60 Rules for Spotting Errors

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Spotting error
1. Certain nouns always take a singular verb.
Scenery, advice, information, machinery,stationery, furniture, abuse, fuel, gram, issue,bedding, repair, news, poetry, business,economics, physics, mathematics, classics, ethics,innings.
Examples	(a) The scenery of Shimla isenchanting.
	(b) She has given advice.
2. Some nouns are used as plural nouns andalways take a plural verb.
Cattle, gentry, peasantry, artillery, people, clergy,company, police.
Examples	(a) The people arewatching us.
	(b) The police are in the house.
3. Some nouns are used in a plural form and takea plural verb.
Trousers, scissors, spectacles, shorts, measles,goods, premises, thanks, tidings, annals, chattels,etc.
Examples	(a) Where are my spectacles?
	(b)Trousers are also available at cheaper prices.
4. Certain nouns that indicate
length, measure,money, weight or number, if they are preceded by a numeral, they remain unchanged in form.Foot, metre, pair, score, dozen, year, hundred,thousand, million.
Examples	(a) It is a two-yearpost-graduation diploma course.
	(b) I havebought twelve dozen of apples.
5. Collective nouns like
jury, public, team,committee, government, orchestra, company, etc.are used both as singular and plural depending onthe meaning. When these words indicate a unit,the verb is singular, otherwise the verb will beplural.
Examples	(a) The public were furious over theissue.
	(b) The orchestra has not started yet.
6. Certain nouns have one meaning in the singularand another in the plural
advice = counsel, advices = information, authority= command, authorities = persons in good = wise,goods = property iron = metal, irons = fetters,chains, force = strength, forces = army, content =satisfaction, contents = things contained, physic =medicine, physics = physical sciences, respect =regards, respects = compliments work = job,works = compositions, factories, quarter = one-fourth, quarters = houses.
Examples	(a) I havethe authority to correct it.
	(b) The authorities willbe arriving tomorrow.
7. While using ‘everybody’, ‘anyone’, ‘anybody',and ‘each’ the pronoun is used according to thecontent.
Examples	(a) Anyone can do this work if he trieswith all the effort
	(b) Each of the five men in thecar has carried his laptop.
8. The pronoun ‘one’ must be followed by ‘one’s’.
Example	(a) One must complete one’s task within the deadline.
9. When two or more singular nouns are joinedtogether by ‘either or’; ‘neither nor’; and ‘or’, thepronoun should be singular.
Examples	(a) Either Sita or Geeta will attend thefunction.
	(b) Neither Mohan nor Krishna has donehis task.
10. When a singular and a plural noun are joinedby ‘or’, ‘nor’, the pronoun should be plural.
Example	(a) Either the manager or his sub-ordinates failed in completing their assignment.
11. Use of ‘whose’ and ‘which’
‘Whose’ is usedfor living persons and ‘which’ for lifeless objects.
Examples	(a) Whose artwork is this?
	(b) Whichfictional character do you like the most?
12. Use of ‘each other’ and ‘one another’
‘Eachother’ is used when there are two subjects orobjects and ‘one another’ when there are morethan two.
Examples	(a) Those five boys, who are playingfootball, hate one another.
	(b) Sneha and Smitaare the best friends; they always stand for eachother.
13. Use of pronoun for collective nouns
Examples	(a) The jury is going to give its verdict tomorrow.
	(b) The group are divided in their opinion about the reason of corruption in India.
14. Use of ‘some’ and ‘any’
'Some' is used inaffirmative sentences to express quantity ordegree. 'Any' is used in negative or interrogativesentences.
Examples	(a) I shall buy some apples.
	(b) I shallnot buy any apples.
	(c) Have you bought anyapples?
15. Use of 'few', 'a few', and 'the few'
The use of 'few', 'a few', and 'the few' should be usedwith care. They denote 'number'.'Few' means 'not many'. It is the opposite ofmany. A 'few' is positive and means 'some atleast'. It is the opposite of none. 'The few' means'whatever there is'.
Examples	(a) Few men areperfect in their works.
	(b) A few boys are presentin the class.
	(c) I have already seen the fewmovies that I have in my laptop.
16. Use of ‘less' and 'fewer'
'Less' denotes quantity and 'fewer' denotes number.
Examples	(a) No fewer than twenty girls went forthe picnic last weekend.
	(b) There are no lessthan six liters of water in that pitcher.
17. Use of little, a little, the little
'Little' means'hardly any'.
Examples	(a) There is little hope of his coming back.
	(b) A little knowledge is good for nothing.
	(c) The little milk that is left in the container maybe used for making tea.
18. Use of elder, older
'Older' refers to persons as well as things and isfollowed by 'than'.
Examples	(a) Sita is five yearolder that Gita.
	(b) Sita is the elder sister of Gita.
19. Use of ‘than’
Generally 'than' is used in thecomparative degree, but with words like superior,inferior, senior, junior, prior, prefer 'to' is used.
Examples	(a) Mita is senior to Mohini.
	(b) Afterhaving dinner, I prefer walking to sleeping.
20. In some cases, the comparison must be givenproper attention.
Examples	(a) The climate of Mumbai is betterthan the climate of Delhi. Or (a) The climate ofMumbai is better that that of Delhi.
	(b) Thesummer in Delhi is hotter than that of Mumbai.
21. Use of ‘Many a’
‘Many a’ is always followedby the singular verb.
Example	(a) Many a man was dressed in blue.
22. Verb while joining two subjects
When 'aswell as', 'along with', 'together with', 'no lessthan', 'in addition to', and 'not' and 'with' jointwo subjects, the verb should be according to thefirst subject.
Examples	(a) Ram, as well as his five friends,has gone for the picnic.
	(b) The teacher, alongwith the students, is also going for the picnic.
23. While joining two subjects using 'either or','neither nor', the verb agrees with the subject thatis near.
Examples	(a) Either Reena or I am supposed todo that task.
	(b) Neither he nor his friends are going.
24. While joining singular nouns using 'and' pointout the same thing or person, the verb will besingular.
Examples	(a) Bread and butter is good to take inbreakfast.
	(b) The Principle and the Vice-chancellor is on leave today.
25. 'No sooner' should be followed by 'than'.
Example	(a) No sooner had the singer enteredthe stage than the audience started to applause.
26. 'Lest' is followed by 'Should'.
Example	(a) Study hard lest you should not scorewell in board exams.
27. 'Such' is followed by 'as'.
Examples	(a) He is such a singer as everybodymust listen to him.
	(b) The taste of the cake wassuch good that I ate it up all.
28. 'not' is never used with 'unless'.
Example	(a) Unless you study hard, you will notscore well.
29. 'not' should never be used with ‘until’.
Example	(a) Keep reading until I say stop.
30. 'Since' indicates a point of time whereas 'for'stands for the length of time.
Examples	(a) I have been working with thiscompany for two months.
	(b) I have been workingwith this company since 2010.
31. 'As if' is used to convey the sense ofpretension. When 'as if' is used in this sense,'were' is used in all cases, even with third personsingular.
Example	(a) He talks as if he knew everything.
32. If two actions in a sentence are shownhappening in the past, one after the other; thetense of the action happening first should be inpast perfect and that of the second should be inpast indefinite.
Example	(a) The train had left before I reachedthe railway station.
33. Two actions in the past, one depending on theother, should have the following sequence
Examples	(a) If you had studied hard, you wouldhave passed in the exam. Or (a) Had you studiedhard, you would have passed in the exam.
	(b) If you had practiced regularly, you would havewon the singing competition.
34. If, in a sentence, two actions are indicatedand both are to take place in future, the sequenceof tenses will be as given in examples .
Examples	(a) If I cry, he will get angry on me.
	(b) If it rains, I shall not go for the picnic.
35. 'a' is used before a consonant.
Examples	(a) Here is a University, which offerscourses in Communication Management
	(b) AEuropean couple lives in my neighborhood.
36. Words like 'hour', 'honest', 'heir', etc. take'an' before them as they begin with a vowelsound.
Example	(a) I have been watching television foran hour.
37. Note the following points to remember regarding the omission of a/an/the
Examples	1. Man is a social animal.
	2. Gold is aprecious metal.
	3. Delhi is the heart of India
	4.Curiosity is the mother of invention.
	5. Hindi ismy mother tongue.
	6. I am a Christian; I go tochurch every Sunday.
	7. My aunt is arrivingtoday.
	8. He is elected vice-chancellor of theuniversity.
38. Uses of 'the'
Examples	1. The earth rotates from east to west.
	2. He is the best cricket player in his class.
	3. TheTaj Mahal, The Hindustan Times, The Geeta, ThePacific Ocean
	4. The great Ashoka.
	5. The richshould help poors.
	6. I love to play the piano.
	7.The lion is the king of animals
	8. The faster wewalk, the sooner we reach.
39. While joining two singular nouns by 'and' arepreceded by 'each' or 'every' the pronoun usedfor them must be singular.
Example	a) Each man and each boy should bringhis luggage.
40. If a pronoun comes after a preposition itshould be used in the objective case.
Example	a) Between you and me neither of us isresponsible for that mess.
41. A pronoun takes an objective case after 'let'.
Example	a) Let me think over it.
42. When Pronouns joined by 'and' remain in thesame case.
Examples	a) He and she are husband and wife.
	b) She and I are roommates.
43. Relative pronoun 'that' is used in preferenceto 'who' or 'which' after adjectives in thesuperlative degree.
Examples	a) This is the best that I can do foryou. b) The finest man that I have ever met withis you.
44. When two qualities of a person are comparedusing 'more' or 'less' before the adjective, thenthe adjective following them takes positivedegree.
Example	a) Shikha is more beautiful thanintelligent.
45. When two or more adjectives are used toshow the qualities of the same man, all theadjectives must be in the same degree.
Examples	a) Sita is more beautiful and wiserthan Geeta.
	b) Rahul is the wisest and thefunniest boy of the class.
46. 'Very' is used with adjectives in the positivedegree and with present participles.
Examples	a) She is a very intelligent girl.
	b) It isa very interesting movie.
47. ‘as’	To show equality' as' is used before andafter the adjective.
Example	a) Sita is as beautiful as Geeta.
48. Certain adjectives do not admit of comparisonand thus they always remain in the positivedegree
'Absolute', 'chief', 'circular', 'complete', 'entire','extreme', 'excellent', 'impossible', 'perfect','right', 'round', 'unique', 'universal', 'whole', etc.
Example	a) This is the perfect cake I have ever made.
49. Please note that a verb must agree with itssubject and not with the complement.
Example	a) The only well-wisher I have is mytwo childhood friends.
50. When the plural subject denotes a definiteamount or quantity taken as a whole, the verb issingular.
Examples	a) Fifty miles is a good distance.
	b)Three-fourths of the movies was boring.
51. The plural 'heaps' and 'lots' used for a greatamount and take a singular verb unless a pluralnoun with 'of' is added.
Examples	a) There is lots of food.
	b) There arelots of foods to consume.
52. Use of ‘each’ and ‘every’	When 'each' or'every' two singular subjects, even if connectedby 'and', take a singular verb.
Example	a) Each boy and every girl wasaccommodated in the lodge.
53. The following verbs are always followed by aninfinitive
'decide', 'plan', 'expect', 'fail', 'hope', 'learn','promise', 'refuse', 'want', 'agree', 'consent','love', etc.
Example	a) I plan to settle in NewYork.
54. The following verbs and phrases must befollowed by a gerund
'enjoy', 'admit', 'appreciate', 'regret', 'avoid','help', 'consider', 'stop', 'looking forward to','accustomed to', 'is used to', 'do not mind', etc.
Examples	a) I am looking forward to watchingyour artwork in my home.
	b) He is used to talkingfast.
55. After certain verbs ('bid', 'let', 'make', 'need','see', 'hear') we use the infinitive without 'to'.
Examples	a) Let me handle this.
	b) Make him gothere.
56. Use of 'had better', 'had rather', 'wouldrather', 'sooner than' and 'rather than'
See thefollowing example for the use of above-
Example	a) You had better ask me before goingto picnic.
57. 'no other' should be followed by ‘than’.
Examples	a) That night, I saw no other girl thanRiya.
	b) Ram has no other option than stay athome.
58. Using 'know', 'how', or 'when' as an infinitive
See the example below.
Example	a) I know when to speak.
59. ‘elected as president’ is wrong ‘electedpresident’ is correct.
See the example below forusing the verbs like 'appointed', 'elected','considered', 'called'.
Examples	a) He was elected Secretary of oursociety.
	b) I regard Sneha as my best friend
60. While expressing quality of the subject, an adjective is used with the verb.
Example	a) The bouquet smelt sweet