⭐ Sabse Important Points · एक नज़र में
- Collective Nouns: Words like team, committee, jury are singular when acting as a unit, plural when members act individually.
- Tense Consistency: Use past tense with past time markers (yesterday, last year); present perfect with 'since' or 'for'.
- Indefinite Pronouns: Each, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anyone, nobody are singular and take singular verbs.
- Fixed Prepositions: Certain verbs and adjectives take specific prepositions (e.g., 'depends on', 'good at', 'married to').
- Intervening Phrases: Phrases between subject and verb (e.g., 'along with', 'as well as') do not change the verb number.
- Articles: Use 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds; 'the' for specific or unique items; omit articles for general plural nouns.
Introduction · परिचय
Error Spotting is a high-scoring topic in SBI Clerk English Language section. It tests your ability to identify grammatical, syntactic, or usage errors in sentences. Questions typically present a sentence divided into parts, and you must find the part containing the error or determine that no error exists. Mastery requires knowledge of grammar rules, subject-verb agreement, tenses, prepositions, articles, and common usage errors.
Subject-Verb Agreement and Pronoun Agreement
Subject-verb agreement means the verb must agree with its subject in number and person. Singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs. Pronoun agreement requires pronouns to match their antecedents in number, gender, and person. Common traps include collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, and intervening phrases.
⭐ Key Points · याद रखने वाली बातें
- Collective Nouns: Words like team, committee, jury are singular when acting as a unit, plural when members act individually.
- Indefinite Pronouns: Each, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anyone, nobody are singular and take singular verbs.
- Intervening Phrases: Phrases between subject and verb (e.g., 'along with', 'as well as') do not change the verb number.
- Either/Or and Neither/Nor: Verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Pronoun-Antecedent: Pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and gender; 'one' later takes 'one's'.
✍️ Solved Example 1 · हल किया हुआ उदाहरण
❓ Question: The quality of the mangoes (A)/ were not good (B)/ so I did not buy them (C)/ No error (D)
✅ Solution: B
💡 Explanation: The subject is 'quality' (singular), not 'mangoes'. The verb should be 'was', not 'were'. Hence error in part B.
✍️ Solved Example 2 · हल किया हुआ उदाहरण
❓ Question: Neither the manager nor his assistants (A)/ was present (B)/ at the meeting (C)/ No error (D)
✅ Solution: B
💡 Explanation: With 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject 'assistants' (plural), so it should be 'were', not 'was'. Error in part B.
Tenses, Prepositions, and Articles
Tense errors involve incorrect use of verb forms, especially with time markers. Preposition errors occur with fixed phrases and verbs followed by specific prepositions. Article errors involve misuse of a, an, the, or omission. These are frequently tested in error spotting.
⭐ Key Points · याद रखने वाली बातें
- Tense Consistency: Use past tense with past time markers (yesterday, last year); present perfect with 'since' or 'for'.
- Fixed Prepositions: Certain verbs and adjectives take specific prepositions (e.g., 'depends on', 'good at', 'married to').
- Articles: Use 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds; 'the' for specific or unique items; omit articles for general plural nouns.
- Since vs For: 'Since' with point of time, 'for' with duration.
- Preposition with Time: 'In' for months/years, 'on' for days/dates, 'at' for exact time.
✍️ Solved Example 1 · हल किया हुआ उदाहरण
❓ Question: He has been living in Delhi (A)/ since ten years (B)/ but has never visited the Red Fort (C)/ No error (D)
✅ Solution: B
💡 Explanation: 'Since' is used with a point of time, not a duration. 'For ten years' is correct. Error in part B.
✍️ Solved Example 2 · हल किया हुआ उदाहरण
❓ Question: She is married with (A)/ a doctor (B)/ from Chennai (C)/ No error (D)
✅ Solution: A
💡 Explanation: The correct preposition is 'married to', not 'married with'. Error in part A.
Practice Questions · खुद हल करके देखो
पहले खुद try karo, phir “Answer dekho” dabakar check karo. 👇
Q1Identify the error: The number of students (A)/ have increased (B)/ in the school (C)/ No error (D)
👀 Answer dekho
✅ Answer: B
💡 Explanation: 'The number of' takes a singular verb 'has', not 'have'. Error in part B.
Q2Identify the error: I have visited (A)/ the Taj Mahal (B)/ last year (C)/ No error (D)
👀 Answer dekho
✅ Answer: A
💡 Explanation: With a past time marker 'last year', simple past 'visited' is required, not present perfect 'have visited'. Error in part A.
Q3Identify the error: He is one of the best (A)/ player (B)/ in the team (C)/ No error (D)
👀 Answer dekho
✅ Answer: B
💡 Explanation: 'One of the' is followed by a plural noun, so it should be 'players', not 'player'. Error in part B.
⚠️ Common Mistakes · ये गलतियाँ बिल्कुल मत करना
- Ignoring intervening phrases: Students often match the verb with the nearest noun instead of the actual subject. Always identify the true subject first.
- Misusing 'since' and 'for': 'Since' is for a point of time, 'for' is for duration. Remember: since 2010, for five years.
- Overlooking fixed prepositions: Verbs like 'discuss' take no preposition (discuss about is wrong), while 'depends' takes 'on'. Memorize common combinations.
- Confusing articles: Use 'an' before vowel sounds (an hour), not just vowel letters. Also, do not use 'the' with general plural nouns.
⚡ Quick Revision · Exam से पहले 2 मिनट में दोहराओ
- Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular subject takes singular verb; ignore phrases between subject and verb.
- Tense Markers: Past time markers require past tense; 'since' with point of time, 'for' with duration.
- Fixed Prepositions: Learn common verb-preposition pairs (e.g., 'good at', 'married to', 'depends on').
- Articles: 'A' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds, 'the' for specific items; omit for general plurals.
- Pronoun Agreement: Pronouns must match antecedents in number and gender; 'one' takes 'one's' later.