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Sentence Improvement

Description: This test covers the kind of sentence improvement questions found in competitive exams.
Number of Questions: 19
Created by:
Tags: english Error Identification
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Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

By the time he gets back from his foreign vacation, the company has appointed another person.

  1. by the time

  2. he gets back

  3. from his foreign vacation

  4. the company has appointed

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: D
Explanation:

It should be: the company will have appointed. We use the future perfect tense to suggest that something will have been done by a certain time in the future.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

I decided to see the doctor because I had been feeling ill during last few weeks.

  1. decided to see

  2. because

  3. had been feeling

  4. during last few weeks

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: D
Explanation:

It should be ‘for the last few weeks’. 'During' tells us about the period when something happens. 'For' tells us how long it continues or lasts, e.g. I was ill for three days during my holidays.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. By next Christmas, we will have been here for eight years.

  1. by next Christmas

  2. will have been

  3. here

  4. for eight years

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: E
Explanation:

This sentence contains no errors.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

I have been working on this project for the three last months.

  1. have been working

  2. on this project

  3. for

  4. the three last months

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: D
Explanation:

It should be ‘the last three months’.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. There was a big argument about if we should move to a bigger house.

  1. there was

  2. argument about

  3. if we should

  4. move to

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It should be ‘whether we should’. After a preposition, we cannot use an if-clause. Instead, we use ‘whether’.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. I have been living in this city since last several years but have never experienced any discrimination.

  1. have been living

  2. in this city

  3. since last several years

  4. have never experienced

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It should be ‘for the last several years’. To indicate duration, we use ‘for’. ‘Since’ is used to indicate the starting point of actions and situations.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. The judge paid a lot of attention to that the master had abused the boy both physically and emotionally.

  1. the judge paid

  2. a lot of attention

  3. attention to that

  4. master had abused

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It should be ‘attention to the fact that’. We cannot put a that-clause immediately after a preposition. In this case, we use the expression ‘the fact’ between the preposition and the that-clause.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

He is not only involved in conducting adult literacy programs but also in organising workshops for the unemployed.

  1. he is not only involved in conducting

  2. adult literacy programs

  3. but also in organising

  4. for the unemployed

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: A
Explanation:

It should be ‘he is involved not only in conducting’. When we use a correlative conjunction like not only … but also …, the same kind of words should follow both parts. For example, if ‘not only’ is followed by a verb, ‘but also’, too, should be followed by a verb. In this case, ‘not only’ is followed by a verb, and ‘but also’ is followed by a preposition. This is incorrect. The sentence should read: He is involved not only in conducting adult literacy programs, but also in organising workshop for the unemployed.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. If it weren’t for the children, we haven’t had anything to talk about.

  1. if it weren’t

  2. for the children

  3. we haven’t had

  4. anything to talk about

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It should be ‘we wouldn’t have’. When the verb in the if-clause is in the past simple tense, we use would + infinitive in the main clause.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. If you hadn’t phoned her we would never have found out what was happening.

  1. if you hadn’t

  2. phoned her

  3. we would never have found out

  4. what was happening

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: E
Explanation:

This sentence contains no errors.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. Due to some unavoidable circumstances, the meeting was postponed indefinite, but the members could not be informed.

  1. due to some unavoidable circumstances

  2. the meeting was postponed

  3. indefinite

  4. the members could not be informed

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It should be ‘indefinitely’. Indefinite is an adjective, but we require the adverb indefinitely here.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. If I would have realized he was in trouble, I would have done something to bail him out.

  1. if I would have realized

  2. he was in trouble

  3. i would have done

  4. to bail him out

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: A
Explanation:

This part should be ‘if I had realized’. To talk about an imaginary situation in the past, we use a past perfect tense in the if-clause and would have + past participle in the main clause.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. Not only they need clothing, but they are also short of food and water.

  1. not only they need

  2. clothing

  3. but they are also

  4. short of food and water

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: A
Explanation:

It should be ‘not only do they need’. When a negative expression goes at the beginning of a sentence, it should be followed by auxiliary verb + subject. In this case, the sentence should read: Not only do they need clothing, but they are also short of food and water.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

He shouted at his secretary and told her that he does not need her service.

  1. he shouted at

  2. and told her

  3. that

  4. he does not need

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: D
Explanation:

This part should be ‘he did not need’. When the verb in the main clause is in the past tense, the verb in the subordinate clause, too, needs to be in the past tense.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

Children of divorced parents may have difficulty to form stable relationships themselves.

  1. children of divorced parents

  2. may have

  3. difficulty to form

  4. stable relationships themselves

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It should be ‘difficulty in forming’. The noun difficulty takes the preposition ‘in’ and an –ing form.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

I found this bangle while digging in the backyard and I don’t know who it belonged to.

  1. i found

  2. while digging in

  3. in the backyard

  4. who it belonged to

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: D
Explanation:

It should be ‘to whom it belonged’. The sentence should read: I don’t know to whom it belonged. When the relative pronoun is the object of the relative clause, we use ‘whom’ instead of ‘who’. Note that in this case, the preposition normally goes before ‘whom’.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer. I had been shocked when I heard that my business partner had left the country without informing me.

  1. i had been shocked

  2. when I heard that

  3. my business partner had left the country

  4. without informing me

  5. no error

Show answer
Correct Option: A
Explanation:

It should be ‘I was shocked’. The past perfect tense is not used to say that something happened in the past. It is used to suggest that one action had been completed before another action commenced.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there are no errors, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

I saw Mary step off the pavement, crossing the road and disappear into the post office.

  1. I saw Mary

  2. step off the pavement

  3. crossing the road

  4. disappear into the post office

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It should be ‘cross the road’. This is an error of parallelism. When the other two elements in the series use infinitives, this element cannot use an–ing form.

Directions: The following sentence may contain an error. You have to find that part of the sentence which contains the error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’ as your answer.

A 24 years old soldier has been killed in a road accident while he was on patrol last night.

  1. A 24 years old soldier

  2. has been killed

  3. in a road accident

  4. while he was on patrol

  5. No error

Show answer
Correct Option: B
Explanation:

It should be ‘had been killed’. We cannot use the present perfect tense to talk about actions or situations that happened at a specific time in the past. Instead, we use a simple past or a past perfect tense. The past perfect tense is used to refer to the earlier of two past actions.

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