Grammer Miscellaneous 1

Question 1

1.(1) Magic realism is one/ (2) of the latest/ (3) addition to good literature / (4) published in recent times./ (5) No error

Answer 1

1.3;The usage one of takes a plural noun. You selectone from many. So, additions.

Question 2

2.(1) Even though he found the subject / (2) rather interesting Manoj could not / (3) manage good marks / (4) in theexamination./ (5) No error

Answer 2

2.2;Why use rather? We are not making anycomparison here.

Question 3

3.(1) I now understand why / (2) Sanjay did not told/ (3) me the reason why / (4) he was late. / (5) No error

Answer 3

3.2;Double past should not be used. Did is alreadythere, so the main verb should be tell.

Question 4

4.(1) He got to the top / (2) and was very disappointed / (3) when he found that / (4) someone else has reached it first./ (5) Noerror

Answer 4

4.4;The action (reaching) has been completed beforeanother action in the past (found). So, usepast perfect (had reached).

Question 5

5.(1) Our rich men, / (2) to say the least, / (3) did not advance the moral struggle / (4) of passive resistance as much the poor. /(5) No error

Answer 5

5.4;The actions of the rich men and the poor are beingcompared. So, use the conjunction as muchas.

Question 6

6.(1) You are learning English / (2) for the last one year / (3) but you show / (4) no improvement whatsoever. / (5) No error

Answer 6

6.1;The action has been going on over a period of time.So use present perfect continuous (have been learning).

Question 7

7.(1) My friend being unwilling to attend / (2) the court at an early hour / (3) of the morning, sent a letter explaining / (4) whycould he not obey. / (5) No error

Answer 7

7.4;Note that a question is not being asked. It is aclause. So, the auxiliary should not beseparated from the main verb. The correctform: why he could not obey.

Question 8

8.(1) Such a life as this / (2) is far conducive to health / (3) than that of health / (3) than that of the man / (4) who rises late. / (5)No error

Answer 8

8.2;Far is an adverb and cannot be used for makingcomparative as a substitute for more.

Question 9

9.(1) We had swam / (2) across / (3) the river before / (4)the sun set. / (5) No error

Answer 9

9.1;The V3 of swim is swum.

Question 10

10.(1) I knew your college library / (2) was run chaotically/ (3) but only recently did I discover / (4) how bad thesituation is. / (5) No error

Answer 10

10.4;To agree with the rest of the sentence the verbshould be in the past (was).

Question 11

11.(1) If you know what it is / (2) that you want out of life/ (3) it is easy to find out what / (4) different kinds ofjob offer this. / (5) No error

Answer 11

11.3;You are selecting particular jobs. So, use whichin place of what.

Question 12

12.(1) Neither Prannoy nor his wife / (2) were aware / (3)of the arrangements made / (4) for their journey. / (5)No error

Answer 12

12.2;Two or more subjects connected by neither …nor take a verb, which is in accordancewith the nearer subject. So, replace were bywas.

Question 13

13.(1) The man who I have often mentioned, / (2) is onewhose friendship I could / (3) wish to acquirebecause / (4) he possesses my esteem./ (5) No error

Answer 13

13.1;Man is the object of the verb mentioned. Whorefers to man and should therefore be in theobjective case (whom).

Question 14

14.(1) After the Civil War Harriet Tubman, herself anescaped slave,/ (2) continued her efforts on behalf offormer slaves,/ (3) helping to educate freedmen,supporting children, / (4) and she was assistingimpoverished old people./ (5) No error

Answer 14

14.4;Delete she was so that a parallel construction ofparticiples (helping …, supporting …, andassisting …) may exist.

Question 15

15.(1) Never before in the history of music / (2) havemusical superstars been able to command / (3) soextraordinary fees / (4) of the kind they do today. /(5) No error

Answer 15

15.4;The proper conjunction pair is so … as. So,replace of the kind by as.

Question 16

16.(1) Researchers have demonstrated that homingpigeons / (2) can sense changes in the earth’smagnetic field, / (3) see light waves that peoplecannot see, / (4) and can detect low-frequency soundsfrom kilometres away. / (5) No error

Answer 16

16.4;Delete can. The can in (2) suffices for thesubsequent parts.

Question 17

17.(1) The sale of government-surplus machinery / (2) willbegin at 9 a.m. / (3) and continue until / (4) thesupply lasts./ (5) No error

Answer 17

17.3;Lasts is a verb that denotes an action over aperiod while until refers to a point. So, useas long as.

Question 18

18.(1) I am not / (2) one of those / (3) who believe / (4)everything I hear. / (5) No error

Answer 18

18.4;Replace I by they so that it agrees with those.

Question 19

19.(1) There are many reasons / (2) that the wholecharacter of the twentieth century / (3) should be verydifferent / (4) from that of the nineteenth. / (5) Noerror

Answer 19

19.2;Reasons is followed by why, not that, when itrefers to an effect.

Question 20

20.(1) Disregard for odds and complete confidence / (2) inone’s self / (3) have / (4) produced many of oursuccesses. / (5) No error

Answer 20

20.5;Have is correct because there are two subjects:disregard and confidence.

Question 21

21.(1) No one / (2) who has seen him lecture in the class / (3) can deny that Mr Mehrotra has an interest and /(4) aptitude for teaching. / (5) No error

Answer 21

21.3;You have an interest in (not for) something.

Question 22

22.(1) No less / (2) than fifty mariners / (3) were killed /(4) in the explosion./ (5) No error

Answer 22

22.1;Less is used for quantity. Its equivalent fornumber (here fifty) is fewer.

Question 23

23.(1) No sooner the advertisement appeared / (2) in thenewspapers / (3) than there was a rush / (4) at thebooking window./ (5) No error

Answer 23

“23.1;You can either say ““No sooner had theadvertisement appeared”” or ““No sooner didthe advertisement appear””.”

Question 24

24.(1) The house with all its / (2) furnitures and exoticplants / (3) was sold / (4) for `50,000. / (5) No error

Answer 24

24.2;Furniture itself is plural. Don’t add an s.

Question 25

25.(1) He made a great fuss / (2) about having aninvestigation, / (3) but it all ended / (4) with smoke. /(5) No error

Answer 25

25.4;Replace with by in. A thing ends in smoke if itcomes to nothing.

Question 26

26.(1) The crew were / (2) on board / (3) and they soonbusied themselves / (4) in preparing to meet thestorm. / (5) No error

Answer 26

26.4;[Note: This, in fact, is a vocabulary question.Some such questions have been includedbecause the directions only ask you to spotthe errors. The error may be other thangrammatical as well.]You meet a friend but you face (you are ready to dealwith) an unpleasant situation (here storm).

Question 27

27.(1) The long-awaited moment at last came, / and we setout for the station, / (3) as merry a band of children /(4) as I have ever seen before or since. / (5) No error

Answer 27

“27.4;The same verb (have seen) cannot do for bothbefore and since. Why? The main event (setout) is in the past simple. That whichhappened before it should be in pastperfect. So, (4) should read ““as I had everseen before or have ever seen since””.”

Question 28

28.(1) In these days of inflation / (2) a ten rupee’s note /(3) will not buy you / (4) even an ordinary meal. / (5)No error

Answer 28

28.2;The note belongs to its owner, not to ten rupees.So, you cannot use the possessive case. Thedenomination should be an adjective and acompound adjective drops the plural form.So, a ten-rupee note.

Question 29

29.(1) Well, I spent six or seven years / (2) after highschool / (3) trying to find a job for me / (4) but couldnot succeed in it. / (5) No error

Answer 29

29.3;Since I is the subject and I the object, usereflexive myself, not objective me.

Question 30

30.(1) I am pleased to sanction / (2) one special increment/ (3) to all the employees / (4) with this month. / (5)No error

Answer 30

30.4;Replace with by from. This month is a point ofbeginning.

Question 31

31.(1) Our school would / (2) have won the match / (3) ifonly we / (4) would have concentrated. / (5) No error

Answer 31

31.4;Replace would have by had. Remember theconditional pairs well:If X were so/ had happened, Y would havehappened.

Question 32

32.(1) Ajay asked the dealer / (2) what the price / (3) ofthat bicycle was and whether / (4) it is really made inGermany. / (5) No error

Answer 32

32.4;Replace is by was. See Q. 10 above.

Question 33

33.(1) The other day / (2) I told you / (3) about this book; /(4) you may take. / (5) No error

Answer 33

33.4;Take is a transitive verb. It should be followedby an object (here it).

Question 34

34.(1) Elders have said / (2) that we should not entertain /(3) a too high opinion / (4) of our wisdom. / (5) Noerror

Answer 34

“34.3;The proper structure is: too + adjective +indefinite article + noun. So, it should be”“too high an opinion””.”

Question 35

35.(1) He copied the letter/ (2) word by word / (3) andkept it as a proof / (4) of his innocence. / (5) No error

Answer 35

35.2;If you write something in exactly the same words,you write it word for word.

Question 36

36.(1) He is a MA / (2) of the Delhi University / (3) and isexpected / (4) to know his subject well. / (5) No error

Answer 36

“36.1;How do you pronounce M? It is ““em””. Since theword begins with a vowel sound (e), use anbefore it.”

Question 37

37.(1) He is / (2) more liberal but / (3) not as competent as/ (4) his elder brother . / (5) No error

Answer 37

37.2;The comparative degree (more liberal) should befollowed by than.

Question 38

38.(1) Prabhash is a tall gentleman / (2) and can therefore /(3) play basketball / (4) better than others. / (5) Noerror

Answer 38

38.1;Why do we need a gentleman to play basketballbetter? It should be a tall man.

Question 39

39.(1) He orders for / (2) every new book / (3) that ispublished / (4) in Bihar./ (5) No error

Answer 39

39.1;Delete for. He orders the books for someone orsomething; otherwise it is simply orders.

Question 40

40.(1) Since he has never kept his promise, / (2) Iconclude that / (3) he is nothing else / (4) than a liar ./ (5) No error

Answer 40

40.4;Nothing else is followed by but, not by than.

Question 41

41.(1) The beggar stood / (2) without the gate / (3) in thehope of / (4) receiving alms. / (5) No error

Answer 41

41.5;Without has been used as the opposite of within.

Question 42

42.(1) I sat in the office / (2) to welcome the visitors / (3)but nobody came / (4) for the whole day. / (5) Noerror

Answer 42

42.4;Replace for by during because what is being saidis that nobody came while I sat. The period ofa visitor’s stay is not being meant.

Question 43

43.(1) We lived within the British / (2) beforeIndependence and (3) we are yet to get / (4) out of theslave mentality. / (5) No error

Answer 43

43.1;Replace within by under because we mean duringthe rule of.

Question 44

44.(1) I was not there / (2) when the incident took place /(3) but the news came to me / (4) by a friend. / (5) Noerror

Answer 44

44.4;Replace by by through. The friend is a medium.

Question 45

45.(1) The match could have been / (2) won in ease / (3)but Indian cricketers have mastered the art / (4) ofmaking easy things difficult. / (5) No error

Answer 45

45.2;If you win easily, you win with ease.

Question 46

46.(1) The boy in grey hair / (2) looked a bit sad / (3)while the rest of the audience / (4) were in a gaymood. / (5) No error

Answer 46

“46.1;Replace in by with. In is used for the dress onewears: ““The boy in black (sweater)””.”

Question 47

47.(1) You will not get / (2) a banana or two here;/ (3) thisfruitseller sells / (4) bananas in the dozen. / (5) Noerror

Answer 47

47.4;Replace in by by.

Question 48

48.(1) On what I know / (2) of him, I can / (3) easilyaffirm that / (4) he is a good husband. / (5) No error

Answer 48

“48.1;Replace on by from. ““What I know of him”” is asource from which conclusions can be drawnout.”

Question 49

49.(1) Kumble has not turned / (2) a word-class spinnerovernight ; / (3) his skill comes / (4) of practice. / (5)No error

Answer 49

49.4;Replace of by from. Practice is the source.

Question 50

50.(1) If the work is / (2) without your capacity, / (3) whynot take / (4) the help of others? (5) No error

Answer 50

50.2;Replace without by beyond.

Question 51

1.(1) Children visiting the / (2) park are amused /(3) by the monkeys’/ (4) play in the cages. / (5) No error

Answer 51

1.3;If something makes you laugh, you are amusedwith (not by) it.

Question 52

2.(1) The enmity of the / (2) two groups has reached alevel / (3) where reconciliation has / (4) becomeimpossible. / (5) No error

Answer 52

“2.1;Replace of by between. ““Two groups”” means onegroup and the other.”

Question 53

3.(1) To make him succeed, / (2) the correct thing to do /(3) is to punish him / (4) until he does not try. / (5)No error

Answer 53

“3.4;Double negative should not be used. It should be”“until he tries”” which means ““till he doesnot try””.”

Question 54

4.(1) If he would not have / (2) confessed it himself / (3)the crime could scarcely have been / (4) known tohim. / (5) No error

Answer 54

4.1;It should be If he had not. See Ex. 1, Q. 31.

Question 55

5.(1) The purpose of this book, / (2) however, is not todiscuss / (3) these basic issues / (4) in its variousaspects. / (5) No error

Answer 55

5.4;Replace its by their because it refers to pluralissues.

Question 56

6.(1) My uncle / (2) forbade me not to / (3) go through /(4) the contents of his letter. / (5) No error

Answer 56

6.2;Delete not. If you forbid someone to dosomething, you ask him not to do so.

Question 57

7.(1) How does he earn money / (2) is more importantthan / (3) how much / (4) he earns. / (5) No error

Answer 57

“7.1;It should be ““How he earns money””. See Ex. 1,Q. 7.”

Question 58

8.(1) Manisha is / (2) more prettier / (3) than / (4) hersister. / (5) No error

Answer 58

8.2;Prettier itself is comparative; why add more?

Question 59

9.(1) In the harbour great ships / (2) lay at anchor / (3)bearing the names of / (4) faraway places likeAberdeen and even Singapore. / (5) No error

Answer 59

9.5;Lay is the past tense of lie.

Question 60

10.(1) School offers many opportunities of meeting / (2)helpful people, reading useful books, / (3) and obtaininformation about / (4) a variety of public careers. /(5) No error

Answer 60

10.3;Replace obtain by obtaining to get a parallelconstruction of gerunds (meeting …,reading, …, and obtaining ….).

Question 61

11.(1) All one can gather / (2) from the children / (3) arethat there were / (4) a loud noise and smoke. / (5) Noerror

Answer 61

“11.3;Replace are by is. ““All one can gather”” gives theidea of one whole.”

Question 62

12.(1) Politicians in particular / (2) get carried away / (3)by analogies and draw / (4) unwarranted conclusionsfrom them. / (5) No error

Answer 62

12.5;When you get carried away, you becomeslightly unreasonable.

Question 63

13.(1) The percentage of the labour force / (2) that isunemployed / (3) has dropped sharply this month /(4) even though it may be only temporarily. / (5) Noerror

Answer 63

“13.4;It refers to a noun. But does it refer to ““Thepercentage …unemployed””? No. To make itclear, replace it by the noun the drop. Itsqualifier should be an adjective(temporary).”

Question 64

14.(1) In ancient times, / (2) Nubia was the principalcorridor/ (3) where there were cultural influencestransmitted / (4) between Black Africa and theMediterranean Basin. / (5) No error

Answer 64

“14.3;The corridor serves as a medium. So, write”“through which cultural influences weretransmitted””.”

Question 65

15.(1) Jayaprakash Narain was among the last of a generation / (2) of freedom fighters who led the nationthrough decades of change / (3) so profound manyyoung Indians are not able to imagine, / (4) much lessremember, what slavery was like. / (5) No error

Answer 65

“15.3;The result of being so profound is that manyyoung Indians …. Besides, cannot imaginewould make the sentence look better. So,”“so profound that many young Indianscannot imagine””.”

Question 66

16.(1) I know that / (2) Jaigopal is more efficient / (3) than/ (4) any man in our organisation. / (5) No error

Answer 66

“16.4;It should be ““any other man””. ““Any man”“includes Jaigopal also.”

Question 67

17.(1) The annual survey of chemistry published by theAmerican Chemical Society / (2) attributes the vastchange in warfare / (3) to the airplane and, above all,/ (4) to the motor fuel of today. / (5) No error

Answer 67

17.5;The preposition to has rightly been placedbefore both its objects.

Question 68

18.(1) The successful self-employed man / (2) invariablyworks / (3) harder / (4) and worries most than theman on a salary. / (5) No error

Answer 68

18.4;Replace most by more because the comparativeis being used.

Question 69

19.(1) Mr Churchill must be / (2) the first to rejoice that /(3) both Sir Samuel Hoare and the Premier / (4) hadvindicated so emphatically. / (5) No error

Answer 69

“19.4;Vindicate is a transitive verb which means ““freesomeone from blame””. Whom did Hoareand the Premier vindicate? Actually, theythemselves are the object.So, the structure should be passive: ““hadbeen vindicated””.”

Question 70

20.(1) I am working / (2) on this job / (3) since / (4) lastMonday. / (5) No error

Answer 70

20.1;Replace am by have been. The action has beengoing on since a point of time. So, we usepresent perfect continuous.

Question 71

21.(1) World affairs have surprises in store / (2) forwhomever tries / (3) to read the future from hisknowledge of the past / (4) and from the signs of thepresent. / (5) No error

Answer 71

“21.2;The object to the preposition for is not the wordwhoever in isolation but the entire clause”“whoever tries ….”” and so cannot bechanged to objective whomever.”

Question 72

22.(1) Our neighbours are / (2) old-fashioned and / (3) arevery strictly / (4) with their children . / (5) No error

Answer 72

22.3;Replace strictly by adjective strict because itrefers to noun neighbours.

Question 73

23.(1) Last year there was flood, / (2) the river wasoverflowing, / (3) and everyone run / (4) to save hislife. / (5) No error

Answer 73

23.3;Use past simple ran to agree with was in otherclauses.

Question 74

24.(1) He was not only involved / (2) in her kidnapping /(3) but also / (4) in her murder. / (5) No error

Answer 74

24.1;Not only should come after involved becauseinvolved applies to both the parts joined bynot only …also.

Question 75

25.(1) As he had taken / (2) only a few sips / (3) there wasstill little water / (4) left in the glass. / (5) No error

Answer 75

25.3;Replace little by a little because still indicatesthat the positive meaning is intended.

Question 76

26.(1) One of the members / (2) expressed doubt if / (3)the minister / (4) was an atheist. / (5) No error

Answer 76

26.2;Replace if by that. Doubt itself contains themeaning if.

Question 77

27.(1) In a report / (2) issued by Indian Statistical Institute,/ (3) the Iron and Steel Industry is spending morethan any other / (4) Indian industry on fightingpollution. / (5) No error

Answer 77

27.1;Replace in by according to.

Question 78

28.(1) The retiring Principal / (2) asked his old pupils / (3) to take the interest in the school / (4) after hisretirement./ (5) No error

Answer 78

28.3;Delete the before interest because no particularinterest is being talked about.

Question 79

29.(1) The mission provides /(2) able service to all / (3)the needy people in this area / (4) during last fewyears. / (5) No error

Answer 79

29.1;Replace provides by has provided. The presentperfect is used to refer to actions completedin the immediate past (during last fewyears).

Question 80

30.(1) I missed the train / (2) which I usually catch / (3)and had to travel / (4) on the next. / (5) No error

Answer 80

30.4;Replace on by by. You travel by a train.

Question 81

31.(1) A hammer, some nails, / (2) and a few other tools /(3) was all that he used / (4) for mending the boat./(5) No error

Answer 81

31.3;Replace was by were. There are many items.

Question 82

32.(1) I am fed up / (2) of working from morning / (3) tillnight / (4) in this damp room. / (5) No error

Answer 82

32.5;If too much of something annoys you, you arefed up of/with it.

Question 83

33.(1) This book resembles / (2) to that / (3) and I oftenget confused / (4) about which one I am pulling out. /(5) No error

Answer 83

33.2;Delete to. If one thing is like another, itresembles (not to) that.

Question 84

34.(1) There are not / (2) some good restaurants / (3) inthis part / (4) of the town. / (5) No error

Answer 84

34.2;Any replaces some in negative sentences.

Question 85

35.(1) Due to illness / (2) he was unable / (3) to go / (4) ona holiday./ (5) No error

Answer 85

35.1;Replace due by owing. Due to is used onlypredicatively.

Question 86

36.(1) He only died / (2) a week ago / (3) but it appears asif / (4) it were ages./ (5) No error

Answer 86

36.1;Only should come before a week ago, the phrase it emphasises.

Question 87

37.(1) This matter / (2) must be considered / (3) fromevery / (4) points of view./ (5) No error

Answer 87

37.4;Replace points by point because every refers to asingular noun.

Question 88

38.(1) Before you / (2) enter the temple, / (3) you should /(4) take out your shoes. / (5) No error

Answer 88

38.4;When you remove your clothes, you take them off(not out).

Question 89

39.(1) Since we have / (2) only one life / (3) to live, / (4)let us enjoy. / (5) No error

Answer 89

39.4;Enjoy is a transitive verb and should be followedby an object (here ourselves).

Question 90

40.(1) Although I am living / (2) in Delhi for the / (3) lastseven years, I have / (4) not seen Purana Qila. / (5)No error

Answer 90

40.1;Replace am by have been. See Ex. 1, Q. 6.

Question 91

“41.(1) That Lear was eager/ (2) to hear his own praise / (3)becomes evident when he tells Cordelia, / (4)”“Nothing will come from nothing.”” / (5) No error”

Answer 91

41.1;Replace from by of.

Question 92

42.(1) I must start / (2) by dawn / (3) to reach the station /(4) in time./ (5) No error

Answer 92

42.2;Replace by by before. By is used to denote a timeby which an activity ends.

Question 93

43.(1) I got the information / (2) just now / (3) that theKalka Express is / (4) due to 4 p.m. / (5) No error

Answer 93

43.4;Replace to by at. A thing is scheduled (due) at aparticular time.

Question 94

44.(1) Sati was practised / (2) among the Hindus / (3) butwomen’s activists of today / (4) cannot tolerate suchnonsense anymore, / (5) No error

Answer 94

44.2;Replace among by by. It is a simple passivestructure.

Question 95

45.(1) The fever has taken / (2) a turn for / (3) the better / (4) from yesterday. / (5) No error

Answer 95

45.4;In the perfect tense (has taken), since is used inplace of from.

Question 96

46.(1) I agree that / (2) nobody besides you / (3) could haveborne / (4) so much burden. / (5) No error

Answer 96

46.2;Replace besides by but. But excludes whilebesides includes. See Q. 47 below.

Question 97

47.(1) Beside Madan and Daman, / (2) there were five / (3)more boys / (4) present in the class. / (5) No error

Answer 97

47.1;Replace beside by besides.

Question 98

48.(1) Rana Pratap, a true Rajput, (2) subsisted with grass /(3) but did not give up / (4) his independence. / (5) Noerror

Answer 98

48.2;If you keep alive when having only small amountsof money or food, you subsist on it.

Question 99

49.(1) Divide the mango / (2) in four parts / (3) anddistribute them among your queens / (4) one each. / (5)No error

Answer 99

49.2;You divide a thing into parts.

Question 100

50.(1) The old lady / (2) can hardly walk / (3) and is now /(4) confined within her house./ (5) No error

Answer 100

50.4;If you cannot go beyond a particular limit, you areconfined to that limit.

Question 101

1.(1) The car flew off the road / (2) and fell into the valley /(3) because Amit / (4) was driving faster. / (5) No error

Answer 101

1.4;Since no comparison is being made, use positivefast.

Question 102

2.(1) Anita was / (2) unhappy about the results / (3) of thediscussion she / (4) has with Rajani. / (5) No error

Answer 102

2.4;Replace has by had. See Ex. 1, Q. 10.

Question 103

3.(1) Taking pity / (2) on the mouse, / (3) the sagetransformed it / (4) into a cat. / (5) No error

Answer 103

3.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 104

4.(1) You have not care / (2) to see that your / (3)expenditure was more / (4) than your salary. / (5) Noerror

Answer 104

4.1;In the present perfect, we use V3 — cared.

Question 105

5.(1) Jayesh had hardly / (2) started reading the magazine /(3) than the managing director / (4) came to see him. /(5) No error

Answer 105

“5.3;The correct conjunction pair is ““hardly/scarcely….when””. Replace than by when.”

Question 106

6.(1) Unless I do not get / (2) some tea / (3) I shall not beable / (4) to do any more work. / (5) No error

Answer 106

6.1;Delete do not. See Ex. 2, Q. 3.

Question 107

7.(1) Both of my / (2) children, a daughter and a son, / (3)always quarrel with / (4) one another. / (5) No error

Answer 107

7.4;When there are only two persons or groups, useeach other.

Question 108

8.(1) Every man and woman / (2) should vote / (3) for thecandidate / (4) of their choice. / (5) No error

Answer 108

8.4;Every is singular. So, replace their by his or her.

Question 109

9.(1) He had consulted not only the opposition parties / (2)but also accommodated their views / (3) while dropping/ (4) this controversial clause. / (5) No error

Answer 109

9.1;Put consulted after not only because but also isfollowed by another verb accommodated.

Question 110

10.(1) The escape of David to France / (2) was successfully arranged, but no sooner / (3) was this donethan George / (4) was captured and held prisoner./ (5)No error

Answer 110

10.3;Replace was this done by had this been done.No sooner … than follows the followingstructures:No sooner had X happened, than Y happened.

Question 111

11.(1) People are just likely / (2) to be failures through /(3) a lack of jobs / (4) as through sheer incompetence./ (5) No error

Answer 111

11.1;Insert as between just and likely to pair up withthe as in (4).

Question 112

12.(1) Nowadays several / (2) plastic products are superior/ (3) than similar products / (4) made from rubber. /(5) No error

Answer 112

12.3;Superior is followed by to.

Question 113

13.(1) Sorry for the inconvenience / (2) caused by ourdelayed delivery / (3) but the dispatcher is already /(4) reprimanded for this lapse./ (5) No error

Answer 113

“13.3;It should be ““but the dispatcher has alreadybeen””. See Ex. 2, Q. 29.”

Question 114

14.(1) The patient admitted yesterday / (2) did notresponded / (3) to the treatment prescribed / (4) bythe doctor for him. / (5) No error

Answer 114

“14.2;It should be ““did not respond””. See Ex. 1, Q. 3.”

Question 115

15.(1) Both the alternatives / (2) have their merits anddemerits / (3) when it comes to / (4) their actualimplementation. / (5) No error

Answer 115

“15.5;Do not be tempted to correct it as they. It doesnot refer to any noun here. It has been usedas an indefinite pronoun as in ““It is going torain.”””

Question 116

16.(1) Luckily, the prisoner agreed / (2) to accompany thestranger and / (3) they slowly made their way down /(4) to the bottom of the cliff. / (5) No error

Answer 116

16.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 117

17.(1) As more and more subjects take the Rorschach test,/ (2) the body of information tying styles of response/ (3) with specific problems or tendencies grows, / (4)and the predictive power of the test increases. / (5)No error

Answer 117

17.3;Replace with by to. The preposition is related toresponse, not to tying.

Question 118

18.(1) It is a special feature of cell aggregation in thedeveloping nervous system / (2) that in most regionsof the brain / (3) the cells not only adhere to oneanother / (4) and also adopt some preferentialorientation. / (5) No error

Answer 118

“18.4;The conjunction pair is ““not only … but (notand) also””.”

Question 119

19.(1) The residents’ opposition to the sprayingprogramme / (2) has rekindled an old debate / (3)among those who oppose the use of pesticides and /(4) those who feel that pesticides are necessary tosave the trees. / (5) No error

Answer 119

19.3;Replace among by between because there areonly two parties — one each mentioned in(3) and (4) respectively.

Question 120

20.(1) He made it / (2) appear to the police / (3) as if hiscondition / (4) is very serious. / (5) No error

Answer 120

20.4;Replace is by were because of the presence of asif.

Question 121

21.(1) Cannot one do / (4) what one / (3) likes to do / (4)with his own ? / (5) No error

Answer 121

21.4;The rest of the sentence uses the pronoun one.So, replace his by one’s.

Question 122

22.(1) There’s Mr Shanu, / (2) whom they say / (3) is thebest singer / (4) in the country. / (5) No error

Answer 122

22.2;Replace whom by who. See Ex. 2, Q. 21.

Question 123

23.(1) The Renaissance is one of the most / (2) interesting/ (3) period in the history of architecture, / (4) andindeed, of art in general. / (5) No error

Answer 123

23.3;Replace period by periods. See Ex. 1, Q. 1.

Question 124

24.(1) By this time next week / (2) my child will / (3) notonly have learnt numbers / (4) but will also masterthe alphabet. / (5) No error

Answer 124

“24.4;The verb in (4) should agree in its tense with theone in (2) and (3). So, it should be ““but alsohave mastered…””.”

Question 125

25.(1) It gives me / (2) great pleasure / (3) in calling on MrSmith / (4) to address you. / (5) No error

Answer 125

25.5;When you formally ask someone to dosomething, you call on him to do so.

Question 126

26.(1) My brother has gone / (2) to Madras; / (3) he willreturn back / (4) in a week’s time. / (5) No error

Answer 126

26.3;Delete back. To return means to come back.

Question 127

27.(1) A majority of the / (2) students / (3) believes that /(4) the terminal examination is unnecessary. / (5) Noerror

Answer 127

27.3;It should be believe. Like most of, the phrasemajority of is also plural.

Question 128

28.(1) All history shows that nations active in internationalpolitics / (2) are continously preparing, / (3) activelyinvolved in, / (4) or recovering from organisedviolence in the form of war. / (5) No error

Answer 128

28.2;Preparing should be followed by for to bringout the proper meaning here.To prepare forsomething means to get ready for it.

Question 129

29.(1) We invited applications / (2) for sixteen posts / (3)but we have receive / (4) 20,000 applications. / (5)No error

Answer 129

29.3;Have is followed by V3 — here received.

Question 130

30.(1) It is the duty / (2) of every right-thinking citizen /(3) to try to make the whole world / (4) a happierplace to live. / (5) No error

Answer 130

30.4;You do not live the world; you live in it. So, liveshould be followed by in.

Question 131

31.(1) Our laxity/ (2) in duty / (3) increases with our / (4)aversion for work. / (5) No error

Answer 131

31.4;If you have a strong dislike for something, youhave an aversion to it.

Question 132

32.(1) Though he lives in Tamil Nadu, / (2) he speaks / (3)not only Tamil / (4) but Telugu as well./ (5) No error

Answer 132

“32.4;It should be ““but also Telugu””. See Q. 18 above.”

Question 133

33.(1) It is / (2) difficult for / (3) anyone / (4) to past timethus. / (5) No error

Answer 133

33.4;Replace past participle past by verb pass.Infinitive = to + verb.

Question 134

34.(1) I will put on / (2) a note in this regard / (3) for yourconsideration / (4) and necessary decision. / (5) Noerror

Answer 134

34.1;Replace on by up. If you put on something, youwear it.

Question 135

35.(1) He wasn’t rich / (2) by any means, / (3) although henever turned away / (4) anyone who needed help./ (5)No error

Answer 135

35.3;Replace although by yet.If A happens in spite ofB; we say although/though B, yet A.

Question 136

36.(1) Scarcely had I / (2) finished washing the car / (3)than the master came / (4) and asked me to clean thefloor of the house. / (5) No error

Answer 136

36.3;See Q. 5 above.

Question 137

37.(1) Your scissor / (2) is blunt; / (3) my razor / (4) is sharp. / (5) No error

Answer 137

“37.1;Scissors is always used in the plural. So (1) iswrong. But then (2) should also be changedto are blunt. However, this confusion canbe done away with by making (1) singular— ““Your pair of scissors””.”

Question 138

38.(1) Mr Sharma has set up / (2) another school with aview / (3) to compete / (4) against his rival. / (5) Noerror

Answer 138

38.3;Don’t confuse it for an infinitive. Here thephrase is with a view to. What follows willbe an object to the preposition to — inother words, gerund competing.

Question 139

39.(1) Until you / (2) remain restless / (3) you cannot / (4)concentrate. / (5) No error

Answer 139

39.1;Replace until by if to get a logical connection.

Question 140

40.(1) He can / (2) only be cured / (3) by a / (4) surgicaloperation. / (5) No error

Answer 140

“40.2;It should be ““be cured only”” because only hasbeen used here to modify the method ofcure (by a surgical operation).”

Question 141

41.(1) Politicians who are wise / (2) profit from / (3) thedissensions / (4) of the bureaucrats. / (5) No error

Answer 141

41.5;If you learn or gain advantage from something,you profit by/from it.

Question 142

42.(1) That Birbal was / (2) a contemporary with Akbar /(3) is well-established / (4) from the Akbar-Birbaljokes. / (5) No error

Answer 142

42.2;Note that contemporary here has been used as a noun (article a gives the clue). So, use ofinstead of with.

Question 143

43.(1) The cat appears / (2) to have / (3) originated from /(4) the East. / (5) No error

Answer 143

43.3;The East is not its source of origin, but the placein which it originated. So, use in instead offrom.

Question 144

44.(1) The solution / (2) does not hint / (3) the possibilityof / (4) an alternative answer./ (5) No error

Answer 144

44.2;If you suggest or mention something indirectly,you hint at it.

Question 145

45.(1) As far as I think, / (2) the dress he wore / (3) wasnot appropriate / (4) to the occasion./ (5) No error

Answer 145

45.5;Appropriate may be followed by either to or for.

Question 146

46.(1) The ideas / (2) he propagates / (3) are subversive /(4) to discipline. / (5) No error

Answer 146

46.4;If something is dangerous because it tries todestroy esablished ideas (like discipline), it issubversive of those ideas.

Question 147

47.(1) A mother, of whichever species / (2) she may be, /(3) can never lose / (4) affection to her son. / (5) Noerror

Answer 147

47.4;If you have a gentle lasting love for someone, youhave affection for him.

Question 148

48.(1) Your capacity of / (2) facing difficult situations / (3)will be tested / (4) when you have to live on yourown. / (5) No error

Answer 148

48.1;If you can do a thing, you have a capacity fordoing it.

Question 149

49.(1) India can / (2) hardly stand / (3) any comparison /(4) to the US. / (5) No error

Answer 149

49.4;Hardly stand any comparison points to the factthat if you compare India and the US, you getmore differences than similarities. So, usewith instead of to.

Question 150

50.(1) She has an experience / (2) for three years / (3) andis therefore eligible / (4) for the scholarship./ (5) Noerror

Answer 150

50.2;Replace for by of.

Question 151

1.(1) Piyush was the one person / (2) who could somehowmanage / (3) to working in that section / (4) for such along time. / (5) No error

Answer 151

1.3;It should be to work because manage is followed bythe infinitive.

Question 152

2.(1) He was driving slowly / (2) down the highway / (3)when a cat ran / (4) across and he had to brake all of asudden. / (5) No error

Answer 152

2.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 153

3.(1) Watch how careful / (2) the sparrow knits / (3) thestraws into one another / (4) to form a nest./ (5) No error

Answer 153

3.1;Replace adjective careful by adverb carefullybecause it modifies the verb knits.

Question 154

4.(1) Most of the third world / (2) country areexperiencing / (3) the ethnic or communal problemsin various degrees. / (5) No error

Answer 154

4.2;Most of implies a selection from many; so,countries.

Question 155

5.(1) The manager asked the worker / (2) why was he / (3)again disturbing / (4) the schedule of production./ (5)No error

Answer 155

5.2;It should be why he was. See Ex. 1, Q. 7.

Question 156

6.(1) It is necessary to check every passenger for security /(2) and do not load his luggage / (3) on to the aircraft/ (4) unless he identifies it./ (5) No error

Answer 156

“6.2;It should be ““and not load”” to maintain the parallelconstruction of the infinitive. The to beforecheck applies here also.”

Question 157

7.(1) The Secretary-and-Treasurer / (2) were / (3) not/ (4)present at today’s meeting./ (5) No error

Answer 157

7.2;Replace were by was. The hyphenated worddenotes one person.

Question 158

8.(1) He used/ (2) very inaccurate language / (3) for heknew / (4) no better. / (5) No error

Answer 158

8.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 159

9.(1) I cannot understand that / (2) how you can think/ (3)of going to Kashmir / (4) without woollen clothes. /(5) No error

Answer 159

9.1;Delete that. That is not used when there is anotherclause-beginner — what, why, how, etc.

Question 160

10.(1) With a lot of persuasion / (2) Mrinal was able to get/ (3) the Professor to agree / (4) to review his article. /(5) No error

Answer 160

10.4;When agree means giving one’s consent(different from sharing the same opinion),it is followed by the preposition to, not bythe infinitive. The object of preposition toshould be reviewing (gerund).

Question 161

“11.(1) No slogan was so popular / (2) in the poorerpopulation / (3) as ““Garibi Hatao””, / (4) whichreflected the government policies. / (5) No error”

Answer 161

“11.1;Replace so by as. So … as is generally used innegative sentences. For example, ““it wasnot so popular … as””.”

Question 162

12.(1) The programme is / (2) being telecasted / (3) fromone of / (4) the Doordarshan Kendras./ (5) No error

Answer 162

12.2;Telecast has the same form in V1, V2 and V3.

Question 163

13.(1) Unlike the Second World War, when long voyageshome aboard troopships gave soldiers / (2) a chanceto talk out their experiences / (3) and time to absorbthem, Vietnamese returnees / (4) often came home byjet, singly or in small groups./ (5) No error

Answer 163

“13.1;It should be ““Unlike the soldiers in the SecondWorld War”” because you cannot comparewar and men (returnees).”

Question 164

14.(1) Since 1965 there are four times as many Blackcollege students enrolled, / (2) and the one millionBlack people / (3) in college today represent / (4) 11per cent of all college students. / (5) No error

Answer 164

“14.1;It should be ““Since 1965, the number of Blackcollege students enrolled has quadrupledtoday””.”

Question 165

15.(1) In cold-water habitats, certain invertebrates / (2)and fish convert starches into / (3) complexcarbohydrates called glycerols, / (4) in effectmanufacturing its own antifreeze. / (5) No error

Answer 165

15.4;Replace its by their because it refers to pluralinvertebrates and fish.

Question 166

16.(1) The two first rows / (2) in the auditorium / (3) werereserved for / (4) the press. / (5) No error

Answer 166

16.1;Replace two first by first two (first and second).

Question 167

17.(1) Each of the students / (2) have done / (3) well / (4)in the internal examination. / (5) No error

Answer 167

17.2;Replace have by has. Each takes a singular verb.

Question 168

18.(1) Men, women and children — in a word, the wholepopulation / (2) of the parish / (3) had turned out / (4)to welcome the new Vicar. / (5) No error

Answer 168

18.5;When crowds come out or gather for a publicevent, they turn out for it.

Question 169

19.(1) He has not undergone / (2) any technical training inthe games / (3) but he plays good / (4) than mostprofessionals. /(5) No error

Answer 169

19.3;The comparative of good/well is better.

Question 170

20.(1) My sermon on the meaning of manna / (2) in thewilderness / (3) can be adapted on / (4) almost anyoccasion, joyful or distressing./ (5) No error

Answer 170

20.3;When you make a thing suitable for a new need,you adapt the thing to the need.

Question 171

21.(1) It is the first time / (2) in the history of India that /(3) people from all over India / (4) flocked to see anaked fakir. / (5) No error

Answer 171

21.1;Replace is by was. A past event is being referredto.

Question 172

22.(1) The money-minded people believe / (2) that it isfoolish to exert themselves for such study / (3) andbrainwork / (4) which cannot be converted into cash./ (5) No error

Answer 172

22.4;Replace which by as so that it goes along withsuch.

Question 173

23.(1) They talked to Ajit / (2) and tried to / (3) convincehe about / (4) their point of view./ (5) No error

Answer 173

23.3;The object of convince should be objective him.

Question 174

24.(1) The lovers had great fun / (2) and then walked / (3)besides each other / (4) in silence. / (5) No error

Answer 174

24.3;Replace besides by beside, which means by theside of.

Question 175

25.(1) He won’t / (2) return the money / (3) that heborrowed, / (4) will he ? / (5) No error

Answer 175

25.4;Won’t is would not; so the question-tag shouldbe would he?

Question 176

26.(1) A large-scale exchange of / (2) nuclear weaponswill produce / (3) unprecedented amounts of radiation/ (4) that can penetrate into the biological tissue. / (5)No error

Answer 176

26.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 177

27.(1) Troy was taken by Greeks; / (2) this formed thebasis / (3) of a story / (4) which has become famous./(5) No error

Answer 177

27.1;Insert the before Greeks.

Question 178

28.(1) I have had to work / (2) at the fountain for almost /(3) ten hours before it could / (4) start functioningwell. / (5) No error

Answer 178

28.1;Delete have.

Question 179

29.(1) If the teacher / (2) is good the students/ (3) willrespond / (4) positively to them. / (5) No error

Answer 179

29.4;The students will respond to the teacher(singular). So, replace them by him.

Question 180

30.(1) The teaching staff had taken / (2) lectures regularly/ (3) had they known that / (4) the Principal wouldknow about it. / (5) No error

Answer 180

30.1;Replace had by would have. See Ex. 1, Q. 31.

Question 181

31.(1) One learns / (2) to respect / (3) oneself / (4) in thearmy. / (5) No error

Answer 181

“31.4;This part should come at the beginning of thesentence. In the army is an adverb phrasequalifying the verb learns. But, as it standsnow, one may confuse it to be ““oneself inthe army””, that is, one’s position or being inthe army.”

Question 182

32.(1) The Governor will preside / (2) at the meeting / (3)in which a decision regarding the statehood / (4) ofUttarakhand will be taken. / (5) No error

Answer 182

32.5;If you are the leader at a meeting, you presideat/over it.

Question 183

33.(1) You cannot / (2) believe / (3) his words because /(4) he is untruthful man. / (5) No error

Answer 183

“33.4;It should be ““an untruthful man””. He is one ofthe class of untruthful men.”

Question 184

34.(1) While trying / (2) to swim, / (3) the mouth must bekept / (4) above water. / (5) No error

Answer 184

“34.3;As it stands now, ““trying to swim”” refers to ““themouth”” whereas it should refer to theswimmer (person). So, correct it as ““onemust keep one’s mouth””.”

Question 185

35.(1) The captain as well as / (2) five other members / (3)of the team / (4) were present. / (5) No error

Answer 185

35.4;Replace were by was. When joined by with or aswell as, the number of the verb depends onthe main subject (here captain).

Question 186

36.(1) Please specify / (2) in your letter / (3) what kind ofa camera / (4) you want. / (5) No error

Answer 186

36.3;Delete a. The article is not used before a nounfollowed by kind/type/sort of.

Question 187

37.(1) It was a / (2) major earthquake / (3) and the house’sroof / (4) fell down. / (5) No error

Answer 187

“37.3;It should be ““and the roof of the house”” becausehouse is a non-living thing.”

Question 188

38.(1) When she / (2) could not / (3) answer his question, /(4) he called her as a fool. / (5) No error

Answer 188

38.4;Delete as. What did he call her? A fool.

Question 189

39.(1) Ram as well as Shyam / (2) was invited / (3) butboth men / (4) have not come./ (5) No error

Answer 189

39.3;Insert the before men.

Question 190

40.(1) Let you and I / (2) come to an agreement / (3) thatwe will share the space / (4) adjoining the building. /(5) No error

Answer 190

“40.1;Let is followed by the objective case. So, itshould be ““Let you and me”” or ““let us””.”

Question 191

41.(1) Being courteous, / (2) I accepted / (3) the invitation/ (4) for the dinner./ (5) No error

Answer 191

41.4;If someone asks you to come to a socialoccasion, you have an invitation to it.

Question 192

42.(1) Is there any / (2) exemption of income tax / (3) ifyou invest / (4) in mutual funds ? (5) No error

Answer 192

42.2;If you are freed from a payment, you have anexemption from it.

Question 193

43.(1) This is nothing new; / (2) we have become / (3)accustomed with / (4) instances of corruption./ (5) Noerror

Answer 193

43.3;If you are used to something, you areaccustomed to it.

Question 194

44.(1) Being accomplished with / (2) the art of dancing, /(3) she must not let / (4) her talent go waste./ (5) Noerror

Answer 194

44.1;If you are good at something artistic, you areaccomplished in it.

Question 195

45.(1) He pleaded for some more time / (2) to prove hisinnocence / (3) but the court was deaf / (4) before allhis pleas./ (5) No error

Answer 195

45.4;If you are unwilling to hear something or listen toit, you are deaf to it.

Question 196

46.(1) He became so infatuated / (2) of her charm / (3) thathe was ready / (4) to do anything for her sake./ (5) Noerror

Answer 196

46.2;If you are filled with a strong, unreasonablefeeling of love for something, you areinfatuated with it.

Question 197

47.(1) He said that / (2) he was not / (3) liable to / (4) hiswife’s debts./ (5) No error

Answer 197

47.3;If you are legally responsible for payingsomething, you are liable for it.

Question 198

48.(1) Are you so sure / (2) about your success / (3) thatyou are not/ (4) taking the examination again? / (5)No error

Answer 198

48.2;I’m sure of your having understood this one.

Question 199

49.(1) It was evident from / (2) the umpire’s controversialdecisions / (2) that he was partial / (4) with his owncountry. / (5) No error

Answer 199

49.4;If you have a strong liking for something, you arepartial to it.

Question 200

50.(1) I am/ (2) anxious of / (3) the outcome / (4) of thisgame./ (5) No error

Answer 200

50.2;If you are worried for something, you are anxiousfor/about it.

Question 201

1.(1) In spite of the late hour / (2) and the bad weather /(3) Naveen decided to brave it out / (4) and drink atthe bar./ (5) No error

Answer 201

1.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 202

2.(1) It being rainy day / (2) most of the people / (3) out onthe street were / (4) carrying umbrellas./ (5) No error

Answer 202

“2.1;It should be ““It being a rainy day.”” See Ex. 4, Q.33.”

Question 203

3.(1) As a rule / (2) each of the boy / (3) cleans up thehostel / (4) twice a month./ (5) No error

Answer 203

3.2;Replace boy by boys. See Ex. 1, Q. 1.

Question 204

4.(1) The police accused him / (2) for setting fire to thebuilding / (3) but he denied having been / (4) in thearea on the night of the fire. / (5) No error

Answer 204

4.2;If you blame someone for doing something, youaccuse him of doing it.

Question 205

5.(1) No pluralist society / (2) which is undergoing change/ (3) can be free with / (4) communal or ethnictensions./ (5) No error

Answer 205

5.3;A society is free from/of an evil.

Question 206

6.(1) Why you are / (2) not following my advice / (3) tojoin / (4) any technical course?/ (5) No error

Answer 206

“6.1;It should be ““Why are you …?”” Unlike Ex. 1, Q. 7,here we have a question.”

Question 207

7.(1) In my / (2) youth I used / (3) to visit / (4) Sharma’sand Chawla’s company./ (5) No error

Answer 207

“7.4;Since only one company is being talked about, useapostrophe only once at the end: ““Sharmaand Chawla’s company””.”

Question 208

8.(1) In case you apologise/ (2) for having / (3) broke yourpromise / (4) I shall forgive you./ (5) No error

Answer 208

8.3;The V3 of break is broken.

Question 209

9.(1) Neither Kundan / (2) nor I/ (3) are leaving/ (4) forHyderabad./ (5) No error

Answer 209

9.3;Replace are by am. See Ex. 1, Q. 12.

Question 210

10.(1) The manager of the bank/ (2) together with his / (3)whole staff/ (4) have resigned./ (5) No error

Answer 210

10.4;Replace have by has. See Ex. 4, Q. 35.

Question 211

11.(1) After toiling very hard/ (2) over a long period / (3)he found he had hardly/ (4) made no profit at all./ (5)No error

Answer 211

11.4;Replace no by any because hardly itself containsthe negative meaning.

Question 212

12.(1) The discourse reflects the speaker’s insight / (2)into the subject / (3) which stems out from / (4) theexperience and original thinking./ (5) No error

Answer 212

12.4;Delete the. No particular experience is beingtalked about.

Question 213

13.(1) A common disability in test pilots/ (2) is hearingimpairment,/ (3) damaged from sitting too close tolarge jet engines / (4) for long periods of time./ (5)No error

Answer 213

13.3;Impairment itself is damage, so why use damagedagain? Replace it by caused.

Question 214

14.(1) Like Byron’s death at Missolonghi, / (2) JackLondon was slowly killed / (3) by the mistakes of the medical men / (4) who treated him./ (5) Noerror

Answer 214

“14.1;It should be ““Like Byron at Missolonghi””. Jack London cannot be compared toByron’s death.”

Question 215

15.(1) Slips of the tongue do not / (2) necessarily revealconcealed beliefs or intentions / (3) but rather are theresult from / (4) the competition between variousprocessing mechanisms in the brain./ (5) No error

Answer 215

15.3;Replace from by of. The relationship is one ofpossession: The competition has a result.

Question 216

16.(1) South Korea has witnessed the world’s mostdramatic growth of Christian congregations;/ (2)church membership is expanding by 6.6 per cent ayear, / (3) fully two-thirds of the growth coming fromconversions / (4) rather than the populationincreasing./ (5) No error

Answer 216

“16.4;The comparison is to conversions (a noun). So,correct it to ““rather than increase in thepopulation””.”

Question 217

17.(1) Kalpana told her father / (2) that she was anxious /(3) to complete her studies / (4) as soon as possible./(5) No error

Answer 217

17.5;Both the verbs agree and the infinitive has beencorrectly used.

Question 218

18.(1) We must have a common language / (2) that wouldenable the different linguistic regions / (3) tocommunicate with each other in / (4) matters of inter-regional and national life./ (5) No error

Answer 218

18.3;Replace each other by one another becausethere are more than two regions.

Question 219

19.(1) After having passed the M.A. examination, / (2)that big industrialist provided me / (3) with amanagerial post/ (4) in one of his concerns./ (5) Noerror

Answer 219

“19.1;To whom does having passed refer? Not to thebig industrialist. So, correct it as ““After Ihad passed ….”””

Question 220

20.(1) May I know/ (2) whom / (3) I am/ (4) talking to?/(5) No error

Answer 220

20.5;The sentence is correct. Whom is the object tothe preposition to. However, who is beingpreferred to whom in such sentences thesedays.

Question 221

21.(1) I enjoy visiting tribals in their homes / (2) andtalking to them about their customs, / (3) which hasproved to be extremely / (4) beneficial./ (5) No error

Answer 221

21.3;Replace has by have. It has been used for twoactions — visiting and talking —, andshould therefore be plural.

Question 222

22.(1) This set of books / (2) has been / (3) speciallyprepared / (4) for rural students./ (5) No error

Answer 222

22.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 223

23.(1) I pleaded with him / (2) with a view / (3) toconvincing him / (5) of my innocence in the matter./(5) No error

Answer 223

23.5;You plead with an authority for or against acase.

Question 224

24.(1) Many a profound thinker / (2) believe that themarch / (3) of civilisation has not coincided / (4) withreal human progress./ (5) No error

Answer 224

24.2;Replace believe by believes. Many a takes asingular verb.

Question 225

25.(1) The party chief made it a point / (2) to state that thePrime Minister / (3) and the Union Home Ministershould also come / (4) and they see what his partymen had seen./ (5) No error

Answer 225

“25.4;Delete they because ““the Prime Minister….should”” applies to both come and see.”

Question 226

26.(1) Our conception of / (2) what should a science of mental life be / (3) has changed considerably /(4) since James’ time./ (5) No error

Answer 226

“26.2;Replace a by the. A particular science is beingtalked about — that of mental life. Besidesthe structure should also be changed to”“what the science of mental life should be””.”

Question 227

27.(1) Whatever work / (2) that which you undertake / (3)put your best / (4) efforts in it./ (5) No error

Answer 227

27.2;Delete that which. It is contained in whatever.

Question 228

28.(1) Being that the committee / (2) lacked neededpower,/ (3) it could not deliver / (4) expected result./(5) No error

Answer 228

28.1;Being that should be replaced by since.

Question 229

29.(1) I am trying to finish / (2) this letter for the last onehour;/ (3) I wish you would / (4) go away or stopdisturbing me./ (5) No error

Answer 229

29.1;Replace are by have been. See Ex. 1, Q. 6.

Question 230

30.(1) As I prefer coffee than tea, / (2) my friends alwaystake the trouble /(3) to get me a cup of coffee,/ (4)whenever I visit them./ (5) No error

Answer 230

30.1;With prefer we use to (not than).

Question 231

31.(1) The king was / (2) embarrassed to find / (3)evidences against / (4) his own queen./ (5) No error

Answer 231

31.4;Delete own. It is superfluous (morethan what is necessary).

Question 232

32.(1) They cook meals,/ (2) lay the table and wash up,/(3) clean the house / (4) and mend the clothes./ (5)No error

Answer 232

32.5;All the verbs agree in their tense — presentsimple.

Question 233

33.(1) He was angry upon me / (2) because I did notinform him / (3) that our tickets / (4) had beencancelled./ (5) No error

Answer 233

33.1;You are angry with a person.

Question 234

34.(1) My friend / (2) went to live/ (3) in Bombay / (4)three years before./ (5) No error

Answer 234

34.4;When you are given the duration (here threeyears) back in time, we use ago in place ofbefore.

Question 235

35.(1) I do not like / (2) those sort of jokes / (3) beingplayed / (4) upon me./ (5) No error

Answer 235

35.2;It should be that sort of joke or those sorts ofjoke.

Question 236

36.(1) Whenever we felt tired,/ (2) we relaxed ourselves/(3) in the shade / (4) of the tree./ (5) No error

Answer 236

36.2;Delete ourselves. Relax is not used reflexively.

Question 237

37.(1) You can easily / (2) make him out / (3) because hedoes his work / (4) very slovenly./ (5) No error

Answer 237

“37.4;Slovenly is an adjective which means verycarelessly done. It cannot be used as anadverb. So, correct it as ““in a very slovenlymanner””.”

Question 238

38.(1) On being found/ (2) guilty of rape,/ (3) he hangedhis head / (4) in shame./ (5) no error

Answer 238

38.3;V2 hanged is used when it means to execute (killby hanging). Otherwise, the V2 is hung.

Question 239

39.(1) The warriors are often told / (2) that they never fall/(3) who die/ (4) in great cause./ (5) No error

Answer 239

“39.4;It should be ““in a great cause”” because it is aparticular cause but you do not know which— it may be any cause.”

Question 240

40.(1) He gave me / (2) a five rupees note / (3) and askedme to get him / (4) a few cigarettes./ (5) No error

Answer 240

“40.2;It should be ““a five-rupee note””. See Ex. 1, Q.28.”

Question 241

41.(1) I have been / (2) waiting for you / (3) since twohours,/ (4) and I am quite fed up./ (5) No error

Answer 241

41.3;Replace since by for. Two hours is a period.

Question 242

42.(1) With due respect / (2) to your age, (3) I differ fromyou / (4) on this issue./ (5) No error

Answer 242

42.3;When two persons have different opinions, onediffers with the other.

Question 243

43.(1) Good boys are told / (2) not to meddle / (3) into other/ (4) people’s affairs./ (5) No error

Answer 243

43.3;If you take too much interest in other people’sprivate affairs, you meddle in/with them.

Question 244

44.(1) I am sure / (2) she will repent / (3) for what / (4) shehas said./ (5) No error

Answer 244

44.3;If you are sorry for something, you repent (notfor) it.

Question 245

45.(1) He dabbles with / (2) all branches of learning / (3)that mankind / (4) has so far devised./ (5) No error

Answer 245

45.1;If you work at or study something withoutserious intentions, you dabble in it.

Question 246

46.(1) It is difficult for him/ (2) to leave the town / (3)because he has got / (4) involved with many cases./ (5)No error

Answer 246

46.4;Generally, you get involved with a person butyou get involved in a thing.

Question 247

47.(1) She is a sensitive woman;/ (2) you can’t just / (3)trample her feelings / (4) like that./ (5) No error

Answer 247

47.3;If you crush something under your feet, youtrample on it.

Question 248

48.(1) I asked him / (2) to come to my home / (3) and hereadily complied / (4) to my request./ (5) No error

Answer 248

48.4;If I agree to your request, I comply with it.

Question 249

49.(1) The trial soon ended / (2) and he was / (3) foundguilty/ (4) with murder./ (5) No error

Answer 249

49.4;You are guilty of a crime.

Question 250

50.(1) It has been proved / (2) time and again that / (3) he isincapable / (4) to do good work./ (5) No error

Answer 250

“50.4;Incapable is followed by preposition of, not by the infinitive. So, it should be ““of doing good work””.”

Question 251

1.(1) Sooner than he had arrived / (2) his friends arranged areception / (3) in his honour in / (4) the best hotel in thetown./ (5) No error

Answer 251

“1.1;The correct conjunction pair is ““No sooner …than””. So, it should be ““No sooner had hearrived than””.”

Question 252

2.(1) The need to set up / (2) a good library in the locality /(3) has been in the minds of people / (4) for some timenow./ (5) No error

Answer 252

2.3;If you think of a thing repeatedly, it is on yourmind.

Question 253

3.(1) Had we been alone,/ (2) we would have contentedourselves / (3) with any plain food / (4) that give usstrength./ (5) No error

Answer 253

3.4;Replace give by gives. Food is singular.

Question 254

4.(1) The paper displays / (2) the author’s grasp of thesubject / (3) which not only stems from his experience /(4) but also from his original thinking./ (5) No error

Answer 254

4.3;Not only should come after stems. See Ex. 2, Q.24.

Question 255

5.(1) The regaining of freedom,/ (2) as we well know,/ (3)has given rise for / (4) many dormant issues andconflicts in our society./ (5) No error

Answer 255

5;3;If A is the cause of B, A gives rise to B.

Question 256

6.(1) It is a fact / (2) that most of the people / (3) desire towork less / (4) but earn more./ (5) No error

Answer 256

6.2;Delete of the.

Question 257

7.(1) The doctor said that patient / (2) should not havewasted / (3) a whole week / (4) before coming for help./(5) No error

Answer 257

7.1;Insert the before patient. It is obvious that aparticular patient is being talked about.

Question 258

8.(1) Unlike most animals / (2) the crocodile can liveeffortlessly / (3) both in water / (4) and land./ (5) Noerror

Answer 258

“8.4;It should be ““and on land””.”

Question 259

9.(1) Death / (2) is / (3) preferable / (4) than life./ (5) Noerror

Answer 259

9.4;Preferable is followed by to, not by than.

Question 260

10.(1) When Gayatri said that / (2) she is coming to seeme the next day / (3) I wondered / (4) what problemsshe would bring./ (5) No error

Answer 260

10.2;Replace is by was. See Ex. 1, Q. 10.

Question 261

11.(1) It is a view of the beautifully decorated / (2)window displayed by the organisers / (3) of anexhibition of indoor plants / (4) at the scouts’pavilion./ (5) No error

Answer 261

11.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 262

12.(1) It would be a great advantage / (2) if industrialmanagement took long / (3) hard look / (4) at theinformation provided./ (5) No error

Answer 262

12.2;Insert a before long. What kind of look? Aparticular kind, but it may be any of suchkind.

Question 263

13.(1) One of my good friend / (2) is both an artist / (3)and physician / (4) of repute./ (5) No error

Answer 263

13.1;Replace friend by friends. See Ex. 1, Q. 1.

Question 264

14.(1) All the girls of the school/ (2) stayed away theentertainment programme / (3) arranged on the eve of/ (4) the Independence Day./ (5) No error

Answer 264

14.2;If you do not go somewhere, you stay awayfrom there.

Question 265

15.(1) In August 1883, Krakatoa erupted / (2) and sentclouds of dust, ash and sulphate to a height of 50miles, / (3) blotted out the sun for more than two days/ (4) within a 50-mile radius./ (5) No error

Answer 265

15.3;Replace blotted by blotting. Note that the actionof blotting out is not attributed to Krakatoadirectly. So, unlike erupted and sent, itshould not be a verb. It accompanies theverb sent and is therefore a participle.

Question 266

16.(1) Europe’s travel industry is suffering / (2) as a resultof a sluggish economy, / (3) a stretch of bad weather,/(4) as well as the chilling effects of persistent terroristactivity./ (5) No error

Answer 266

16.4;Replace as well as by and. And joins elementswith equal weightage, whereas as well asmeans in addition to and carries lesserweight.

Question 267

17.(1) One of / (2) every two new / (3) businesses fail/ (4)within two years./ (5) No error

Answer 267

17.3;Replace fail by fails because the subject is one.

Question 268

18.(1) There is ample evidence,/ (2) derived from the loreof traditional folk medicine,/ (3) that naturallyoccurring antibiotics are usually able to be modified/(4) to make them more effective drugs./ (5) No error

Answer 268

“18.3;Able is used only ““actively””. In a passive structure, it should be ““that … antibiotics canusually be modified””.”

Question 269

19.(1) His father inquired / (2) as to whether / (3) he was /(4) joining the army./ (5) No error

Answer 269

“19.2;Delete as to. The clause beginning ““whether …"”is the object of the verb enquired.”

Question 270

20.(1) None of us / (2) were comfortable / (3) with what /(4) was happening. / (5) No error

Answer 270

20.5;Not being comfortable applies to all of us; hencethe plural use.

Question 271

21.(1) It is elemental / (2) that the greater the developmentof man / (3) greater the problems / (4) that concernhim./ (5) No error

Answer 271

“21.3;Greater should be preceded by the according tothe structure ““The more …the better …””.”

Question 272

22.(1) If he had heard of / (2) your marriage,/ (3)he had been / (4) surprised./ (5) No error

Answer 272

22.3;Replace had by would have. See Ex. 1, Q. 31.

Question 273

23.(1) Our past history and our present position in theworld / (2) demands / (3) that we should be cautiousand vigilant / (4) about our freedom and security./ (5)No error

Answer 273

23.2;Change demands to plural demand. There aretwo subjects — history and position.

Question 274

24.(1) I cannot agree / (2) to write / (3) the essay/ (4) foryou./ (5) No error

Answer 274

24.2;Replace write by writing. See Ex. 4, Q. 10.

Question 275

25.(1) His wife had told him/ (2) of all that had happened,/(3) and the insulting manner / (4) in which heremployer had spoken to her./ (5) No error

Answer 275

25.3;Insert of before the. You cannot do with usingthe preposition only once when applying atsuch a distance.

Question 276

26.(1) In future whenever/ (2) I face such a problem / (3) Iget in touch / (4) with you./ (5) No error

Answer 276

“26.3;It should be ““I shall get ….”” When two actionstake place in the future, the earlier one is inpresent simple while the later one is infuture simple.”

Question 277

27.(1) There are much inconveniences / (2) that have to be/ (3) put up with / (4) when you are camping./ (5) Noerror

Answer 277

27.1;Inconveniences means things of inconvenience,which means it is countable. So, replacemuch by many.

Question 278

28.(1) I was unable to get / (2) a house suitable for mywife and me / (3) due to me / (4) being a newcomer./(5) No error

Answer 278

28.3;Replace me by my. The pronoun governing agerund is in the possessive case. Also,replace due to by because of because due isan adjective.

Question 279

29.(1) The thief broke / (2) in the house / (3) at the dead /(4) of night./ (5) No error

Answer 279

29.2;If you enter a house by force, you break into it.

Question 280

30.(1) We have helped them not only/ (2) with money butalso / (3) with new machinery / (4) and raw material./(5) No error

Answer 280

30.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 281

31.(1) By June next year,/ (2) Ajay will be working / (3) inthe office / (4) for twenty years./ (5) No error

Answer 281

31.2;Replace be working by have worked. The actionof working will have been completed infuture (by June next); so use future perfect.

Question 282

32.(1) I offered him part-time work / (2) but he turned itover / (3) saying that he would / (4) rather wait for afull-time job./ (5) No error

Answer 282

32.2;If you decline an offer, you turn it down.

Question 283

33.(1) No sooner did/ (2) the doctor enter / (3) the housethen / (4) the patient died./ (5) No error

Answer 283

33.3;Replace then by than.The correct pair ofconjunctions is: No sooner … than.

Question 284

34.(1) No sooner/ (2) he saw his father / (3) than he began/ (4) to cry./ (5) No error

Answer 284

“34.2;It should be ““did he see his father””.”

Question 285

35.(1) I request you not to cut / (2) jokes in class / (3)because doing so / (4) harms the students./ (5) Noerror

Answer 285

35.2;Insert the before class. The particular group — notany group — of students assembled is beingtalked about.

Question 286

36.(1) From all / (2) the hill stations / (3) I like Nainital /(4) the most./ (5) No error

Answer 286

36.1;When a superlative (here the most) is thus chosenfrom a group, we use of (not from).

Question 287

37.(1) I congratulate you / (2) for your success / (3) in thecivil services / (4) entrance examination./ (5) Noerror

Answer 287

37.2;If you express pleasure for someone because ofhis success, you congratulate him on it.

Question 288

38.(1) The two friends / (2) struck one another / (3)even as others / (4) pacified them./ (5) No error

Answer 288

38.2;Replace one another by each other. See Ex. 3, Q.7.

Question 289

39.(1) While playing cricket / (2) his both hands / (3) wereinjured / (4) and he was unable to write the test./ (5) Noerror

Answer 289

39.2;Both should come before the determiner (herehis).

Question 290

40.(1) The mother as well as/ (2) her three children / (3)were taken/ (4) to hospital./ (5) No error

Answer 290

40.3;See Ex. 4, Q. 35.

Question 291

41.(1) He is married / (2) with my cousin / (3) and is thereby/ (4) related to me./ (5) No error

Answer 291

41.2;You are married to your spouse (husband/wife).

Question 292

42.(1) All balls / (2) are round;/ (3) there is no exception /(4) of this rule./ (5) No error

Answer 292

42.4;There are exceptions to a rule.

Question 293

43.(1) He promised not / (2) to do anything / (3) repugnantwith what/ (4) his mother wants./ (5) No error

Answer 293

43.3;If something causes a feeling of strong dislike inyou, it is repugnant to you.

Question 294

44.(1) You have a right / (2) to live according to your ownwishes / (3) but not when it / (4) encroaches others’lives. / (5) No error

Answer 294

44.4;If you take more of something than is your rightshare, you encroach on/upon someone else’sshare.

Question 295

45.(1) I desire / (2) to be contented / (3) becausecontentment is / (4) essential for happiness./ (5) Noerror

Answer 295

45.5;If A cannot exist without B, B is essential to/forA.

Question 296

46.(1) A lack of experience / (2) does not matter / (3) butonly postgraduates / (4) are eligible to the post./ (5) Noerror

Answer 296

46.4;If you fulfil the conditions necessary forsomething, you are eligible for it.

Question 297

47.(1) It is not proper / (2) to infer / (3) this conclusion / (4)by the passage./ (5) No error

Answer 297

“47.4;Replace by by from. ““The passage”” is a source.”

Question 298

48.(1) He died / (2) without imparting anyone / (3) thesecret/ (4) of his process./ (5) No error

Answer 298

48.2;If you make known something to someone, youimpart it to him.

Question 299

49.(1) His friend / (2) prevailed with him/ (3) to accept / (4)the post./ (5) No error

Answer 299

49.2;If you persuade someone, you prevail on/uponhim.

Question 300

50.(1) You must know / (2) who Akbar was / (3) even if youhave no / (4) special liking to history./ (5) No error

Answer 300

50.4;If you like something, you have a liking for it.

Question 301

1.(1) The number of people / (2) applying were so large / (3)that the college had to / (4) stop issuing applicationforms./ (5) No error

Answer 301

1.2;Replace were by was. Number is singular.

Question 302

2.(1) Have you/ (2) carefully read and / (3) clearlyunderstood the guidelines/ (4) given above?/ (5) Noerror

Answer 302

2.5;It follows the standard question-format: Auxiliary +Subject + Adverb + Verb + Object +Complement?

Question 303

3.(1) She asked me to look/ (2) at the dreadful letter she hasgot/ (3) and asked/ (4) how she should answer it./ (5)No error

Answer 303

3.2;Replace has by had. See Ex. 1, Q. 10.

Question 304

4.(1) I have worked / (2) in this office for six years,/ (3) but Inow work / (4) in a different office./ (5) No error

Answer 304

4.1;Replace have by had. The action of working hadbeen completed in the past. Hence, pastperfect.

Question 305

5.(1) Mr Mehta prefers to go / (2) to his office every day /(3) with the local train/ (4) which leaves Andheri by8.30 a.m./ (5) No error

Answer 305

5.3;Relace with by by. See Ex. 2, Q. 30.

Question 306

6.(1) The apples / (2) he gave me / (3) are too expensive /(4) to be had./ (5) No error

Answer 306

6.2;The relative word that should be inserted beforehe. However, it has become acceptablethese days to do without it.

Question 307

7.(1) Ramu closely / (2) resembles to his father / (3) notonly in physical features / (4) but also in habits./ (5)No error

Answer 307

7.2;See Ex. 2, Q. 33.

Question 308

8.(1) All I know is that / (2) I would not be at peace / (3)with myself/ (4) unless I do not go there./ (5) Noerror

Answer 308

8.4;See Ex. 2, Q. 3.

Question 309

9.(1) Hardly had I reached / (2) the bus stop I / (3) was hitby / (4) a very thick metal rod./ (5) No error

Answer 309

9.2;Insert when before I. The correct conjunction pairis hardly … when.

Question 310

10.(1) Each of these managers / (2) helped thesecompanies/ (3) in attaining / (4) Olympian heights. /(5) No error

Answer 310

10.3;Replace in attaining by (to) attain. Help isfollowed by the infinitive.

Question 311

11.(1) I could hardly believe it/ (2) but I found their tallestplayer/ (3) was shorter / (4) than I./ (5) No error

Answer 311

11.5;Than is a conjunction and therefore correctlyfollowed by the nominative case (I).

Question 312

12.(1) It was in the context of / (2) this policy and also as afollow-up / (3) of the recommendations of thecommittee / (4) that this workshop was organised./(5) No error

Answer 312

12.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 313

13.(1) Added to the increase/ (2) in hourly wagesrequested last July, / (3) the railroad employees arenow seeking / (4) an expanded programme ofretirement benefits./ (5) No error

Answer 313

13.1;As it stands now, added to refers to the railroademployees, which makes no sense. Replaceit by in addition to.

Question 314

14.(1) Opening with tributes to jazz-age divas like BessieSmith/ (2) and closing with Koko Taylor’s electrifiedgravel-and-thunder songs,/ (3) the programme shalltrace the blues’ vigorous/ (4) matriarchal line overmore than 50 years./ (5) No error

Answer 314

14.3;Replace shall by will. The emphasis is unaskedfor.

Question 315

15.(1) Even today, a century after Pasteur developed / (2)the first vaccine, rabies almost / (3) always kills itsvictims unless inoculated / (4) in the earliest stages ofthe disease./ (5) No error

Answer 315

15.3;Whom does inoculated refer to? The givensentence gives the impression that it refersto rabies. To make it clear that it refers tovictims, insert they are before inoculated.

Question 316

16.(1) Many investors base their choice / (2) betweenbonds and stocks / (3) on comparing bond yields to /(4) the dividends available on common stocks./ (5)No error

Answer 316

“16.3;The choice is based not on the process —comparing —, but on the outcome —comparison. Moreover, a choice will bemade on the basis of differences (see Ex. 3,Q. 49). So, correct it as ““on thecomparisons of bond yields with””.”

Question 317

17.(1) No less than / (2) twenty persons / (3) were killedin/ (4) the air crash./ (5) No error

Answer 317

17.1;Replace less by fewer. Persons can be counted.

Question 318

18.(1) Though Hindi has been given the status of nationallanguage / (2) still there are certain parts of thecountry / (3) where it has yet to win its rightful place/(4) in the hearts of the people./ (5) No error

Answer 318

18.2;Replace still by yet. See Ex. 3, Q. 35.

Question 319

19.(1) The criminal / (2) dared not to go out / (3) becausehe was afraid of / (4) being recognised by the police./(5) No error

Answer 319

19.2;Delete to. Without do, dare is followed by aninfinitive without to.

Question 320

20.(1) The world we live / (2) presents an endless variety /(3) of fascinating problems / (4) which excite ourwonder and curiosity./ (5) No error

Answer 320

20.1;Live should be followed by in. See Ex. 3, Q. 30.

Question 321

21.(1) I objected to him scolding me / (2) for my good,/(3) especially when he said it hurt him/ (4) more thanme./ (5) No error

Answer 321

21.1;Replace him by his. See Ex. 6, Q. 28.

Question 322

22.(1) After their marriage / (2) the two brothers / (3) donot see / (4) eye to eye on any issue./ (5) No error

Answer 322

22.1;Replace marriage by marriages. You do notexpect the two brothers to get involved in asingle marriage. Or do you?

Question 323

23.(1) Many a student / (2) are frustrated / (3) because /(4) of unemployment./ (5) No error

Answer 323

23.2;Replace are by is. Many a takes a singular verb.

Question 324

24.(1) The reason why / (2) he was rejected / (3) wasbecause / (4) he was too young./ (5) No error

Answer 324

24.3;Replace because by that. You are not giving thecause of the reason. You are stating thereason.

Question 325

25.(1) My father / (2) goes to / (3) the office / (4) five dayweek./ (5) No error

Answer 325

“25.4;The given sentence makes no sense. (4) shouldbe ““five days a week””, that is, five daysevery week.”

Question 326

26.(1) Of all the men / (2) known to me none is / (3) lessinclined than he / (4) to think ill to others./ (5) Noerror

Answer 326

26.4;You think ill of others.

Question 327

27.(1) We have keep / (2) our promise and / (3) you canexpect / (4) a lot from us in future./ (5) No error

Answer 327

27.1;V3 of keep is kept.

Question 328

28.(1) No sooner will / (2) the holidays begin / (3) thisbeach will / (4) become very crowded./ (5) No error

Answer 328

28.3;Insert than before this to get the properconjunction pair: No sooner … than.

Question 329

29.(1) He fixed a metal ladder / (2) for the wall below hiswindow / (3) so as to be able to escape / (4) if therewas a fire./ (5) No error

Answer 329

29.2;The ladder was fixed to the wall for himself.

Question 330

30.(1) If neither of them/ (2) are to be trusted,/ (3) it is notat all/ (4) advisable to invest further./ (5) No error

Answer 330

30.2;Replace are by is. Neither is singular.

Question 331

31.(1) Don’t touch/ (2) that door/ (3) as it/ (4) just hasbeen painted. (5) No error

Answer 331

31.4;Place just after has, the first word of the verb.

Question 332

32.(1) The District Collector / (2) gave up the prizes / (3)to the winners / (4) at the end of the function./ (5) Noerror

Answer 332

32.2;You give away prizes when you distribute them.

Question 333

33.(1) We can/ (2) have a party / (3) some time the next week,/ (4) can’t we?/ (5) No error

Answer 333

33.3;Delete the.

Question 334

34.(1) One day you / (2) will repent over / (3) what you /(4) have done./ (5) No error

Answer 334

34.2;Delete over. See Ex. 5, Q. 44.

Question 335

35.(1) He would have / (2) lent me a pen,/ (3) if he wasknowing / (4) that I didn’t have one./ (5) No error

Answer 335

35.3;Replace was knowing by had known. See Ex. 1,Q. 31.

Question 336

36.(1) The newly-elected Janata Party in Delhi / (2)unceremoniously removed JRD / (3) from thechairmanship of Air India, (4) a company true dear tohis heart. / (5) No error

Answer 336

36.4;Replace true by truly, an adverb because itqualifies dear, an adjective.

Question 337

37.(1) It is the most / (2) suitable building/ (3) for you;/ (4)it comprises of five rooms./ (5) No error

Answer 337

37.4;A whole consists of parts. In other words, itcomprises (not of) those parts.

Question 338

38.(1) You can / (2) rely / (3) on us to do / (4) our utmost./(5) No error

Answer 338

“38.3;To do abruptly follows us. The error may becorrected by using the gerund (doing) inplace of the infinitive. Us will be convertedto our as it governs the gerund. Instead ofthe pronoun, the gerund will now be theobject of the preposition on. So, (3) willbecome ““on our doing””.”

Question 339

39.(1) I was / (2) surprised / (3) that he let out/ (4) thesecret./ (5) No error

Answer 339

39.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 340

40.(1) Unlike the children of a century ago,/ (2)compulsory education today / (3) caters to everychild/ (4) up to the age of fifteen./ (5) No error

Answer 340

40.1;Children cannot be compared to education. So,replace children by education.

Question 341

41.(1) The managing director said that / (2) the firm hadordered the goods / (3) and will have to pay/ (4) forthem./ (5) No error

Answer 341

41.3;Replace will by would. See Ex. 1, Q. 10.

Question 342

42.(1) The soldiers of the fort / (2) were provided / (3)with provisions/ (4) to last them six months./ (5) Noerror

Answer 342

42.1;A fort does not possess soldiers; it is the place inwhich soldiers stay. So, replace of by in.

Question 343

43.(1) Do not / (2) agitate him/ (3) because he suffers / (4)with nerves./ (5) No error

Answer 343

43.4;You suffer from a disorder.

Question 344

44.(1) Even after his divorce,/ (2) Prince Charlescontinues / (3) to be the heir/ (4) of the throne./ (5)No error

Answer 344

44.4;If you have a legal right to succession for aproperty, you are the heir to it.

Question 345

45.(1) In spite of being intimidated,/ (2) Iraq refuses / (3)to acquiesce with / (4) the US arrangement./ (5) Noerror

Answer 345

45.3;If you agree to something unwillingly, but withoutcomplaining or arguing, you acquiesce in it.

Question 346

46.(1) He cannot get the work done;/ (2) he does not have/ (3) any influence over / (4) the powers-that-be./ (5)No error

Answer 346

46.3;You have influence with those in power.

Question 347

47.(1) He laboured for / (2) his book for / (3) eight longyears / (4) before it went for publication./ (5) Noerror

Answer 347

47.1;If you work hard at something, you labour at it.

Question 348

48.(1) There are many ways / (2) in which / (3) you candistinguish / (4) the rich and the poor./ (5) No error

Answer 348

48.4;You either distinguish one from the other ordistinguish between one and the other.

Question 349

49.(1) In India / (2) malnutrition is /(3) the cause / (4) formany diseases./ (5) No error

Answer 349

49.4;Replace for by of.

Question 350

50.(1) True charity/ (2) does not / (3) consist of / (4) indiscriminate alms-giving./ (5) No error

Answer 350

50.3;If A depends on B, A consists in B

Question 351

1.(1) Surekha was trying for admission/ (2) in theEngineering college/ (3) even though her parentswanted / (4) her to take up medicine./ (5) No error

Answer 351

1.2;When you are allowed to enter or join a place, youget an admission to it.

Question 352

2.(1) The interviewer asked me/ (2) if I knew that / (3)Kalidas was the greater / (4) than any other poet./ (5)No error

Answer 352

2.3;Delete the. The comparative is usually not precededby the.

Question 353

3.(1) All the doctors were / (2) puzzled on the / (3) strangesymptoms / (4) reported by the patient./ (5) No error

Answer 353

3.2;When you are not able to find any solution to aproblem, you are puzzled at/by it.

Question 354

4.(1) I would have / (2) enjoyed the journey more /(3) ifthe man in the berth below mine / (4) would not havesnored all the time./ (5) No error

Answer 354

4.4;Replace would not have by had not. See Ex. 1, Q.31.

Question 355

5.(1) The leader along with his wife / (2) and two sons was/ (3) received at the entrance of the hall/ (4) by dueceremony./ (5) No error

Answer 355

5.4;If an occasion is marked by a formal behaviour, it iscelebrated/observed with ceremony.

Question 356

6.(1) As a student of / (2) English literature he often reads/ (3) novels written by/ (4) famous English novelists./(5) No error

Answer 356

“6.5;As means ““in the capacity of””.”

Question 357

7.(1) I laid down / (2) on the smooth ground / (3) and wentto sleep / (4) at once./ (5) No error

Answer 357

7.1;V2 of lie is lay.

Question 358

8.(1) No river in the world / (2) evokes such awe andreverence / (3) as the Ganga / (4) which is like themother to seven hundred million Hindus of India./ (5)No error

Answer 358

8.4;Replace the by a. No particular mother is beingtalked about. Each of the Hindus has amother.

Question 359

9.(1) I cautioned him/ (2) against making any / (3)statement until he / (4) had not seen his lawyers./ (5)No error

Answer 359

9.4;Delete not. See Ex. 2, Q. 3.

Question 360

10.(1) Among those in power / (2) nobody behaved / (3)kindlier than / (4) he./ (5) No error

Answer 360

10.3;The comparative of kindly is more kindly.

Question 361

11.(1) One of the representatives / (2) are knowledgeable /(3) and good at / (4) handling people./ (5) No error

Answer 361

11.2;Replace are by is. One is singular.

Question 362

12.(1) The accelerating pace of life / (2) in ourmetropolitan cities / (3) has had the tremendouseffect / (4) on the culture and lifestyle of the people./(5) No error

Answer 362

12.3;Replace the by a. We are not being told aboutany particular tremendous effect. It may beany of those effects.

Question 363

13.(1) Child prodigies are marked / (2) not so much bytheir skills / (3) but instead by the fact that theseskills / (4) are fully developed at a very early age./ (5)No error

Answer 363

13.3;Replace but instead by as to get the conjunctionpair so … as.

Question 364

14.(1) In 1929 relatively small declines in the market / (2) ruined many speculators having bought onmargin; / (3) they had to sell,/ (4) and their sellingpushed other investors to the brink./ (5) No error

Answer 364

“14.2;The perfect participle could have been used ifthe sentence were as follows: ““Havingbought on margin, many speculators wereruined ….”” But, as it stands, for a clearmeaning, replace having by who had.”

Question 365

“15.(1) The commission has directed advertisers to restrict /(2) the use of the word ““natural”” to foods / (3) that donot contain colour or flavour additives, chemicalpreservatives,/ (4) or nothing that has beensynthesised./ (5) No error”

Answer 365

“15.4;The sentence is ““…that do not contain …nothing””. Replace nothing by anything. SeeEx. 2, Q. 3.”

Question 366

16.(1) Over thirty years / (2) have passed / (3) since thedawn of freedom and the position / (4) of English ischanging a great deal during this period./ (5) No error

Answer 366

16.4;Replace is changing by has changed. Duringindicates completion of action. Also, seeEx. 2, Q. 29.

Question 367

17.(1) Even if it / (2) takes me six months, / (3) I amdetermined / (4) for finishing the job./ (5) No error

Answer 367

17.4;Replace for finishing by to finish. Determined isfollowed by the infinitive.

Question 368

18.(1) Someone has rightly said / (2) that a speech is like abicycle wheel — (3) longer the spoke / (4) the biggerthe ‘tyre’. (5) No error

Answer 368

18.3;Longer should be preceded by the. Remember:The more the better.

Question 369

19.(1) If you do not agree/ (2) to my request / (3) then Ishall be forced / (4) to take drastic measures./ (5) Noerror

Answer 369

19.3;Delete then. Remember: Then is not aconjunction. If is not used in a pair.

Question 370

20.(1) When one starts a quarrel, / (2) there is noguarantee sure that he will win / (3) and cause theopponent / (4) to yield./ (5) No error

Answer 370

“20.2;Guarantee means promise. But who is the onewho is promising here? Also, sure is anadjective, not a noun. So, the part shouldbe: ““it is not sure that one (not he) willwin””.”

Question 371

21.(1) I have / (2) to usually reach / (3) the office / (4) by9.30 a.m./ (5) No error

Answer 371

21.2;It should be usually to reach because nothingshould come between to and the verb in theinfinitive. However, split infinitive has nownot only become acceptable, but is alsopreferred.

Question 372

22.(1) The scientist must follow / (2) his hunches / (3) andhis data / (4) wherever it may lead./ (5) No error

Answer 372

22.4;Replace it by they. The subject is plural —hunches and data.

Question 373

23.(1) In an English paper / (2) examiners should give /(3) as much weightage to language / (4) as they giveto contents./ (5) No error

Answer 373

23.4;Replace give by do to avoid repetition.

Question 374

24.(1) I had read such a lot / (2) about him that I am / (3)looking forward to seeing / (4) him very much./ (5)No error

Answer 374

24.1;Replace had by have. The effect continues in thepresent (am looking), so the action(reading) must have been performed in the immediate past. Hence, presentperfect.

Question 375

25.(1) The foremost criteria of selection we adopted / (2)was the number of years of training / (3) a dancer hadreceived / (4) under a particular guru./ (5) No error

Answer 375

25.1;Criteria is plural. The singular is criterion.

Question 376

26.(1) The gap between / (2) what he preaches / (3) andwhat he practises is too wide / (4) to accept by anysensible person./ (5) No error

Answer 376

26.4;Gap is the object of the verb accept. So, theinfinitive should be passive — to beaccepted.

Question 377

27.(1) The train / (2) was late / (3) for / (4) fifty minutes./ (5) No error

Answer 377

27.3;If you are supposed to come at 6 p.m. and youcome at 7 p.m., you are late by an hour.

Question 378

28.(1) Theirs is / (2) the nicest / (3) house I have / (4) everseen./ (5) No error

Answer 378

28.3;Insert that before I. See Ex. 7, Q. 6.

Question 379

29.(1) The road was / (2) lined with trees / (3) just likeFrance / (4) and in many other European countries./(5) No error

Answer 379

29.3;The road is being compared to countries in thesentence as it stands now. The error may becorrected by replacing like by as in.

Question 380

30.(1) He didn’t ought / (2) to have done it / (3) if he had /(4) a little of common sense./ (5) No error

Answer 380

“30.1;Ought is an auxiliary itself. So, delete did. Thenot will shift to the place between oughtand the infinitive. Thus we get ““Heoughtn’t””.”

Question 381

31.(1) Misfortunes become / (2) less troublesome / (3)when faced bravely / (4) and manly./ (5) No error

Answer 381

31.4;Replace manly by in a manly manner. Manly isan adjective meaning having qualitiestypical of or suitable to a man.

Question 382

32.(1) My friend / (2) accompanied with me / (3) to therailway station / (4) to see me off./ (5) No error

Answer 382

32.2;If you go with your friend, you accompany (notwith) him.

Question 383

33.(1) How happy I felt / (2) when I scored / (3) mymaiden century / (4) in an university match!/ (5) Noerror

Answer 383

“33.4;University is pronounced ““Yu-niversity””. That is,it begins with a consonant sound. So,replace an by a.”

Question 384

34.(1) He has succeeded / (4) to get an appointment / (3)with the prime minister / (4) after repeated efforts./(5) No error

Answer 384

34.2;Replace to get by in getting. You succeed in anendeavour.

Question 385

35.(1) Ramesh works hard / (2) as I do / (3) but successhas somehow / (4) eluded him uptil now./ (5) Noerror

Answer 385

35.1;Insert as before hard. The correct conjunctionpair is as … as.

Question 386

36.(1) Supposing if he fails / (2) in the examination / (3)this year / (4) what will he do?/ (5) No error

Answer 386

36.1;Delete supposing. If itself means supposing.

Question 387

37.(1) It is / (2) the time / (3) to go / (4) to bed./ (5) Noerror

Answer 387

37.2;Delete the.

Question 388

38.(1) She is / (2) the prettiest / (3) of the / (4) two sisters./(5) No error

Answer 388

38.2;Replace prettiest by prettier. When only twopersons or things are compared, usecomparative degree.

Question 389

39.(1) We work / (2) with zeal / (3) because we may / (4)earn a living./ (5) No error

Answer 389

39.3;Replace because by so that. We are told aboutthe purpose, not about the cause.

Question 390

40.(1) I was not knowing / (2) that you / (3) were here / (4)along with your family./ (5) No error

Answer 390

40.1;Replace was not knowing by did not know.Know is not used in the continuous tense.

Question 391

41.(1) I am not much concerned / (2) to his affairs / (3)because I know he has the ability / (4) to handlethings efficiently./ (5) No error

Answer 391

41.2;If you are worried about something, you areconcerned about/for it.

Question 392

42.(1) When I was being sent / (2) to a residential school /(3) I parted with my father / (4) with tearful eyes./ (5)No error

Answer 392

42.3;You part from a person.

Question 393

43.(1) He acted only from compulsion; / (2) if it were notfor the robbery in his neighbour’s house, / (3) hewould never have bothered / (4) to put the jewelleryin the locker./ (5) No error

Answer 393

43.1;Replace from by out of.

Question 394

44.(1) Rahul and Sachin / (2) both play well / (3) but Sachin / (4) is the best./ (5) No error

Answer 394

44.4;Replace the best by better. See Q. 38 above. Wedelete the here because unlike Q. 38, we arenot making a selection but only comparing.See the following:1. Both play well but he is better. (comparing) 2. Both play well but he is the better of the two.(selecting)

Question 395

45.(1) I am more intelligent / (2) than he / (3) yet he prevailsupon me / (4) in a dispute./ (5) No error

Answer 395

45.3;If you win a fight against me or are in acomfortable position, you prevailagainst/over me.

Question 396

46.(1) Concerning about your absence /(2) you are requested/ (3) to produce / (4) a medical certificate./ (5) No error

Answer 396

46.1;Delete about. Concerning means about or withregard to.

Question 397

47.(1) Many Hindi plays are / (2) being adapted to English /(3) to enrich the Hindi audience / (4) with a largervariety./ (5) No error

Answer 397

47.2;If the movement (of adaptation) is from Hindi toEnglish, how does it benefit the Hindiaudience? It must be the other way round —from English to Hindi. So, in (2), replace toby from.

Question 398

48.(1) Slaves to convention / (2) that we are,/ (3) we canhardly / (4) call ourselves free./ (5) No error

Answer 398

48.1;We are slaves of habit or convention.

Question 399

49.(1) He took exception / (2) at the presence / (3) of anoutsider / (4) in the General Body Meeting./ (5) Noerror

Answer 399

49.2;If you are offended or made angry by something,you take exception to it.

Question 400

50.(1) He has / (2) the reputation / (3) for being / (4) a goodteacher./ (5) No error

Answer 400

“50.3;Replace for by of. We are talking about the state(being …). Otherwise, we say ““He has areputation for teaching well.”””

Question 401

1.(1) I should be glad /(2) if you will / (3) call at/ (4) myhouse./ (5) No error

Answer 401

1.2;The tone is obviously that of a request. So, replacewill by would.

Question 402

2.(1) She counted the books / (2) to make sure that / (3) noneof them/ (4) were missing./ (5) No error

Answer 402

2.4;Replace were by was. We take care of each book.

Question 403

3.(1) No source of energy/ (2) is so cheap/ (3) as solarenergy/ (4) in the present age of energy crisis./ (5) Noerror

Answer 403

3.2;It is better to use as (not so) … as in positivesentences.

Question 404

4.(1) We must not complain / (2) that roses have thorns / (3)but rather grateful/ (4) that thorns bear flowers./ (5) Noerror

Answer 404

4.3;Where is the verb in the clause after but? Insert bebefore grateful.

Question 405

5.(1) If / (2) it snowed tomorrow,/ (3) we’ll go/ (4) skiing./(5) No error

Answer 405

5.2;Replace snowed by snows. See Ex. 6, Q. 26.

Question 406

6.(1) I used to visit her / (2) and I always wondered / (3)why she has / (4) those dreadful pictures on the wall./(5) No error

Answer 406

6.3;Replace has by had. See Ex. 1, Q.10

Question 407

7.(1) Neither his mother nor his father / (2) were aware / (3)that he was suffering / (4) from tuberculosis./ (5) Noerror

Answer 407

7.2;Replace were by was. In a neither … nor sentencethe verb agrees with the subject placed nearto it.

Question 408

8.(1) The five-party coalition cabinet announced/ (2) earliertoday that it was resigning / (3) after one of the partnerspulled out of the government / (4) in protest against theeducation policy./ (5) No error

Answer 408

8.3;Replace after by as. The relation between the twoactions is not merely chronological, butalso causal (though not so strong that weuse because).

Question 409

9.(1) Left to himself, / (2) Inder prefers / (3) travelling by hiscar / (4) than travelling by train./ (5) No error

Answer 409

“9.4;Prefers is followed by to (not than). Travellingshould not be repeated. So, (4) should be”“to that by train””.”

Question 410

10.(1) John is one / (2) of the richest men / (3) that has ever lived/ (4) in this part of the country./ (5) No error

Answer 410

10.3;Replace has by have because its subject is that(which refers to plural men).

Question 411

11.(1) Urban officials want the census / (2) to be asaccurate and complete as possible / (3) for the reasonthat the amount of low-income people in a given area/ (4) affects the distribution of about $ 50 billion ayear in federal funds./ (5) No error

Answer 411

11.3;People is countable. So, replace amount bynumber.

Question 412

12.(1) The mistakes children make in learning to speak /(2) tell linguists more about / (3) how children learnlanguage / (4) than the correct forms they use./ (5) Noerror

Answer 412

“12.4;The given sentence creates the impression of (3)and (4) being compared. Actually, it is”“The mistakes tell more … than the correctforms tell””. However, since we want toavoid a repetition of the verb, (4) should be”“than do the correct forms they use””.”

Question 413

13.(1) Bringing the Ford Motor Company back / (2) fromthe verge of bankruptcy shortly after the SecondWorld War / (3) was a special governmentally-sanctioned price increase / (4) during a period ofwage and price controls./ (5) No error

Answer 413

“13.1;The sentence is of the form ““S was P””. Using agerund (bringing) as S lays the emphasison S and makes it appear as if we weredefining S. Actually, we are emphasising P.So, replace bringing by what brought.”

Question 414

14.(1) In the US, trade unions encountered far moreintense opposition / (2) against their struggle forsocial legitimacy / (3) than did the organised labourmovements / (4) of most other democratic nations./(5) No error

Answer 414

14.2;Replace against by in because the against aspectis taken care of by encountered …opposition.

Question 415

15.(1) His actions / (2) were commended / (3) neither byhis friends / (4) or by his enemies./ (5) No error

Answer 415

15.4;Neither goes with nor (not or).

Question 416

16.(1) The state of his affairs / (2) was such as / (3) tocause anxiety / (4) to his creditors./ (5) No error

Answer 416

16.5;Was is correct because the subject is singularstate.

Question 417

17.(1) One of the avowed principle of the scientific creed /(2) is that the ownership of capital and land and themeans of production and distribution / (3) should betaken out of the hands of the individual / (4) andvested in the state./ (5) No error

Answer 417

17.1;Replace principle by principles. See Ex. 1, Q. 1.

Question 418

18.(1) As she was / (2) tired off / (3) after her long walk,/(4) she went to bed early./ (5) No error

Answer 418

18.2;Delete off.

Question 419

19.(1) The three civilisations / (2) which showed greattenacity / (3) were the Egyptian, the Sumerian andthe Chinese;/ (4) the two last absorbed their nomadenemies./ (5) No error

Answer 419

“19.4;It should be ““the last two ….”””

Question 420

20.(1) The wound / (2) will kill him/ (3) were it not for his/ (4) great strength./ (5) No error

Answer 420

20.2;Replace will kill by would have killed. See Ex.1, Q. 31.

Question 421

21.(1) As an artist, / (3) he is as good if / (3) not better /(4) than Ramesh / (5) No error

Answer 421

21.2;Insert as after good so that we get as good as.

Question 422

22.(1) No words can describe the / (2) happiness andbeatitude / (3) that the pursuit of knowledge /(4) confers on its votaries. / (5) No error

Answer 422

22.5;If you are given a title, an honour or a favour, it is conferred on you.

Question 423

23.(1) I have full trust with you / (2) and hope that / (3)you will be able to complete / (4) our work in time ./(5) No error

Answer 423

23.1;You have trust in me.

Question 424

24.(1) Should the sporting spirit be / (2) confined to gamesonly, / (3) or it should be taken into / (4) the largerconcerns of life ? (5) No error

Answer 424

24.3;To maintain the question format replace itshould by should it.

Question 425

25.(1) Firstly you should / (2) think over the meaning / (3)of the words / (4) and then use them./ (5) No error

Answer 425

25.1;Replace Firstly you should by You should first.See Ex. 7, Q. 31. Firstly may be used onlywhen you are enumerating a set of things.

Question 426

26.(1) The President had hardly spoken / (2) a few words /(3) when the microphone / (4) stopped functioning./(5) No error

Answer 426

26.5;Hardly …when is a correct conjunction pair.

Question 427

27.(1) The teacher promised / (2) that he will explain it /(3) if they came / (4) before school the followingday./ (5) No error

Answer 427

27.2;Replace will by would. See Ex. 1, Q. 10.

Question 428

28.(1) The students have / (2) assembled on the ground /(3) and are waiting for / (4) the Principal to come./(5) No error

Answer 428

28.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 429

29.(1) While flying over India/ (2) we had glimpses of /(3) the two sources of her culture —/ (4) Ganges andHimalayas./ (5) No error

Answer 429

“29.4;It should be ““the Ganges and the Himalayas”“.They are the names of physical features.”

Question 430

30.(1) When I return back / (2) from Patna / (3) I will start/ (4) teaching you./ (5) No error

Answer 430

30.1;Delete back. Return itself means come back.

Question 431

31.(1) It is (2) no use / (3) finding fault / (4) at everything./ (5) No error

Answer 431

31.4;You find fault with things.

Question 432

32.(1) If I fail / (2) this examination / (3) I will take / (4)the next one./ (5) No error

Answer 432

32.3;Replace will by shall.

Question 433

33.(1) If it / (2) will rain / (3) the ground / (4) will getwet./ (5) No error

Answer 433

33.2;It should be rains. See Ex. 6, Q. 26.

Question 434

34.(1) He and / (2) his brothers / (3) love each other / (4)very much./ (5) No error

Answer 434

34.3;Replace each other by one another. There aremore than two persons.

Question 435

35.(1) I think/ (2) she sang / (3) very well,/ (4) isn’t it?/ (3)No error

Answer 435

“35.4;The question-tag is to ““she sang””. Sang = did +sing. So, the auxiliary is did and thepronoun she.We thus get ““didn’t she?”” asthe correct tag.”

Question 436

36.(1) Never I have seen / (2) such an interesting match;/(3) it is evening / (4) and I haven’t left the place evenonce./ (5) No error

Answer 436

“36.1;When you thus emphasise (putting never first),the auxiliary comes before the subject. So,(1) should be ““Never have I seen””.”

Question 437

37.(1) Not only the bandit / (2) robbed the person / (3) ofhis purse / (4) but also wounded him./ (5) No error

Answer 437

“37.1;The verbs are being joined by ““not only … butalso””. So, it should be ““The bandit notonly””.”

Question 438

38.(1) I asked him / (2) to give my book / (3) but he / (4)did not give me./ (5) No error

Answer 438

38.4;Replace give me by do so and avoid repetition.

Question 439

39.(1) He wanted / (2) to tease him, / (3) so he laughed /(4) with him./ (5) No error

Answer 439

39.4;When you laugh with someone, both of you arein the same party. If you tease someone, hebecomes an outsider (so far laughing isconcerned). You then laugh at him.

Question 440

40.(1) Make a man / (2) of him like / (3) ourselves that hasseen / (4) men and cities./ (5) No error

Answer 440

40.3;Replace ourselves by objective us. Since us isplural, change has to have.

Question 441

41.(1) She was greatly / (2) afflicted with / (3) the loss of /(4) her only child./ (5) No error

Answer 441

41.5;If you suffer from a problem, you are afflicted with it.

Question 442

42.(1) The operation was / (2) accompanied by / (3) little or/ (4) no pain./ (5) No error

Answer 442

42.2;An event is accompanied with its side-effects.

Question 443

43.(1) Studying for the / (2) PO exam is /(3) allied withstudying / (4) for the clerical exam./ (5) No error

Answer 443

43.3;If A is linked to B, we say A is allied to B.

Question 444

44.(1) He lives / (2) in a style / (3) suitable for / (4) hisposition./ (5) No error

Answer 444

44.3;Replace for by to.

Question 445

45.(1) In accordance to / (2) the rules / (3) you cannot /(4)stand for election./ (5) No error

Answer 445

45.1;The correct phrase is In accordance with.

Question 446

46.(1) He is ambitious / (2) for money / (3) and it littlematters / (4) whether it comes from honest means./ (5)No error

Answer 446

46.2;If you have an ambition for something, you areambitious of it.

Question 447

47.(1) The pitch at Lord’s / (2) is a contrast / (3) with theone / (4) at Wankhede./ (5) No error

Answer 447

47.3;If A is noticeably different from B, A is a contrastto B.

Question 448

48.(1) You need not bother / (2) yourself about it / (3)because it has / (4) no foundation on fact./ (5) No error

Answer 448

48.5;You may also use in in place of on.

Question 449

49.(1) It has long / (2) been established that / (3) casteism isa great / (4) hindrance from progress./ (5) No error

Answer 449

49.4;If A halts B, A is a hindrance to B.

Question 450

50.(1) His infatuation / (2) for that girl / (3) led him / (4)astray./ (5) No error

Answer 450

50.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 451

1.(1) Like the Commission / (2) has recommended in itsreport, / (3) the rules need to be / (4) enforced morestrictly./ (5) No error

Answer 451

1.1;Replace like by as. Like is used to show similarity.

Question 452

2.(1) Should these measures / (2) fail to restore order/ (3)harsher restrictions / (4) will have to be imposed./ (5)No error

Answer 452

2.5;Here should has been used as if.

Question 453

3.(1) One of the issues / (2) specifically discussed were / (3)the new grant-in-aid policy of the State Government,/(4) especially in relation to universities./ (5) No error

Answer 453

3.2;Replace were by was. The subject-word is one.

Question 454

4.(1) One of the world’s / (2) smallest coins is/ (3) found inthe museum,/ (4) which is quite near from the old fort./(5) No error

Answer 454

4.4;If a place is not far from your house, it is near toyour house.

Question 455

5.(1) This girl wrote an essay / (2) so well / (3) that herteacher was exceedingly / (4) pleased at her./ (5) Noerror

Answer 455

5.4;You are pleased with a person.

Question 456

6.(1) The speeches which he made / (2) concerning the current political affairs / (3) have stirred the commonpublic / (4) to a great extent./ (5) No error

Answer 456

6.3;Delete common. Public means common people.

Question 457

7.(1) A quarrel arose between the members / (2) and for atime / (3) it appeared as if the party / (4) wereheading for a split./ (5) No error

Answer 457

7.1;Replace between by among. There may be morethan two groups.

Question 458

8.(1) He spoke for two hours / (2) but the audience werenot tired;/ (3) indeed, they gave him / (4) an ovationat the end./ (5) No error

Answer 458

8.2;The audience is one group. So, use singular was.

Question 459

9.(1) Jane is prettier / (2) than any other / (3) womanmember / (4) of the family./ (5) No error

Answer 459

9.3;Delete member.

Question 460

10.(1) Why does he not / (2) let you and I / (3) help him /(4) do this work?/ (5) No error

Answer 460

10.2;See Ex. 4, Q. 40.

Question 461

11.(1) How to solve the problem / (2) is the main concern /(3) of the organisers / (4) at the moment./ (5) Noerror

Answer 461

11.5;The noun clause correctly begins with how.

Question 462

12.(1) I was just going / (2) to start my car / (3) when Ifound that / (4) there is no petrol in it./ (5) No error

Answer 462

12.4;Replace is by was. See Ex. 1. Q. 10.

Question 463

13.(1) The department defines a private passenger vehicle/ (2) as one that is registered to an individual / (3)with a gross weight of / (4) less than 8,000 pounds./(5) No error

Answer 463

“13.3;In the given sentence is appears as if ““with a grossweight of …”” referred to individual. Actually,it refers to vehicle. So, (3) should be ““and hasa gross weight of””.”

Question 464

14.(1) Freedom’s survey showed that people living / (2) insmall towns and rural areas consider themselves / (3)no happier than are people / (4) living in big cities./(5) No error

Answer 464

14.3;Replace are by do. See Ex. 9, Q. 12.

Question 465

15.(1) Climatic shifts are so gradual / (2) they can beindistinguishable / (3) at first from ordinary / (4)fluctuations in the weather./ (5) No error

Answer 465

“15.2;It should be ““that they cannot be distinguished.”””

Question 466

16.(1) As has Haydn,/ (2) Schubert wrote a great deal forthe stage,/ (3) but he is remembered principally / (4)for his chamber and concert-hall music./ (5) No error

Answer 466

16.1;Replace as has by like. See Q. 1 above.

Question 467

17.(1) For many people, /(2) household labour remainsdemanding / (3) even if able to afford householdappliances / (4) their grandparents would have foundmiraculous./ (5) No error

Answer 467

“17.3;It should be ““even if they are able to afford …”” or”“even if they can afford …””.”

Question 468

18.(1) Ultimately, the box/ (2) was given to/ (3) a seniorpolice officer / (4) who open it./ (5) No error

Answer 468

18.4;Replace open by opened. See Ex. 1, Q. 10.

Question 469

19.(1) Being a / (2) very hot day / (3) I remained / (4)indoors./ (5) No error

Answer 469

19.1;As it stands, being refers to I. This is incorrect. So,add it at the beginning.

Question 470

20.(1) Scarcely had / (2) I arrived than / (3) the train / (4)left./ (5) No error

Answer 470

20.2;Replace than by when.

Question 471

21.(1) Hindi and Marathi are / (2) different forms of Sanskrit language,/ (3) which were once spoken / (4) inalmost every part of India./ (5) No error

Answer 471

“21.3;Replace were by was. The subject is ““Sanskritlanguage””, not ““Hindi and Marathi””.”

Question 472

22.(1) This picture / (2) is / (3) the best / (4) of the two./(5) No error

Answer 472

22.3;Replace best by better. Only two pictures arebeing compared.

Question 473

23.(1) Before I could / (2) stop him / (3) the boy wasthrowing / (4) the box down the stairs./ (5) No error

Answer 473

23.3;When two actions take place in the past, we usepast perfect for the earlier one and pastsimple for the later. So, replace was throwingby had thrown.

Question 474

24.(1) I cannot,/ (2) of course,/ (3) dispute with anopponent / (4) who reads what I write with so littleattention./ (5) No error

Answer 474

24.4;Place with so little attention just after reads, theverb it qualifies.

Question 475

25.(1) My friend is more skilful / (2) than me / (3) indealing with / (4) this type of the problem./ (5) Noerror

Answer 475

25.2;Replace me by I. Than is a conjunction.

Question 476

26.(1) In spite of / (2) all his faults / (3) I cannot / (4) helpbut like him./ (5) No error

Answer 476

26.4;But is unnecessary. Help must be followed by anobject. So, replace but like by liking.

Question 477

27.(1) Swift was more savage / (2) than any satirist / (3)though he was a very great / (4) writer of prose./ (5)No error

Answer 477

27.2;Insert other after any so that Swift himself is excluded from those he is compared to.

Question 478

28.(1) None of these men / (2) was there / (3) when I hadreached / (4) the place./ (5) No error

Answer 478

28.3;Delete had. Unlike Q. 23 above, here the actionsare simultaneous.

Question 479

29.(1) Our next-door neighbours / (2) are extremely noisy/(3) and even more are they / (4) quarrelsome./ (5)None of these

Answer 479

29.3;Delete are they. It is superfluous.

Question 480

30.(1) He hadn’t ought / (2) to do it/ (3) even if / (4) he isforced to do./ (5) No error

Answer 480

“30.1;It should be ““He oughtn’t””. See Ex. 8, Q. 30.”

Question 481

31.(1) None of / (2) these boys / (3) reads so well/ (4) ashe./ (5) No error

Answer 481

31.5;The sentence is correct.

Question 482

32.(1) They saw the church /(2) coming round/ (3) thecorner / (4) of the well-known street./ (5) No error

Answer 482

32.2;Is the church coming round? To avoid thisconfusion, insert while between church andcoming round.

Question 483

33.(1) He enquired / (2) had we / (3) taken / (4) our food./(5) No error

Answer 483

33.2;Replace had we by if we had. It is obvious that theobject of enquired is a clause. Now, theclause cannot begin abruptly. So, we use if.

Question 484

34.(1) We travel / (2) on the train / (3) when we go / (4) toPatna./ (5) No error

Answer 484

34.2;Replace on by by.

Question 485

35.(1) Ten ships sank / (2) in Arabian Sea,/ (3) drowningthousands of people / (4) aboard them./ (5) No error

Answer 485

35.2;See Ex. 9, Q. 29.

Question 486

36.(1) I saw / (2) him / (3) to enter the garden / (4) on histiptoes./ (5) No error

Answer 486

36.3;Delete to. When the infinitive follows verbs likesee and know and their object, it comeswithout to.

Question 487

37.(1) There have been / (2) many a better / (3) poets / (4)than Tennyson./ (5) No error

Answer 487

37.2;Delete a.

Question 488

38.(1) How many hours / (2) you require / (3) to finish /(4) this work? / (5) No error

Answer 488

38.2;Insert do before you to get the question format.

Question 489

39.(1) In spite of / (2) instructions to the contrary,/(3) he came down / (4) at once./ (5) No error

Answer 489

39.2;Delete to the contrary because in spite of carriesthis sense.

Question 490

40.(1) He wasted much time / (2) in trifles / (3) and is now /(4) facing the consequences./ (5) No error

Answer 490

40.2;Replace in by on.

Question 491

41.(1) He seized the opportunity / (2) offered to him / (3)with an / (4) unusual alacrity./ (5) No error

Answer 491

41.5;You may also say seize on/upon.

Question 492

42.(1) His appeal / (2) for funds / (3) met a/ (4) poorresponse./ (5) No error

Answer 492

42.3;Your speech meets with a negative response.

Question 493

43.(1) While at home,/ (2) he assisted me / (3) to cook / (4)the food./ (5) No error

Answer 493

43.3;Replace to cook by in cooking. If you help me doa work, you assist me in it.

Question 494

44.(1) We lost /(2) the chance/ (3) to win / (4) the match./ (5)No error

Answer 494

44.3;Replace to win by of winning. You have a chanceof success.

Question 495

45.(1) I insisted / (2) to get/ (3) a reply / (4) from theinvitees./ (5) No error

Answer 495

45.2;Replace to get by on getting. If you ask forsomething again and again, you insist on it.

Question 496

46.(1) He succeeded / (2) to get / (3) the Bill passed / (4) inthe Lok Sabha./ (5) No error

Answer 496

46.2;Replace to get by in getting. See Ex. 8, Q. 34.

Question 497

47.(1) Ignorance is / (2) highly detrimental for / (3) thesuccessful working / (4) of a democracy./ (5) No error

Answer 497

47.2;If A harms B, A is detrimental to B.

Question 498

48.(1) The Principal was / (2) convinced with / (3) hisinnocence / (4) in the act./ (5) No error

Answer 498

48.2;I am convinced of your devotion.

Question 499

49.(1) I begged him/ (2) of some money / (3) for a charitable/ (4) cause./ (5) No error

Answer 499

49.2;Replace of by for.

Question 500

50.(1) The train / (4) is bound / (3) for Howrah / (4) 5viaKharagpur./ (5) No error

Answer 500

50.5;You are bound for the place you are going to.