English Grammar - Sentence Correction Exercises with Solution and Explanation.

Error Correction Exercises:

Exercise No.  1.


Correct the following sentences :


1. The government launched a number of schemes for employment of unemployed youth and allotted a large amount  for their implementation but less youth came forward to avail their benefits.

2. Parents should allow their children to take their decisions themselves independent so that they may act in a responsible manner in their life.

3. The workers working in mines are provided with life saving jackets as they  are under perpetual risk of accidents during its duty.

4. The young man was in  dilemma to make a choice out of the options of offers of job made available to him at that moment.  

5. The old father was so overwhelmed with his sons' devotion and affection that he decided to distribute his all wealth with his five sons. 

6. The new recruits  have been deputed to undergo a training course at  the training centre of the company and these will last for a fortnight. 

7. The report has brought to light that the investment made by the government in family welfare schemes have not been utilised properly by various agencies.  

8. For successful implementation of these schemes the authorities are planning to make some structure changes in their agency arrangement.

9. The doctors have kept the patient under their constant observation in the hospital and they are waiting for the moment when he responds favourable to their treatment.  

10. The boy drowning in the river shouted loud so that some one listening to him might come and rescue him from drowning.



SOLUTION

1. 'The government' is subject, noun 'launched' is verb 'a number of schemes' is object. 'Launched' and 'implemented' are two verbs in the same form that is in Past Indefinite tense joined by conjunction and. The use of 'But' is also correct as it joins two statements of different i.e positive and negative nature. 'Youth' is a noun and less describes it. 'Youth' means young men and it is a countable noun and for it 'fewer' instead of 'less' is used. 

2. The word 'Independent' describes 'to take' Independent is an adjective whereas it should be an adverb 'independently'.

3.The noun  'Duty' is related to the pronoun 'they' for it the pronoun should be 'their' instead of 'its'.

4. The word 'dilemma' takes article 'a' with it So it should be 'in a dilemma'.

5. The part of the sentence ' .... distribute .... with his five sons' is incorrect. It should be ' distribute ..... among his five sons.'

6. The words 'have been deputed ....' show that the sentence is in passive voice. The word 'these' describes 'a training course' for this the pronoun should be 'it' instead of 'these'.

7. In this sentence the subject is singular,  'investment' and for this plural verb 'have' is used. It should be in singular'has'.

8. in this sentence 'changes' is a noun and 'structure' describes this noun. But 'structure' is a noun. A noun cannot describe a noun. Here an adjective 'structural' is a correct word.

9. In this sentence '....responds' is a verb and 'favourable' describes it. 'Fourable' is an adjective whereas for a verb an adverb is required. 'Favourably' instead of 'favourable' is the correct word.

10. In this sentence 'the boy' is Subject, a noun and 'shouted' is a verb and to describe it there should be an adverb 'loudly' instead of 'loud'.




Exercise No.  2.


Correct the following sentences :



1. She was a tough negotiator and a strategic thinker who helped artists struggling financial to reconcile debts and budget their income.

2. Smog and soot from industrial processes contribute to atmosphere pollution which causes cardiovascular illnesses.

3. While here, she graciously swept and disposed off dead leaves around my front porch and walkway, creating a clean and clear pathway for me.

4. Despite efforts made by the government to uplift standard of living  of the poor, the income gap between the haves and haves not is widening day by day.   

5. The strong will to achieve and persistence towards achievement of goal fortifies a man against the hardship he faces during the process.

6. We need not only to protect and sustain the natural resources available to us on earth for ourselves but also for the generations to come.

7.Our forefathers have endeavour to protect the social cultures they inherited from their predecessors but today those appear to contradict with the present values.

8. A woman mentioned feeling like a wave, with a lot of highs and lows, while a man working for the company talked about the underlying stress and hazards he felt during day by day task.

9. Whenever I along with my wife go out for a morning walk, my wife prefers to stroll in the garden while I took light exercises.

10. My friend would have certainly helped me if he was knowing that I had suffered big losses. 



SOLUTION

1. In this sentence words 'She was...' show that it is in past tense.Negotiator and thinker are two nouns joined by conjunction 'and' . The words 'tough' and 'strategic' are two adjectives describing these two nouns.All this is correct. 'Who'  describes 'She'. Verb 'helped' is also in past tense. In the clause 'to reconcile..... their income' 'debts and 'income' are nouns joined by conjunction 'and'. Its pattern is also correct. After 'to' 'reconcile' and 'budget' are verbs in their  first forms. This part is also correct. But in the portion 'artists struggling financial' 'artists' is Noun 'struggling' is a  verb and 'financial' is adjective  describing verb 'struggling' which is incorrect. Here should be an adverb 'financially'.

2, In this sentence 'Smog and soot' is Subject , both nouns, contribute is verb pollution is Object a noun. The word 'atmosphere' a noun describes noun 'pollution' which is incorrect. To describe a noun, an adjective is required. Here it shoyld be 'atmospheric'.

3. In this sentence 'she' a pronoun is Subject. 'swept' is a verb and adverb 'graciously' describes this verb.Further 'swept' and 'disposed' are two verbs joined by conjunction 'and'. A conjunction always joins words of the same level and degree. A noun with a noun, an adjective with an adjective and a verb with adverb in the same forms. But preposition used with 'disposed' is incorrect. It should be 'disposed of'.

4. In this sentence 'haves and haves not' is incorrect. It should be 'haves and have nots. 

5. In this sentence 'achieve'  and 'persistence' are joined together with a conjunction 'and'. 'Achieve' is a verb and 'persistence' a noun which is incorrect. It should be 'persist' instead of 'persistence'.

6. Not only and but also are used with words which are compared with each other. Here the comparison is between 'for ourselves' and 'for generation to come'. It should be 'not only for ourselves but also  for generations to come'.

7. In this sentence in Present Perfect tense with 'have' first form of verb 'endeavour' is used which is incorrect. It should be 'have endeavoured'.

8. In this sentence ' day by day' is incorrect. It should be 'day to day'.

9. This sentence shows an action of habitual nature wghich is always in Present Indefinite Tense. The verbs 'go', and  'prefer' are correct bu the verb 'took' is incorrect. It should be 'take'.

10. In this sentence the part 'if he was knowing' is incorrect. It should be 'if he knew'.



If two subjects are joined by 'as well as' the verb will be used according to first subject preceding 'as well as'. 

For example:
My sons as well as I are.......
I as well as my brother am .........



Question 1 : He as well as you are to blame.

Select the correct option :
Option A : He as well as you are to blame.
Option B : You as well as he is to blame.
Option C : He as well as you is to blame.
Option D : None of these.



ANSWER:

In case of 'as well as' verb is used according to the subject preceding it. In this case it will be according to'He'. 

He as well as you is to blame.





If two subjects are joined by 'and' the verb will be used that of plural. For example:

He and his friends are.....
You and your brother were.......

If two subjects joined by 'and' give impression of one entity a verb in singular form is used For example : 

The secretary and presiding officer is .......



If two subjects are joined by 'either ....or ' or 'neither ...nor' verb  will be used according to subject following 'or, nor'. 

For example:


Either you or your brother is responsible for the lapse.
Neither she nor her sisters have stolen the purse.
Neither you nor your brother is allowed to go there.


When Cor-relative join two sentences, one of these sentences generally has the Nominative after the verb. 

For example :

Not only was he a fool but also a knave.
No sooner did the hunter see the deer than he fired at him.
Scarcely had I reached home when it started raining.

Some examples 

Not only he is a miser but also mean.
No sooner did we reach the school than the bell rang.
Scarcely had they entered the room when the lights went off.
No sooner did the mother go away than the child started crying.
Not only the old man is rich but also kind. 



In a sentence when the subject is an Interrogative Pronoun it comes before the verb.

For example :

Who stole the purse?
Which is your book?
What is your name?




Question 2 : Leave the room or else you will be caught.


Select the correct option :
Option A : Leave the room else you will be caught.
Option B : Leave the room or you will get caught.
Option C : Both are correct.
Option D : None of these.





ANSWER :
The words 'else' and 'or' have the same meaning. So only one of these two will be used.