Error Spotting (Superfluous Words)- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

                      

                                      

                           ERROR SPOTTING

              Based on Superfluous words usage in sentences

In competitive examinations there are questions of error finding. These questions also relate to use of  words which are not required in sentences.These words are superfluous or redundant. These sentences appear to be correct as these mistakes are difficult to find out. Sometimes articles are missing in sentences and  in other  the same are used where these are not required. So knowledge of proper use of words and parts of speech in sentences becomes essential to attempt such questions correctly.

Following sentences illustrate this fact.

Today he returned back from his office very late.

This sentence appears to be correct but returned back is incorrect. Returned in itself contains the meaning of back. Return means to come back. So the word back is superfluous and is not required here.

The man is mortal.

The article 'the' in this sentence is not required here because it is used for specific items whereas 'man' is used here in general terms. So the correct sentence is - Man is mortal.

SUPERFLUOUS WORDS

1 The train slowed down as it approached near the station.

2. He had to pay fine when he did not return back books to the library.

3. Supposing if you visit him pay my respects to him.

4. My book is relatively better than yours.

5. My friend has sufficient enough money to pay off his dues.

6. All were surprised when he re-entered the room again.

7. His younger son contributed equally as much money as his elder son did.

8. His father forbade him not to visit her but he did not agree.

9. Her sister is comparatively more beautiful than her.

10.The reason why he did not succeed is because he did not work hard.

11. The patient could not sleep throughout the whole night.

12. The poet has tried to describe about the beauty of nature in this poem.

13. His father enquired that whether he would accompany him to the market in the evening.

14. The visitor asked the people gathered there that what had happened there.

15. In no case the number of words should exceed more than ninety in a paragraph.   

16. The culprit went scot-free unpunished.

INCORRECT USE OF ARTICLES

1. I know man who stole your box.  

2. The selection committee will select better one.

3. He drank little water that was in the jug.

4. He gave little money he had in his pocket to the beggar.

5. Only few students came to attend the class today.

6. Only small number of students paid their fee.

7. He did not listen to me as he was in hurry.

8. Both brothers are at daggers drawn with each other.

9. This plan will benefit rich as well as poor.

10. He is better clerk than teacher.

11. This is so difficult sum that I cannot solve it.

12. She took the offence of his remarks.

SOLUTION

1 The train slowed down as it approached (approached near) the station.

The word approached means to reach near. So the word near with approach is unnecessary.

2. He had to pay fine when he did not return (return back) books to the library.

The word return itself means to go or come back. So the word back with return is superfluous.

3. If (Supposing if) you visit him pay my respects to him.

Supposing and if both words have the same meaning. It should be supposing you.... Or If you.

4. My book is better (relatively better) than yours.

The word relatively or comparatively denote comparison. The word better itself is a comparative degree. So relatively with better is superfluous. It should be ' relatively good' or ' better'.

5. My friend has sufficient (sufficient enough) money to pay off his dues.

The words sufficient means to serve the purpose and enough also means the same thing. So only one of these two word will be used.

6. All were surprised when he entered (re-entered )the room again.

The word re- entered means to enter again. The word again with reentered is superfluous.

7. His younger son contributed (equally) as much money as his elder son did.

Equally and as much as have the same meaning so only one of these is to be used here.

8. His father forbade him (not )to visit her but he did not agree.

Forbade is a negative word so not with it is superfluous.

9. Her sister is (comparatively) more beautiful than her.

More beautiful or comparatively good denote comparison of two things. Only one of these is required to be used here.

10.The reason why he did not succeed is (because) that he did not work hard.

With the word reason that instead of because is to be used.

11. The patient could not sleep throughout the (whole) night.

The word throughout denotes completeness. So with it whole is redundant.

12. The poet has tried to describe (about) the beauty of nature in this poem.

13. His father enquired (that) whether he would accompany him to the market in the evening.

14. The visitor asked the people gathered there (that) what had happened there.

15. In no case the number of words should exceed (more than) ninety in a paragraph.   

16. The culprit went scot-free. Scot-free itself means to go unpunished. Here unpunished with scot-free is superfluous.

INCORRECT USE OF ARTICLES

1. I know the man who stole your box.  

2. The selection committee will select the better one.

3. He drank the little water that was in the jug.

4. He gave the little money he had in his pocket to the beggar.

5. Only  a few students came to attend the class today.

6. Only a small number of students paid their fee.

7. He did not listen to me as he was in a hurry.

8. Both the brothers are at daggers drawn with each other.

9. This plan will benefit the rich as well as the poor.

10. He is better a clerk than teacher.

11. This is so difficult a sum that I cannot solve it.

12. She took (the) offence of his remarks.

EXERCISE

Fill in appropriate articles in blanks.

........ more I try to please him....... more he gets angry. Sometimes he says he is busy at ..........moment or something of ......... sort. He is ............officer of .........Government and ........important person, but he is ........ill-tempered fellow. He does not lend ........helping hand to ..........poor.

TWO

Fill in appropriate articles in blanks.

........ girl was playing in the street, when ......... wild bull came and frightened her. .......... girl ran hastily to ....... neighbouring house where ......... elderly man was sitting in ...... chair with ...... thick stick in his hand. ......... man took up ......... stick, ran to ......... bull and drove him out of ....... street. ........ girl  thanked .....man and again went to play in .......street.

SOLUTION

The more I try to please him the more he gets angry. Sometimes he says he is busy at the moment or something of the sort. He is an officer of the Government and an important person, but he is an ill-tempered fellow. He does not lend a helping hand to the poor.

TWO

A girl was playing in the street, when a wild bull came and frightened her. The girl ran hastily to the neighbouring house where an elderly man was sitting in a chair with a thick stick in his hand. The man took up the stick, ran to the bull and drove him out of the street. The girl  thanked the man and again went to play in the street.

  

  

Error Spotting (Inversion)- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

 

                            ERROR SPOTTING

Questions relating to error finding are common  in  competitive examinations these days. These questions are mostly based on incorrect use of articles, gerunds, present, past or perfect participles etc. These errors also relate to wrong use of adjectives, adverbs, conjunction and preposition etc. in sentences. These sentences are formed in such a way that it becomes sometimes difficult for candidates to distinguish and recognize errors. Nevertheless practice makes their identification  possible and easy.

 Here follow some examples.

With a Perfect Participle, third form of verb is used.

For example

 Having taken his breakfast, he left for his office.

In this sentence, instead of 'taken', words like 'taking, took or take' are used which is incorrect. 

In these sentences sometimes there are errors of participle and subject disagreement.

 For example

Going by the roadside,  a car hit him.

This sentence gives the impression of car going by the roadside whereas it should be -

 Going by the roadside , he was hit by a car.
OR

He going by the roadside was hit by a car.

Errors also occur while making Inversion in sentences.

 

Inversion means use of verb or helping verb and adverb before Subject in a sentence.

Generally in an assertive or simple sentence, the formation is Subject followed by verb and object. 

While writing an interrogative sentence, helping verb or verb is used in the beginning of the sentence before subject of the sentence.

Simple sentences--

She is singing a song.

Interrogative Sentences-

Is she singing a song? 

Sometimes  to emphasise a particular action in a sentence, verb, helping verb and adverb are used  in the beginning of the sentence before its subject. This is called Inversion.

Inversion takes place in the following cases :

A. When verb is used before the subject.

B. When adverb is used before the subject.

C. In case of conjunction. There are five conjunctions which require inversion with them. These are

Either..or, Neither..nor, Not only ..but also, Hardly, Scarcely...when, No sooner.... than.

D. In case of conditional sentences.

Words or adverbs  like Hardly, Scarcely, never, Not,  Either..or, neither ..nor, Not only.. but also, No sooner ....than etc., when used before subject, take inversion with them. 

But there is no need of inversion when these are used in the middle of the sentence in normal form of the sentence.

For example : 

A simple sentence is - 

He hardly knew about this incident.

In this sentence 'He' is subject, 'knew' verb and 'hardly' is adverb.

 But to put emphasis on action, adverb is used in the beginning of the sentence before subject.

Hardly he knew about the incident. But it is incorrect. 

With adverb, verb or helping verb too will be placed before subject.

The verb 'knew' will break into two parts - knew = Did +know.

 This sentence will be-

Hardly did he know about this incident.

Similarly  in case of this  example:

He knew little about the incident.

This sentence is in simple form. 

But when adverb is used before subject he, it will be-

Little did he know about the incident. 

It is incorrect to say - Little he knew about the incident.

In case of either..or and neither.. nor or Not.. not, neither etc 
there is inversion.

Neither she knows him nor her mother does.

She does not know him nor her mother does.

These sentences are wrong. These should be-

Neither she knows him nor does her mother

She does not know him nor does her mother.

Words like Hardly, Not, So, Too, Never are used as adverbs. Inversion takes place  in a sentence when these are used in the beginning of the sentence before subject.

A simple sentence - The traveller was so tired that he could not walk.

Sentence with Inversion-

So tired was the traveller that he could not walk.

The old man is so weak that he cannot stand even.

So weak is the old man that he cannot stand even. 

Sentences starting with No sooner, Scarcely and Hardly also take inversion. 

Hardly had he entered the house when it started raining.

Scarcely had he stepped out of the house when it started raining.

No sooner did he enter the house than the lights went off.

Hardly has she any sense of shame.

Scarcely does he bother about others. 

Errors also occur when changes are made in interrogative sentences during Narration. 

Look at the following sentences in Direct and Indirect forms of Narration.

She said to me," Are you going to your office?"

She said to me," Where are you going?"

These sentences are interrogative sentences in Direct form of Narration. There is Inversion in both of these sentences. But while making indirect form of sentences inversion will be removed and these sentences will be changed into simple sentences. These sentences in their indirect form will be-

She asked me if I was going to my office.

She asked me where I was going.

It will be wrong if these are written as

She asked me if was I going to my office.

She asked me where was I going.

Inversion takes place in case of conditional sentences also. In its simple form a conditional sentence is written as-

If you had worked hard you would have passed.

But to put stress on a particular action helping verb 'Had' is written in the beginning of the sentence before Subject.

Had you worked hard you would have passed.

Here are some sentences relating to inversion for practice.

EXERCISE

Make necessary correction wherever necessary in the following sentences.

1. Never I have read such a beautiful book as this.

2. Never she has gone to see her parents living in the village.

3. Not only he helped him with money but also he gave him food.

4. Seldom he visits them to enquire about their welfare.

5. He did not attend the meeting today nor his friend did.

6. His friend did not attend the office today neither he did.

7. No sooner the child saw the dog it started crying.

8. He does not like sweets nor his brother does.

9. So difficult was the question that no student could solve it.

10.Gone the days are when the children used to play outdoor games.

11.So happy was she on his son's success that she could hardly utter        a word even.

12. No sooner she saw a lizard on the wall than she started crying.

13. Down the building went like a pack of cards.

14. So far the old man went that he was not visible to us.

15. So well planned the arrangement was that the guests did not feel any difficulty in staying there.    

SOLUTION

1. Never I have read such a beautiful book as this.
In this sentence , I is subject, Have read is verb and never is adverb. But to put emphasis on the action, Never has been shifted to the position  before Subject in the beginning of the sentence. For this change  inversion is required. This sentence should be -
Never have I read such a beautiful book as this.

2. Never she has gone to see her parents living in the village.

This sentence is similar to that at Sr. no. 1. This sentence will be 
Never has she gone to see her parents living in the village.

3. Not only he helped him with money but also he gave him food.
In this sentence, adverb Not has been used in the beginning of the sentence before subject. For this inversion of verb 'helped' is required. 'Helped' will break into 'Help' and 'Did'. The sentence will be - Not only did he help me with money but also he gave me food.

4. Seldom he visits them to enquire about their welfare.
In simple form this sentence is -
He seldom visits them to enquire about their welfare. 
But adverb 'seldom' is used in the beginning of the sentence before Subject to put emphasis on the action. For this inversion is required. 
Seldom does he visit them to enquire about their welfare.

5. He did not attend the meeting today nor his friend did.
This sentence describes activities of two persons. So 'He' and 'His friend' are Subjects of two parts of the sentence. 
He did not attend the meeting is the sentence in simple form but the other part with 'nor' before subject 'his friend' requires inversion. This part will be 'nor did his friend.'

6. His friend did not attend the office today neither he did.
This sentence is similar to that at Sr. no 5. There are two Subjects, 'His friend' and 'he'. First part of the sentence in simple form is correct but the part with 'neither' requires inversion. It should be 'neither did he.'

7. No sooner the child saw the dog it started crying.
This sentence in its simple form is 'The child no sooner saw the dog it started crying.' But with 'no sooner' before subject, inversion is required in the sentence. It will be - 
No sooner did the child see the dog it started crying.

8. He does not like sweets nor his brother does.
This sentence is similar to that at Sr, no 5. It will be - 
He does not like sweets nor does his brother.

9. So difficult was the question that no student could solve it.

In its simple form this sentence is - 

The question was so difficult that no student could solve it.

But with 'so difficult' before subject, inversion is required in the sentence. This sentence is correct as 'was' has been used before subject.

10.Gone the days are when the children used to play outdoor games.
This sentence in its simple form is-
The days are gone when the children used to play outdoor games.
With verb 'gone' used before subject, inversion is required. It will be
Gone are the days when children used to play outdoor games.

11.So happy was she on his son's success that she could                       hardly utter a word even.
This sentence in its simple form is -She was so happy on his son's success that she could hardly utter a word even. But with inversion it will be - So happy was she on his son's success that she could hardly utter a word even.


12. No sooner she saw a lizard on the wall than she started crying.
With 'No sooner' in the beginning of the sentence before subject inversion is required in this sentence. It will be-
No sooner did she see a lizard on the wall than she started crying.

13. Down the building went like a pack of cards.

In this sentence verb 'down' is used in the beginning of the sentence before subject. Inversion is required for this. This sentence will be -

Down went the building like a pack of cards.

14. So far the old man went that he was not visible to us.

This sentence in its simple form is -The old man went so far that he was not visible to us.

But with 'so far' in the beginning of the sentence, inversion is required. This sentence will be -

So far went the old man that he was not visible to us.

15. So well planned the arrangement was that the guests did not feel any difficulty while  staying there.    

In its simple form this sentence is -

The arrangement was so well planned that the guests did not feel any difficulty while staying there. But with verb and adverb shifting to the beginning of sentence before subject, inversion is required in the sentence. This sentence will be -

So well planned was the arrangement that the guests did not feel any difficulty while staying there.