third-person singular.

Q3: “Despite of the heavy traffic, we arrived on time.” Answer: (B) Despite of → Despite — “Despite” is a preposition that takes a noun object directly: “Despite the heavy traffic.” “In spite of” is the two-word alternative that also works. “Despite of” is a common error — the “of” is unnecessary and incorrect.

Multiple Approaches

Standard method: Read the entire sentence first. Identify its core message. Then check each underlined segment against one of the grammar categories. Start with the ones you find most reliably (often subject-verb agreement and articles are the fastest to check).

Shortcut method: When you see “each,” “every,” “either,” “neither,” “one of,” “none of” followed by a plural noun, immediately flag for singular verb agreement. When you see “and” between two nouns that represent a single entity (“bread and butter,” “law and order”), flag for singular verb. When you see “a/an/the” before a noun, check if the article choice matches the noun type.

Elimination method: If you can prove three options are correct, the fourth must be the error. This is especially useful when the “error” is subtle. Check the non-underlined portions too — sometimes the error isn’t in an underlined segment but affects how the underlined portion interacts with the rest of the sentence.

Tricky Cases / Edge Cases

• “Data” is increasingly treated as plural in formal writing (“The data show…”) even though traditionally it was a mass noun. In GATE, treat “data” as plural unless the question specifically uses it as a mass noun.
• “Which/That” distinction: “that” introduces essential (defining) clauses with no comma; “which” introduces non-essential (non-defining) clauses set off by commas. Both are grammatically correct in different contexts — GATE sometimes tests whether you know which is appropriate.
• “Fewer/Less”: “fewer” for countable nouns (“fewer mistakes”), “less” for uncountable (“less time,” “less water”). However, “less than” works for numbers: “less than five days.” This is a frequent GATE trap.
• “Who/Whom”: In modern usage, “who” is increasingly acceptable even in the objective case. GATE typically follows traditional grammar: “Whoever you choose” (subject) vs “Whomever you select” (object) — though the latter sounds unnatural to most ears.

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