Spotting Errors (Grammar)

Spotting Errors (Grammar)

Concept

Spotting Errors is one of the most high-frequency topics in SSC CGL Tier 2 English. A sentence is divided into four parts (marked as Option A, B, C, D). Your job is to find which part contains a grammatical or structural error. The error can be in subject-verb agreement, verb tense, article usage, preposition selection, pronoun-antecedent agreement, or parallel construction. Sometimes the entire sentence is correct — in that case, the answer is “No error.”

The key skill here is grammatical accuracy under time pressure. You need to develop the habit of scanning the entire sentence systematically rather than reading it once and guessing. Most errors in SSC questions fall into predictable patterns.

Key Points

• Subject-Verb Agreement: Watch for intervening phrases between subject and verb. “The盒 of the students were” — “box” is singular, so “was” is correct despite “students” being plural nearby.
• Tense Consistency: In complex sentences, the main clause and subordinate clause must have logically consistent tenses. “If I knew, I will help” → “would help.”
• Article Errors: “The” vs “a/an” misuse. “Honest” takes “an” because the sound matters, not the spelling. “A honest man” is wrong.
• Preposition Errors: Fixed prepositions are often tested with idioms — “independent of,” “afraid of,” “comprised of” (not “comprised from”).
• Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Collective nouns take singular verbs in formal English (“The team is playing well”) but plural in American usage.
• Parallel Structure: Items in a list must follow the same grammatical pattern. “She likes reading, to write, and dancing” → “reading, writing, and dancing.”

Worked Example

Q: The principal along with the teachers (A) / have requested (B) / the management to provide (C) / better facilities. (D) / No error (E)

Approach: The subject is “principal” (singular). The phrase “along with the teachers” is parenthetical — it does not change the number of the subject. The verb must be singular. “Have requested” is wrong — it should be “has requested.”

Answer: B

SSC Pattern / Tips

• The error is most commonly in the verb (subject-verb agreement or tense form).
• Watch for “along with,” “as well as,” “together with,” “not only…but also” — these do NOT make the subject plural.
• “Neither…nor” and “either…or” take the verb that agrees with the nearer subject.
• Always check if “no error” could be correct — but only 1-2 questions per paper have this answer.