Error Spotting

Error Spotting: Study Material Made Easy with Emojis 🕵️‍♂️✅

What is Error Spotting? 🤔

• Error spotting means finding grammar or usage mistakes in sentences.
• Common in English exams like SSC CHSL.
• With practice and some rules, you can master this section! 💪

Top Tips for Error Spotting 📝

1. Some singular nouns are actually plural!
   • Words like: police, clergy, people, cattle.
   • ❌ People has left.
   • ✅ People have left. 👥
2. Some nouns always take a plural verb.
   • Words like: clothes, scissors, trousers, spectacles.
   • ❌ The spectacles is missing.
   • ✅ The spectacles are missing. 👓
3. Measurement nouns stay singular after numbers (if followed by another noun).
   • ❌ This is a 9-meters scale.
   • ✅ This is a 9-meter scale. 📏
4. Keep pronouns consistent!
   • ❌ One must help his siblings.
   • ✅ One must help one’s siblings. 👤
5. Use ‘whose’ for people, ‘which’ for things.
   • ❌ Which phone is kept on charging?
   • ✅ Whose phone is kept on charging? 📱
6. ‘Fewer’ for number, ‘less’ for quantity.
   • ❌ No less than thirty dogs were.
   • ✅ No fewer than thirty dogs were. 🐶
7. Question tags are always opposite in polarity.
   • ❌ It’s a bit early, is it?
   • ✅ It’s a bit early, isn’t it? ⏰
8. Use ’that’ after superlative adjectives, not ‘who’ or ‘which’.
   • ❌ These are the best which he could get.
   • ✅ These are the best that he could get. 🥇
9. ‘As’ is used before and after adjectives to show equality.
   • ❌ I can write as fast, if not faster than her.
   • ✅ I can write as fast as, if not faster than her. ✍️
10. ‘Though’ is followed by ‘yet’, not ‘but’.
    • ❌ Though he is rich but he is kind.
    • ✅ Though he is rich, yet he is kind. 💰
11. Never use ‘not’ with ‘unless’.
    • ❌ Unless you do not pay the fine, you will not be excused.
    • ✅ Unless you pay the fine, you will not be excused. 💵
12. ‘While’ for time duration, ‘when’ for general sense.
    • ❌ When learning how to box, the technique is important.
    • ✅ While learning how to box, the technique is important. 🥊

Smart Strategies for Error Spotting 🧠

• Read the sentence carefully for meaning and structure.
• Check each part independently if the error isn’t obvious.
• Eliminate wrong choices before selecting your answer.
• Remember: The error is always underlined or highlighted.

Common Error Examples with Explanations 📝

1. Singular/Plural & Determiners

• ❌ Their was a place near the resort…
• ✅ There was a place near the resort… 🏨

2. Negative Sentences

• ❌ Katherine did not want something to do with Richard…
• ✅ Katherine did not want anything to do with Richard… 🚫

3. Quantifiers

• ❌ The results weren’t announced for much time…
• ✅ The results weren’t announced for some time… ⏳

4. Articles

• ❌ A only reason Mario decided…
• ✅ The only reason Mario decided… 🎯

5. Countable/Uncountable

• ❌ Much people decide to fast…
• ✅ Many people decide to fast… 🙏

Quick Reference Table 📊

How to Practice? 💡

• Read sentences and look for these common errors.
• Try to spot which part is wrong and why.
• Practice with real exam-style questions.

Keep practicing these rules and examples! Error spotting will become much easier! 🌟 ¹²