Identifying Error 2

Name:______________________________________________________________________
Directions: Choose which underlined portion has an error. If the sentence is correct, put no error.

1. Sponsors of the Olympic Games (a)who bought advertising time on United States television
(b)includes (c)at least a dozen international firms (c)whose names are familiar to American
consumers. No error.

2. IT one (a)is interested (b)in learning (c)even more about Zora Neale Hurston, (d)you should
read Robert Hemenway’s biography. No error.

3. The starling is (a)such a pest in rural areas that it (b)has become necessary (c)to find ways of
controlling the growth (d)of their population. No error.

4. In the early twentieth century, new thinking (a)about symbolism and the unconscious (b)were
greatly inspired (c)by the (d)writings of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. No error.

5. Air pollution caused by industrial fumes (a)has been studied for years, (b)but only recently
(c)has the harmful effects of noise pollution (d)become known. No error.

6. Pine, like (a)other softwoods that ignite (b)quickly, (c)are useful (d)as kindling. No error.

7. (a)In many respects Anna Karenina and Emma Bovary are very similar characters, (b)but
Bovary (c)has (d)the most spirit and determination. No error.

8. The students (a)have discovered that (b)they can address issues more effectively (c)through
letter writing campaigns (d)and not through public demonstrations. No error

9. (a)After hours of futile debate, the committee has decided (b)to postpone further discussion
(c)of the resolution until (d)their next meeting. No error

10. At the music recital, Alexandra (a)enjoyed listening to her friend Mohammed's insightful
interpretation, (b)which she thought was (c)more sophisticated (d)than the interpretations of the
other performers. No error
11. Originally a (a)protest on conventional painting, the Pre-Raphaelite (b)movement (c)exerted
great influence on the art (d)of its time. No Error
12. The board (a)reviewing the courses offered by the college (b)found that the quality of
academic programs (c)were generally good but (d)somewhat uneven. No Error
13. If (a)he had begun (b)earlier, he might have succeeded (c)in finishing the (d)extremely
complex project before the deadline.
14. Maude Adams, after her spectacular (a)triumph as the original Peter Pan, (b)went about
(c) heavy veiled and was accessible to (d)only a handful of intimate friends. No error
15. All states (a)impose severe (b)penalties on drivers who do not stop (c)when he or she (d) is
involved in accidents.

16. (a)I enjoyed (b)study geography at school and now (c)I’ve enrolled at (d)the Economics
Faculty. No Error

17. (a)I used to be (b)keen of all (c)scientific subjects but now (d)I would prefer to study art.

18. (a)I want meet your sister (b)when she comes to see you – (c)she sounds (d)very nice. No
Error

19. (a)My friends tell the (b)English exam is (c)quite difficult but I’m not (d)worried. No error

20. The tickets, (a)which are extremely (b)good value, (c)can be buy from (d)large supermarkets.
No Error

21. The number of people (a)which (b)asked for the discount (c)was low but (d)grew during the
summer period. No Error

22. He (a)wanted always to be (b)a doctor and (c)after doing medicine he now (d)works in a
hospital. No Error

23. (a)The informations they (b)gave us was not very (c)helpful (d)so I consulted the website
instead.

24. There isn’t (a)many time, (b)do you think we (c)should get a taxi (d)to the exhibition centre?
No error

25. (a)He graduated in languages (b)in June and (c)is now thinking of (d)do a second degree in
psychology. No error

26. The policeman (a)showed us an (b)identikit picture of (c)the man who (d)steal the car. No
error

27. How long (a)does it take to (b)get the station (c)on foot from (d)your house. No error

28. I was (a)so angry that I took the (b)watch broken (c)to the jewellers to (d)get my money
back. No error

29. He (a)rang me this morning (b)for tell me that (c)he had passed his (d)driving test. No error

30. I (a)won’t be able to go (b)on holiday this year (c)unless (d)I will get a part-time job. No
error
 Answer Key
1. This sentence illustrates a subject-verb agreement error. The subject, "Sponsors of the
Olympic Games who bought advertising time on United States television," is plural; the word
underlined at choice B should be "include," to match the number of the subject. The correct
sentence reads: Sponsors of the Olympic Games who bought advertising time on United
States television include at least a dozen international firms whose names are familiar to
American consumers.
2. The error in this sentence is (D): the pronoun "you" is not consistent with the pronoun "one" in
the introductory clause. The pronoun "you" should be changed to "one." The correct sentence
reads: If one is interested in learning even more about Zora Neale Hurston, one should read
Robert Hemenway’s biography,
3. The error in the sentence is (D): the pronoun "their" in the phrase "of their" should be "it"
because the pronoun refers to the singular noun "starling." Note that the verb following "starling"
is singular, forcing one to recognize that the noun "starling" is singular. The correct sentence
reads: The starling is such a pest in rural areas that it has become necessary to find ways of
controlling the growth of its population.
4. The error in this sentence is (B): the verb "were" (which is plural) does not agree in number
with the noun "thinking" (which is singular). The correct sentence reads: In the early twentieth
century, new thinking about symbolism and the unconscious was greatly inspired by the writings
of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
5. The error in this sentence is (C): the verb "has" (which is singular) does not agree in number
with the noun "effects” (which is plural). The noun phrase "harmful effects" is the subject of the
verb phrase "has become known. “The correct sentence reads: Air pollution caused by industrial
fumes has been studied for years, but only recently have the harmful effects of noise pollution
become known.
6. The error in this sentence is (C): the plural verb "are" does not agree in number with its
singular subject, "pine." The correct sentence reads: Pine, like other softwoods that ignite
quickly, is useful as kindling.
7. The error in this sentence is (D): the superlative form of the phrase "the most spirit” is not
appropriate when only two characters are being compared. The appropriate form for such a
comparison is "more spirit." The correct sentence reads: In many respects Anna Karenina and
Emma Bovary are very similar characters, but Bovary has more spirit and determination.
8. The error in this sentence occurs at (D). When a comparison is introduced by the adverb
"more," as in "more effectively," the second part of the comparison must be introduced
by the conjunction "than" rather than "and not."
9. The error in this sentence occurs at (D). A pronoun must agree in number (singular or
plural) with the noun to which it refers. Here, the plural pronoun "their" incorrectly
refers to the singular noun "committee." It should be “its”
10. no Error
11. The error in this sentence is (A): the phrase "protest on" is not idiomatic in standard written
English. The verb "protest" takes the preposition "against." The correct sentence reads:
Originally a protest against conventional painting, the Pre-Raphaelite movement exerted
great influence on the art of its time.
12. The error in this sentence is (C): the verb "were" (which is plural) does not agree in number
with the noun "quality" (which is singular). The correct sentence reads: The board reviewing
the courses offered by the college found that the quality of academic programs was
generally good but somewhat uneven.
13. no error
14. The error in this sentence is (C): the word "heavy" in the phrase "heavy veiled" should not be
in the form of an adjective but in the adverbial form since it is used to modify the participle
"veiled." The correct sentence reads: Maude Adams, after her spectacular triumph as the
original Peter Pan, went about heavily veiled and was accessible to only a handful of
intimate friends.
15. The error in this sentence is (C): the pronouns "he or she" (which are both singular) do not
agree with the noun "drivers" (which is plural). The correct sentence reads: All states impose
severe penalties on drivers who do not stop when they are involved in accidents. Note that
the verb "is" has to be changed to "are" when the subject becomes plural
16. I enjoyed studying (‘enjoy’ + ing)
17. keen on (keen + on = being passionate about)
18. want to (‘want’ + to + verb)
19. tell me (‘tell’ + person (me / you / him / her etc); nb. ‘Say’ is not followed by the person)
20. can be bought (to be + past participle = passive)
21. who (relative pronoun ‘who’ = people)
22. always wanted (frequency adverb goes before the main verb)
23. the informations (information = uncountable noun)
24. much time (‘much’ with uncountable nouns, ‘many’ with countable nouns)
25. doing (‘ing’a after a preposition)
26. stole (past tense of steal = steal stole stolen)
27. get to (preposition necessary; get to / go to / like to the station, BUT. Arrive at / reach
the station)
28. broken watch (adjective before noun)
29. to tell me (to + base form = for / for purpose)
30. unless I will get (1st conditional = if / unless / when + present)