English · Micro-test

Error Spotting: Grammar Correction

Error-spotting questions split a sentence into parts and ask which part breaks a rule of standard English grammar.

10 questions · 5 minutes · instant scoring

Updated 10 September 2026

What this topic actually tests

An error-spotting question presents a sentence divided into three or four labelled segments and asks which segment contains a grammatical error, testing precise rule-based knowledge rather than general fluency. CLAT draws heavily from a recurring set of rules: subject-verb agreement (including tricky cases like collective nouns, "each," "neither... nor," and phrases such as "the number of" or "along with" that do not change the verb's agreement with the true subject); pronoun-antecedent and pronoun-case agreement (such as using "me" rather than "I" after a preposition); parallelism in correlative constructions like "not only... but also" and "either... or," which require grammatically matching structures on both sides; and common idiomatic prepositional errors, such as "despite of" (incorrect) versus "despite" or "in spite of" (correct), or "explained him" (incorrect) versus "explained to him" (correct), since "explain" is never followed directly by a personal object. The method for solving these questions is to isolate the sentence's true grammatical subject first, since many CLAT errors hide inside a prepositional phrase or parenthetical clause positioned between the subject and its verb — for example, in "The report, along with its annexures, were submitted," the true subject is the singular "report," and "along with its annexures" is a non-defining phrase that does not pluralise the verb, so "were" is wrong and "was" is correct. After checking subject-verb agreement, scan for parallel structure in any sentence using correlative conjunctions, then check every preposition against standard idiomatic usage, since prepositions cannot be reasoned out logically and must be memorised as fixed collocations. Reading the sentence aloud, mentally substituting the suspected error with the corrected form, is a reliable final check: if the corrected version sounds natural and the flawed version sounds subtly off, the error has likely been correctly located.

The common trap on this topic

The most common mistake is applying subject-verb agreement to the noun physically closest to the verb rather than to the sentence's true grammatical subject — phrases like "along with," "as well as," "together with," and "in addition to" do not create a compound subject and therefore never change a singular subject into one requiring a plural verb, yet aspirants routinely pluralise the verb because a plural noun sits nearby. A second trap involves "neither... nor" and "either... or" constructions, where the verb should agree with whichever subject is nearer to it, not with the first-mentioned subject or by default plural — aspirants who memorise "nor takes a plural verb" as a blanket rule get these wrong. A third trap is failing to notice broken parallelism when the two halves of a correlative pair differ in grammatical form (one an adjective, the other a full clause), because both halves individually sound grammatically fine in isolation — the error is only visible when the two halves are compared side by side. Always identify the sentence's core subject and verb before evaluating any surrounding phrase.

Error Spotting: Grammar Correction: answers and explanations

Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. Neither the students nor the teacher (A) / were aware of the (B) / change in the exam schedule (C) / announced yesterday. (D)
Answer: B. were aware of the
In a "neither... nor" construction, the verb agrees with the nearer subject, which here is the singular "teacher." The correct form is "was aware," not "were aware," making part (B) the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. Each of the candidates (A) / have submitted their (B) / application before (C) / the stipulated deadline. (D)
Answer: C. have submitted their
"Each" is a singular indefinite pronoun and always takes a singular verb, regardless of the plural noun that follows it in the prepositional phrase. The correct form is "has submitted," making part (C) the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. The number of students (A) / failing the exam (B) / have increased (C) / significantly this year. (D)
Answer: C. have increased
"The number of" is treated as a singular subject in standard English and takes a singular verb. The correct form is "has increased," making part (C) the error. (Contrast this with "a number of," which takes a plural verb.)
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. She is one of the students (A) / who has (B) / consistently scored (C) / top marks in the class. (D)
Answer: D. who has
In the construction "one of the [plural noun] who," the relative pronoun "who" refers back to the plural noun "students," so the verb must be plural. The correct form is "who have," making part (D) the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. He is not only intelligent (A) / but also (B) / he works very hard (C) / every single day. (D)
Answer: D. he works very hard
A "not only... but also" construction requires grammatically parallel elements on both sides. Since the first element is the adjective "intelligent," the second must also be an adjective, such as "hardworking," not the full clause "he works very hard," making part (D) the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. The committee submitted it's report (A) / to the government (B) / well before (C) / the deadline. (D)
Answer: D. The committee submitted it's report
"It's" is a contraction of "it is," while the possessive form of "it" is "its," with no apostrophe. Since the sentence needs the possessive form before "report," part (D) contains the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. Despite of the heavy rain (A) / the match continued (B) / without any interruption (C) / for two hours. (D)
Answer: D. Despite of the heavy rain
"Despite" is never followed by "of" — it is used alone ("despite the heavy rain") or replaced with the phrase "in spite of." The construction "despite of" is a common but incorrect hybrid, making part (D) the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. The lawyer explained the client (A) / that the case (B) / would likely take (C) / several months to resolve. (D)
Answer: B. The lawyer explained the client
"Explain" cannot take a direct personal object; it must be followed by "to" before the person, as in "explained to the client." Part (B) omits this required preposition and is therefore the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. Between you and I, (A) / this contract (B) / has several clauses (C) / that need revision. (D)
Answer: D. Between you and I,
The preposition "between" requires the objective case for the pronouns that follow it, so the correct form is "between you and me," not "between you and I." Part (D) contains the error.
Identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. The report, along with its annexures, (A) / were submitted (B) / to the registrar (C) / yesterday. (D)
Answer: B. were submitted
The phrase "along with its annexures" is a parenthetical addition and does not change the number of the true subject, the singular "report." The correct form is "was submitted," making part (B) the error.

FAQ

Does "neither... nor" always take a singular verb in CLAT error-spotting questions?

No. The verb agrees with whichever subject is grammatically nearer to it. "Neither the teacher nor the students were aware" is correct because "students" (plural, nearer) governs the verb, while "Neither the students nor the teacher was aware" is correct for the same reason with the subjects reversed.

Why doesn't a phrase like "along with" or "as well as" make a verb plural?

These phrases introduce a parenthetical addition, not a second grammatical subject joined by "and." Only "and" creates a true compound subject that takes a plural verb; "along with," "as well as," and "together with" leave the original subject's number unchanged.

How can I tell if a sentence has a preposition error if I don't know the exact rule?

Compare the phrase against a mental list of common correct collocations you've memorised (explain to, despite/in spite of, married to, capable of), since prepositional usage in English is largely idiomatic and not derivable from logic alone — memorised fixed phrases are the most reliable check.

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