Oracle Certification – English Language
Topic: Error Spotting
The error‑spotting section tests your ability to read a sentence (or short passage) and spot one of the most common English‑usage mistakes.
You’ll usually be given a multiple‑choice question where each answer option contains a different potential error.
Goal: Identify the single error that makes the sentence wrong or less idiomatic.
1. Simple Explanation
- Error spotting is a skill that checks your command of grammar, punctuation, word choice, and style.
- You must read carefully, quickly, and critically; the sentence may look correct at a glance.
- Only one answer is correct – the other options are either correct or contain a different error.
Tip: Treat the sentence as a mini‑text and look for the “red flag” that breaks the rule of standard written English.
2. Key Points
| # | What to Watch For | Typical Error | Quick Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subject‑verb agreement | “The data is wrong.” | “The data are wrong.” |
| 2 | Verb tense consistency | “She has finished and will go.” | “She has finished and will go.” (Correct) If it reads “She finished and will go,” that’s a tense mismatch. |
| 3 | Pronoun‑antecedent agreement | “Everyone must bring their laptop.” | “Everyone must bring his or her laptop.” |
| 4 | Comma usage (serial/comma splice) | “We bought apples oranges, and bananas.” | “We bought apples, oranges, and bananas.” |
| 5 | Misused words (confusing affect/ effect, lay/ lie, etc.) | “The policy will affect the budget.” | Correct: “affect” (verb). |
| 6 | Adjective vs. adverb | “She ran quick.” | “She ran quickly.” |
| 7 | Preposition errors | “She is good in mathematics.” | “She is good at mathematics.” |
| 8 | Parallel structure | “The manager likes to monitor, evaluates, and report.* | All verbs should be present participle: monitoring, evaluating, reporting. |
| 9 | Dangling modifiers | “After finishing the report, the meeting was postponed.” | “After finishing the report, we postponed the meeting.” |
| 10 | Spelling/word choice | “Their going to the park.” | “They’re going to the park.” |
Remember: The exam often focuses on the most glaring error; the other options may be correct or contain a different mistake.
3. Worked Example
Question:
“The committee have decided to postpone the meeting until next week.”
| Choice | What’s wrong? | Why it’s wrong | Correct sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | “committee” is singular but the verb is plural (“have”). | Committee is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in formal writing. | “The committee has decided …” |
| B | No error (but the verb is plural). | Incorrect because the sentence is actually wrong. | – |
| C | until should be up until. | Not necessary – until is fine. | – |
| D | next week should be next week’s. | Wrong because next week is an adverbial phrase, not a possessive. | – |
Answer: A – the subject–verb agreement error.
How to spot it quickly:
- Identify the subject: “committee.”
- Check the verb form: “have.”
- Remember: singular subjects → singular verbs.
- Spot the mismatch → choose the answer that corrects it.
4. Quick Revision Summary
- Read the sentence once → get the gist.
- Re‑read focusing on:
- Subject‑verb agreement
- Tense consistency
- Pronoun‑antecedent (gender & number)
- Word choice (confusables)
- Punctuation (commas, semicolons)
- Parallel structure
- Eliminate obviously wrong options first.
- Check the remaining options for the most glaring error.
- Remember the “rule of thumb”: In error‑spotting, the best answer is the one that restores grammatical correctness with the least change.
Quick Practice Questions (for self‑testing)
-
“Each of the students have submitted their assignments.”
Which option corrects the sentence?- A) “Each of the students has submitted their assignments.”
- B) “Each of the students have submitted their assignments.”
- C) “Each of the students has submitted his or her assignments.”
Answer: C (subject‑verb agreement + pronoun agreement)
-
“The professor, who is an expert in physics, gave a lecture that was very informative.”
Identify the error.- A) “professor” should be plural.
- B) “who is” should be “who are.”
- C) No error.
- D) “in physics” should be “about physics.”
Answer: C (the sentence is correct)
Use these notes to sharpen your error‑spotting skills before the Oracle English Language exam. Good luck!