Identify the part of a sentence with a grammatical error — typical IBPS PO sentence-correction style.

Error Spotting — IBPS PO Prelims Study Notes

Overview

Error Spotting is a consistent 5–10 mark section in IBPS PO Prelims that tests your command of English grammar rules. The format is straightforward: a sentence is divided into parts (typically labelled A, B, C, D), and you must identify which part contains a grammatical error. One option is always "No Error."

This topic rewards students who have internalized grammar rules rather than those who rely on "what sounds right." Native intuition often fails here because errors are designed to sound acceptable but violate formal grammar. The good news: the error types are predictable. IBPS recycles the same 12–15 grammar concepts repeatedly. Master these rules, and you can score 80–100% accuracy in under 30 seconds per question.

Error Spotting bridges vocabulary and grammar skills. Strong performance here also improves your Sentence Improvement and Cloze Test scores since they test overlapping concepts.

Key Concepts

**Subject-Verb Agreement**: Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. Watch for tricky subjects like "each," "everyone," "neither," and collective nouns.

**Tense Consistency**: A sentence should maintain the same tense throughout unless there's a logical reason to shift. Past actions need past verbs; present habits need present verbs.

**Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement**: Pronouns must match their antecedents in number and gender. "Everyone" is singular, so it takes "his/her," not "their" (in formal grammar).

**Parallelism**: Items in a list or comparison must follow the same grammatical structure. "He likes reading, writing, and to swim" breaks parallelism.

**Article Usage**: "A" before consonant sounds, "an" before vowel sounds. Uncountable nouns don't take "a/an." Specific references need "the."

**Preposition Errors**: Certain verbs and adjectives pair with specific prepositions. "Interested in" (not "interested for"), "consist of" (not "consist with").

**Modifier Placement**: Adjectives and adverbs must be placed near the words they modify. Misplaced modifiers create absurd meanings.

**Comparative and Superlative Forms**: Use comparative (-er/more) for two items, superlative (-est/most) for three or more. Never double up: "more better" is wrong.

Formulas / Key Facts

| Rule | Correct Form | Common Error | |------|--------------|--------------| | Each/Every/Neither/Either + singular verb | Each of the boys **was** present | Each of the boys were present | | One of the + plural noun + singular verb | One of the students **has** failed | One of the students have failed | | Neither...nor / Either...or | Verb agrees with **nearer** subject | Verb agrees with first subject | | Collective noun (team, committee) | Singular verb when acting as unit | Plural verb without reason | | "The number of" + singular verb | The number of cases **is** rising | The number of cases are rising | | "A number of" + plural verb | A number of people **were** hurt | A number of people was hurt | | Hardly/Scarcely + when (not than) | Hardly had I reached **when** | Hardly had I reached than | | No sooner + than (not when) | No sooner did he come **than** | No sooner did he come when | | Despite/In spite of + noun/gerund | Despite **being** ill, he came | Despite he was ill, he came | | Unless = If not (never use "unless not") | Unless you study, you will fail | Unless you do not study |

Worked Examples

**Example 1:** *The committee (A) / have decided to (B) / postpone the meeting (C) / until next week. (D) / No Error (E)*

**Solution:** Part (B) has the error. "Committee" is a collective noun acting as a single unit, so it takes a singular verb. Correct: "has decided to."

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**Example 2:** *Neither the manager (A) / nor the employees (B) / was aware of (C) / the new policy changes. (D) / No Error (E)*

**Solution:** Part (C) has the error. With "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject. "Employees" is plural, so the verb should be "were aware of."

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**Example 3:** *He is one of those (A) / politicians who has (B) / always supported (C) / rural development. (D) / No Error (E)*

**Solution:** Part (B) has the error. In "one of those [plural noun] who," the verb agrees with the plural noun. "Politicians" is plural, so it should be "who have always supported."

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**Example 4:** *The teacher asked the students (A) / to finish their work (B) / and that they should submit (C) / it before leaving. (D) / No Error (E)*

**Solution:** Part (C) has the error. This breaks parallelism. The sentence starts with "to finish" (infinitive), so it should continue as "and submit it" or restructure entirely. Correct: "to finish their work and submit it before leaving."

Common Mistakes

**Trusting your ear over rules** → Many errors are deliberately constructed to "sound okay." Always apply the specific grammar rule; don't just read aloud and guess.

**Ignoring the "No Error" option** → Students often force-find errors that don't exist. Roughly 10–15% of sentences have no error. If every part checks out against rules, confidently mark "No Error."

**Confusing "than" and "when" with time conjunctions** → "No sooner...than" and "Hardly...when" are fixed pairs. Students often swap them. Memorize: sooner goes with than (both have 'n'), hardly goes with when.

**Missing subject-verb separation tricks** → IBPS loves inserting long phrases between subject and verb to confuse you. "The list of candidates who applied for the position were rejected" — the subject is "list" (singular), not "candidates."

**Overlooking double negatives and redundancies** → "Unless you do not come" uses a double negative. "Return back," "revert back," "repeat again" are redundant. These often hide in plain sight.

Quick Reference

**Subject separated from verb**: Mentally remove the middle phrase; match subject directly to verb.

**Collective nouns**: Team, jury, committee, government — singular verb when acting as one unit.

**Neither/nor, either/or**: Verb matches the **nearer** subject.

**Fixed pairs**: No sooner–than, hardly–when, not only–but also, between–and, prefer–to.

**Scan for these red flags**: "more better," "most fastest," "return back," "since five years" (should be "for five years").

**Time rule**: "Since" for point in time (since 2020), "For" for duration (for five years).

Error Spotting