Error Spotting ( Indefinite Pronoun Usage-2 )- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

  ERROR  SPOTTING

Usage of Indefinite Pronoun in sentences.

In a sentence an Indefinite Pronoun is used as Subject or Object when subject or object of the sentence is not specific or certain. These are expressed in general terms. 

For example : 

Anybody, Anyone, Anything, Nobody, None, Nothing, Somebody, Someone, Something, Everybody, Everyone, Everything etc. 

Some of these Indefinite Pronouns are always used as singular, some as plural and some as both singular and plural.

Indefinite Pronouns used as Singular --

One, Everyone, Nobody, Somebody, Anybody, Each, Every etc.

Indefinite Pronouns used as Plural ---

Many, Several, Few, Both, Others etc.

Indefinite Pronouns used as Singular and Plural ---

Most, All, None, Any, Some etc.

NOTE : A verb is used in a sentence according to its Subject. So to find in an error in a sentence it is very important to identify  Subject in it. 

Sentences with Indefinite Pronouns used both as Singular and Plural.

Most of the work is complete.

Most of the boys are absent.

All was lost in disaster.

All  were present there.

None  is responsible for this.

None of them were present.

All did not leave some are still there.

All work is not complete,some is near completion and other is yet to be started.

EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE

Find out error if any in the following sentences.

1. Most of the machinery parts imported from Russia is reported to have developed some technical fault and as such are required to be  replaced.

(Hint : There is hint of error in this sentence itself. 

" Most of the machinery parts"

"is reported to have"......"are required to be". As subject is plural verb too should be plural ,It should be "are reported" like "are required to".)

 2. One of the players selected for tournaments are likely to be detained and may not be sent for  training because of his pre-engagement.

(Hint : In this  sentence for the singular  subject "One of the " singular verb "is" in place of "are" is required.)

3. Many of the decisions taken by the committee in the meeting yesterday was unanimous except one controversial one which was passed through voting.

(Hint : In this  sentence for the plural subject "Many of the decisions" a plural verb "were" instead of " was" is required.)

4. It is important to remember that the vast majority of the people living in this area are farmers with a limited amount of land and scarce sources of income.

(Hint : In this sentence for "the vast majority " singular verb  "is" instead of "are" is required.)

5. This bill is not likely to be passed in the house as a majority are not in favour of its passing.

(Hint : In the latter part of the sentence"a majority " is subject and is singular. So a singular verb is required. It should be "a majority is".)

CONTD.

Error Spotting ( Indefinite Pronoun Usage-1 )- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

 

ERROR  SPOTTING

Usage of Indefinite Pronoun in sentences.

An Indefinite Pronoun is used in a sentence in place of a Noun as Subject or object. When a doer or a receiver or in other words a Subject or an Object is not certain, an Indefinite Pronoun is used. An indefinite Pronoun refers to persons or things in a general way. 

For example :

Anybody can do this work.

Everybody is ready to go there.

Someone has picked his pocket.

All were happy in the party.

Always do good to others.

 

In these sentences, the words Anybody, Everybody, Someone, All, and others are examples of Indefinite Pronoun. These are Pronouns but do not represent any definite person or thing.

Some points to be noted in case of Indefinite Pronouns :

 - One is used as singular and it is followed by one's and not his or her.

One should do one's duty.

- Each, Either and Neither when used as Pronoun are followed by singular verb. 

Each of them was happy there.

Neither of the two is fit for this job.

- either and neither are used for two things or persons.

- Any one refers to more than two persons or things.

Any one of the four friends is expected to take  part.

Neither of the two brothers is at fault.

You can have either of the two shirts.

- None is used both as singular and plural 

None but fools have faith in these things.

Have you any news for me? There was none for you.

Did you bring any fruit? There was none in the market.

- Each other is used for two persons or things but One another is used for more than two persons or things.

Both the sisters love each other.

They are quarrelling with one another.

Here are some sentences for Practice:

1. Someone is knocking at the door.

2. Either of the two brothers is at fault.

3. None of them has any information.

4. Some were very helpful.

5. Each of them is ready to accompany us.

In competition examinations there are questions with incorrect usage of Indefinite Pronouns in sentences. The error in sentences is required to be located and rectified.

Generally in examination questions these  mistakes relate to --

1. Indefinite Pronoun itself

2. Verb used with an Indefinite Pronoun.

3. Question tag in the sentence.

For example:

1. One should obey his parents.

2. Everyone student present there deposited his fee.

3. Everybody will attend the party, won't he? 

4. Everything was in order, weren't they?

(All these three sentences are incorrect.)

(Explanation:)

1. One is followed by one's.

One should obey one's parents.

2. Everyone is a Pronoun, Student a Noun.

 A Pronoun cannot describe a Noun. It should be either -

Every student present there deposited his fee. 

Every is adjective and student is a noun.

OR

Everyone present there deposited his fee.

Everyone is a Pronoun and Subject here.

3. For living things plural question tag is used.

 Everyone will attend the party, won't they? 

4. Everything was in order, wasn't it?

SENTENCES FOR PRACTICE

RECTIFY THE ERROR IF THERE IS ANY IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.

1.  When the inspector entered the room, he found everybody  in his place and doing their job silently and peacefully.

2.Everybody who wants to live in this society with one's head high will certainly try that such things do not happen and nobody dares to level any charge against him.

3.The authorities are pressing all of you hard to accept their terms and conditions but  each one of you will have to take his own decision whether to accept those or not.

4. A majority of the plants grown on either sides of the road were  laden with flowers of different colours.

5. Neither of the two sisters nor her mother was willing to part with money but they had to take this decision for the sake of one of their family friend.

ANSWERS

1. There is a hint about answer in the sentence itself. 

"......everybody in his place ......."

So it should be....

"........doing his job......"

2. Everybody takes "his" with it so it should be "with his head high".

3. In this sentence subject is "You" , so its possessive should be "your" in stead of "his".

4. ".....on either side of the ....."

5. "........one of their family friends".

CONTD.

Error Spotting (Adverb-Adjective Usage -2 )- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

 ERROR  SPOTTING

Usage of Adverb and Adjective in sentences.

In a sentence an Adjective is used to describe a Noun or a Pronoun  and an Adverb is used to describe mainly a Verb, an Adjective or an Adverb. 

There are certain words which are used both as an adjective as well as an adverb. A few of these are: 

Early, Enough, Fast, Little, Long, Loud, Late, Much, Only.

The status of a word whether a word is an adjective or an adverb depends on its place and position i.e. its usage in a sentence.

In one of its forms, an adjective is formed, when   ly  is added to a Noun and an adverb is formed when  ly is added to an adjective. But these two create confusion while using them in a sentence.

 For example :

Saint (Noun) + ly = Saintly (adjective)

King (Noun) + ly = Kingly (adjective)

Woman (Noun) + ly = Womanly (adjective)

High (adjective) + ly = Highly (adverb)

Quick(adjective) + ly = Quickly (adverb)

Strict (adjective) + ly = Strictly (adverb)

In competition examinations there are questions with incorrect usage of an adverb or an adjective in sentences. The error in sentences is required to be located and rectified.

For example :

The money-lender is a miser person. ........1

He turned out to be a coward person. .......2

In the sentence 1 the word miser describes the word person.

But both these words miser and person are nouns. A noun cannot describe a noun. It should be an adjective i.e. miserly.

 In the sentence 2 the word coward describes the word person.

But both these words coward and person are nouns. A noun cannot describe a noun. It should be an adjective i.e. cowardly.

One of the areas of confusion in selecting an adjective or an adverb is their usage with a Gerund,  a Present Participle or a Past Participle in a sentence. Both a Gerund and a Present Participle are basically a first form of verb in continuous form (i.e. first form of verb+ ing) but their usage in a sentence is different for either of them. A Gerund is used as a noun and a Present Participle is used as an adjective. To describe a Gerund i.e. a Noun, an Adjective is required whereas to describe a Present Participle i.e. an Adjective, an Adverb is required.

Further Present Participle and Past Participle both are used as adjective. In case of Present Participle work started in the past continues upto present. But in case of Past Participle work started in the past  is also completed in the past. As both are used as adjective, they require an adverb to describe them.

For example :

1. Brisk walking is good for health.

2. I saw him walking briskly.

3. He purchased a well furnished house.

In sentence no. 1, Walking is a Gerund and an adjective Brisk describes it.

In sentence no.2, walking is an adjective describing a pronoun him and an adverb briskly describes it.

In sentence no.3, house is a noun and past participle, an adjective furnished describes it. Further  an adverb well describes the adjective furnished.

SENTENCES FOR PRACTICE

1. So was the intensity of the blast that a car parked near the site was thrown into the air and landed hundred feet away from the site.

2.The board has decided to impose a severe penalty on all the players for their slowly playing in the penultimate match played during the last week.

3. Hurriedly accomplishing the project is reported to be one of the reasons for so many mistakes and lapses found in the final report of the project. 

4. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom just as sure as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me.

5. He is well versed with the rules of this place because he has been visiting here very frequent during the last few years.

6. The case provoked nationwide protests from different sections of the society who said that the police treated victims  of a particular community more favourable than those of others. 

 

(ANSWERS)

1. So and Such are always followed by that. So is an adverb whereas such is an adjective. In this sentence to describe, a noun, intensity, an adjective 'Such' is required in place of adverb 'So'. Such was the intensity of the......

2. Playing is a gerund and a noun so to describe it there should be an adjective slow instead of an adverb slowly.

3. Hurriedly is an adverb and accomplishing is a gerund, a noun. It should be 'Hurriedly accomplished  project'. Project, a noun, accomplished a participle, an adjective and hurriedly is an adverb describing adjective accomplished.

4. 'I am not truly free' is correct but ..'just as sure as I am not free' is incorrect. It should be surely.

5 Visiting is a verb and to describe it an adverb frequently instead of adjective frequent is required.

6. Treated is a verb and to describe it, favourable, an adjective is used. It should be an adverb favourably instead of favourable.

CONTD.

Error Spotting (Adverb-Adjective Usage -1 )- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

 

                      

                        ERROR  SPOTTING

Usage of Adverb and Adjective in sentences.

An Adjective describes a Noun or a Pronoun whereas an Adverb describes mainly a Verb, an Adjective or an Adverb.

For example:

He is my close friend. ......1

He sat close to me. ...........2

In sentence 1, the word close is an adjective as it describes noun friend. But in sentence 2, the word close is an adverb as it describes verb sat. 

He is my very close friend. .........3

He sat very close to me................4

In sentence 3, the word very is an adverb as it describes adjective close. In sentence 4, the word very is also an adverb as it describes adverb close. 

In competition examinations questions are given with incorrect usage of an adverb or an adjective in sentences. The error in sentences is required to be located and rectified.

For example :

She is feeling good now.  ............1

His movements were so quickly that he was back in his original position in no time. ..........2

All of us witnessed briskly sliding of the fish into water. ........ 3

In the sentence 1 the word good describes verb feeling but it is an adjective and in its place an adverb is required. The correct word in its place is adverb well. 

She is feeling well now.

In the sentence 2 the word quickly is an adverb but to describe a noun movements, an adjective is required. It should be quick instead of quickly.

This sentence can be either

He moved so quickly that he was in his original position in no time.  OR

 His movements were so quick that he was back in his original position in no time.

In the sentence 3, sliding is not a verb but it being a gerund is a noun. To describe a noun, an adjective is required. Briskly is an adverb. It should be brisk instead of briskly. 

This sentence can be either

All of us witnessed the fish sliding briskly into water.

 OR

All of us witnessed brisk sliding of the fish into water.

SENTENCES FOR PRACTICE

1. All the crops of cotton were damaged as it rained heavy this year.

(Ans: Rained is a verb and to describe it an adverb is required but heavy is an adjective it should be heavily instead of heavy.) 

2. He was so frightened that he jumped sudden from his chair and rushed towards the door.

(Ans: Sudden an adjective describes the verb Jumped but to describe it an adverb is required. It should be suddenly instead of sudden.)

3. All of us expect him to perform his duty fair towards all the parties of the case.

(Ans: Fair describes a verb perform but it is an adjective whereas  to describe it an adverb is required. It should be fairly instead of fair.)

4. After the match was over all the players sat quite in their rooms and took rest.

 

(Ans:  Sat is a verb and to describe it an adverb is required. Quitely instead of quite is required to be used here.)

5. The cook chopped all the vegetables fine and washed them well before cooking.

(Ans: Fine an adjective describes the verb chopped. In its place an adverb  finely is the correct word.)  

EXERCISE 

1. The lack of sufficient delicate methods to detect injury before symptoms appear is one of the great unsolved problems in medicine.

2. Its situation is uncommonly pleasant and healthful and although the surface of this area is somewhat rocky and uneven, the soil is excellent adapted for agricultural purposes.

3. She seemed so fatigued and so unwilling to watch what was going on that she became increasing flustered and angry when no one paid attention to her.

4. All of them enjoyed themselves very much during the course of their journey as it was thorough comfortable for them all the time.

5. He on his part acted reasonably and courageously yet he appeared to be acting cowardly to all of those present there.

 

6. The young man at once went down the stage, ran hurried through the audience and started shouting very loud at the watch man.

7. The guests were offended and annoyed as the host behaved rude with them and did not attend to them properly.

8. I have decided not to purchase the new car because the company is now demanding a considerable higher price of it than it quoted earlier.

9. They  had to undergo a fair larger course of action this time than that they had during their previous attempt.

10. The track was very slippery and the truck  was moving very fast but even then the driver managed to stop the vehicle in a skillfully manner and all of the occupants were saved. 

ANSWERS

1. ..of sufficiently delicate..

2. ...is excellently adapted..

3. ....became increasingly..

4. ...it was thoroughly...

5. acting in a cowardly manner...

6. ...ran hurriedly ....

7. ...behaved rudely with..

8....a considerably higher..

9. ....a fairly larger...

10. .......skillful manner....

CONTD.