English Language – Error Spotting
(Chhattisgarh TET – Teacher Eligibility Test)
1. Simple Explanation
Error spotting is a type of question where you are given a paragraph or a sentence that contains one or more mistakes. Your task is to:
- Locate each error.
- Identify the type of error (grammar, punctuation, usage, style, etc.).
- Correct the sentence so that it becomes grammatically sound and clear.
In the TET, you usually have to underline the error in the original text and write the corrected version in a separate line or box.
2. Key Points – What to Look For
| Error Type | Typical Red Flags | Quick Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Subject‑Verb Agreement | “The list was on the table” (wrong) → “The list was on the tables” (if plural) | Match singular/plural. |
| Tense Consistency | “She went to the market and is buying*” | Keep tense uniform. |
| Pronoun‑Antecedent Agreement | “Everyone must bring his own bag” (if group includes females) | Use their or his/her. |
| Article Usage | “I saw an dog in the park” (should be a if dog starts with consonant sound) | Use a before consonant sounds. |
| Preposition Use | “She is good on mathematics” | Use in for subjects. |
| Punctuation – Comma Splices | “It was raining, I went inside.” | Use semicolon or conjunction. |
| Run‑On Sentences | “She likes music she plays piano.” | Split into two sentences or add conjunction. |
| Misplaced Modifiers | “She almost finished the test in ten minutes.” | Should be “She finished the test in almost ten minutes.” |
| Parallelism | “He likes swimming, to run, and biking.” | “He likes swimming, running, and biking.” |
| Verb Forms | “They has finished” | Use have. |
| Word Choice / Lexical Errors | “He was very extremely happy.” | Use extremely alone. |
Quick Strategy Checklist
- Read the whole paragraph once to understand the meaning.
- Check each sentence for:
- Subject and verb number
- Tense consistency
- Pronoun‑antecedent agreement
- Correct use of articles, prepositions, and conjunctions
- Punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons, periods)
- Spot the most common errors first (subject‑verb, tense).
- Underline the error in the original text.
- Write the corrected sentence in the answer box.
3. Worked Example
Original Paragraph
The team of scientists, who is working on the new vaccine, has shown remarkable progress. They has collected data from various experiments and have finished the preliminary analysis. However, the results are still inconclusive, because the sample size is too small. The director, he believes, will approve the funding soon.
Step‑by‑Step Corrections
| Error | Why It’s Wrong | Corrected Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subject‑Verb Agreement – “team is” → “team are” (team is collective noun; in American English singular is common, but we’ll use plural for consistency) | The team of scientists, who are working on the new vaccine, has shown remarkable progress. |
| 2 | Tense & Agreement – “They has” → “They have” | They have collected data from various experiments and have finished the preliminary analysis. |
| 3 | Comma Splice – “the results are still inconclusive, because…” → should be a comma + conjunction or period. | However, the results are still inconclusive because the sample size is too small. |
| 4 | Pronoun‑Antecedent & Sentence Structure – “The director, he believes” → remove “he” or change to “he believes” as a separate sentence. | The director believes that he will approve the funding soon. |
Corrected Paragraph
The team of scientists, who are working on the new vaccine, has shown remarkable progress. The team has collected data from various experiments and has finished the preliminary analysis. However, the results are still inconclusive because the sample size is too small. The director believes that he will approve the funding soon.
4. Quick Revision Summary
- Identify the type of error first (subject‑verb, tense, pronoun, article, preposition, punctuation).
- Use the checklist: subject‑verb agreement → tense consistency → pronoun‑antecedent → articles/prepositions → punctuation → modifiers.
- Underlining rule: underline the entire word or phrase that contains the error.
- Correction rule: write the corrected sentence or phrase in the answer box; keep it concise.
- Practice: Work on at least 10–15