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Error spotting practice questions for bank exams
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In an error spotting question, a sentence is split into four parts, (A) to (D), and you pick the part that contains a grammatical mistake. If the sentence is correct, the answer is (E), no error. It is a commonly tested item in bank-exam English, and it is quick once you know the handful of errors that recur. Try the five sentences below.
Errors that recur
| Error type | Rule | Wrong | Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject-verb agreement | The verb agrees with the real subject | The list of names are on the board | The list of names is on the board |
| Nearer-subject rule | With "neither...nor" or "either...or" the verb agrees with the nearer subject | Neither the manager nor his assistants was present | Neither the manager nor his assistants were present |
| Prepositions | Some words take fixed prepositions | concentrate in, despite of | concentrate on, despite |
| Uncountable nouns | No plural, no "a" | informations, advices | information, advice |
| Comparison | "More/-er" for two, "most/-est" for three or more | the most practical of the two | the more practical of the two |
| Tense after "if" | Present tense in the if-clause for a future result | If the rate will rise | If the rate rises |
| "Hardly...when" | Hardly takes "when", not "than" | Hardly had he left than | Hardly had he left when |
Five practice questions
In each question, choose the part that has the error, or E if there is none.
Question 1
(A) The list of candidates / (B) who have cleared the written test / (C) are displayed / (D) on the notice board. / (E) No error
- A. Part (A)
- B. Part (B)
- C. Part (C)
- D. Part (D)
- E. No error
Question 2
(A) Despite of his poor health, / (B) the manager attended / (C) the meeting and presented / (D) the quarterly report. / (E) No error
- A. Part (A)
- B. Part (B)
- C. Part (C)
- D. Part (D)
- E. No error
Question 3
(A) Hardly had the bank opened / (B) when a large crowd / (C) gathered outside, / (D) demanding to see the manager. / (E) No error
- A. Part (A)
- B. Part (B)
- C. Part (C)
- D. Part (D)
- E. No error
Question 4
(A) She gave me / (B) many informations / (C) about the loan schemes / (D) offered by the bank. / (E) No error
- A. Part (A)
- B. Part (B)
- C. Part (C)
- D. Part (D)
- E. No error
Question 5
(A) She is the only candidate / (B) who has cleared / (C) every stage of the selection process / (D) at the first attempts. / (E) No error
- A. Part (A)
- B. Part (B)
- C. Part (C)
- D. Part (D)
- E. No error
Answers and explanations
- C. The subject is "the list", which is singular, not "candidates". The verb should be "is displayed". The clause "who have cleared" correctly agrees with "candidates".
- A. "Despite" is never followed by "of". The correct forms are "despite" or "in spite of". The rest of the sentence is correct.
- E. "Hardly...when" is the correct pairing, and the participle phrase "demanding to see the manager" is properly attached. There is no error.
- B. "Information" is uncountable and has no plural form. The part should read "much information" or simply "information".
- D. The idiom is "at the first attempt", in the singular, since one first attempt is meant. The other parts are correct: "who has cleared" agrees with the singular "candidate", and "every stage" takes a singular noun.
How to prepare error spotting
- Read each part slowly for sense first. Then check the subject and verb, then prepositions, then articles and plurals. This order catches most errors.
- Find the real subject. Ignore phrases such as "of candidates" or "along with the staff" that sit between subject and verb.
- Do not force an error. Some sentences are correct, and "No error" is a real answer. If four parts read naturally, trust that.
- Learn the fixed expressions. "Prefer to", "capable of", "different from", "at the first attempt" and similar are tested directly.
- Keep an error notebook. Write the wrong form and the right form every time you miss one. The same dozen rules return.
- Read the corrected sentence aloud. The right version should sound natural.
Practise 10 sentences a day, at about 20 to 30 seconds each. For the passage-based side of English, try reading comprehension.
The full error spotting topic test is on PrepMatic (about 15 questions, 30 minutes). The English Language guide and the bank exam hub cover the section in each exam.
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