SSC CGL English Previous Year Spot the error questions with solutions

Error spotting is one of the most difficult topics in the English section for SSC Tier 1 / SSC CGL Tier 2 / CHSL/ CPO/ MTS exam. Even those who are well-versed in English can make errors. Spotting an error is not something that is difficult to master. All you need to do is to abide by some grammar rules and practice a lot! Given below are some questions that have appeared in SSC CGL Tier 1 2021 exam. These questions will give you a clear idea about the kind of questions that are asked in the exam. The questions are followed by a detailed solution of the questions. After solving all the questions you must refer to the solution.

CGL 2021 Tier I

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Instruction: The following sentence has been divided into parts. One of them contains an error. Select the part that contains the error from the given options. 

Q.1. You must avoid riding in a crowded bus / or travelling in a metro / during rush hour / as both are quiet unpleasant experiences.   CGL 13/8/2021 (Morning) 

(a) You must avoid riding in a crowded bus 

(b) during rush hour 

(c) as both are quiet unpleasant experiences 

(d) or travelling in a metro 

Q.2 Had you / not reached in time, / we will have/lost our lives. CGL 13/8/2021 (Morning)

(a) lost our lives

(b) not reached in time 

(c) Had you

(d) we will have 

Q.3 The woodcutter felled / some trees / with hardly / many effort at all. CGL 13/8/2021 (Afternoon) 

(a) some trees

(b) with hardly 

(c) many effort at all

(d) The woodcutter felled

Q.4. The river appears to have/got its name / from the town nearby. CGL 13/8/2021 (Afternoon)

(a) The river appears to have

(b) No error 

(c) got its name

(d) from the town nearby

Q.5. Lack of required / vitamins and minerals/lead against / several complications / in the human body. 

CGL 13/8/2021 (Evening)

(a) in the human body

(b) Lack of required 

(c) lead against

(d) several complications 

Q.6 The Dussehra celebrations / in Mysore / this year / are grandest than/in any other part / of the state. 

CGL 13/8/2021 (Evening)

(a) in Mysore

(b) The Dussehra celebrations 

(c) are grandest than

(d) any other part

Q.7.It have been only / through writing / that men have been able / to spread their ideas to mankind. 

CGL 16/8/2021 (Morning)

(a) It have been only

(b) to spread their ideas to mankind 

(c) through writing

(d) that men have been able

Q.8. The Principal requested / the teacher’s / to monitor / and take care of the small children.     CGL 16/8/2021 (Morning)

(a) The Principal requested

(b) the teacher’s 

(c) to monitor

(d) and take care of the small children

Q.9. “Would you liked / to have / some fries / along with your coffee, / sir?” / asked the waiter.     CGL 16/8/2021 (Afternoon)

(a) asked the waiter

(b) along with your coffee 

(c) Would you liked

(d) some fries 

Q.10. The supervisor / wanted to known / the pros and cons / of the issue. CGL 16/8/2021 (Afternoon)

(a) the pros and cons (b) wanted to known 

(c) of the issue (d) The supervisor 

Q.11.Raman putted the vegetables / in the frying pan / and after adding some water, / closed the lid.    CGL 16/8/2021 (Evening)

(a)  and after adding some water

(b) closed the lid 

(c) in the frying pan

(d) Raman putted the vegetables 

Q.12.The recruiters / were pleased / to John’s / domain knowledge and personality. CGL 16/8/2021 (Evening)

(a) The recruiters

(b) to John’s 

(c) domain knowledge and personality

(d) were pleased

Q.13. Won’t you / please come / to help me / along this heavy box? CGL 17/8/2021 (Morning)

(a) Won’t you

(b) to help me 

(c) along this heavy box

(d) please come 

Q.14.The sea has become / an cheap dumping ground / for all kinds / of waste products. CGL 17/8/2021 (Morning)

(a) of waste products

(b) an cheap dumping ground 

(c) for all kinds

(d) The sea has become

Q.15.The construction of the new business school is led to a sudden rise of population in our area. 

CGL 17/8/2021 (Afternoon)

(a) a sudden rise of population in our area 

(b) The construction of 

(c) the new business school 

(d) is led to 

Q.16. They have lived / in this apartment / since ten years. 

CGL 17/8/2021 (Afternoon)

(a) They have lived (b) No error 

(c) in this apartment (d) since ten years

Q.17. He win / several accolades / for his / music compositions. 

CGL 17/8/2021 (Evening)

(a) He win

(b) music compositions 

(c) for his

(d) several accolades 

Q.18. When she went for a walk / Maya couldn't take off her scarf / because it was / too much windy. 

CGL 17/8/2021 (Evening)

(a)  too much windy

(b) Maya couldn't take off her scarf 

(c) because it was

(d) When she went for a walk

Q.19.We don't really / want a large house; / we are looking for some comfort / and some convenience on a moderate price. 

CGL 18/8/2021 (Morning)

(a) and some convenience on a moderate price 

(b) want a large house 

(c) We don't really 

(d) we are looking for some comfort 

Q.20.Lalitha will go / to sister’s house / in Mumbai / this summer.  CGL 18/8/2021 (Morning)

(a) to sister’s house

(b) in Mumbai 

(c) Lalitha will go

(d) this summer

SOLUTIONS

Sol:1.(c)Quiet is an adjective that means with very little or no noise & ‘Quite’ is an adverb that is used for emphasizing something. However, the given sentence does not talk about any sound or noise. Hence, ‘both are quite unpleasant experiences’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:2.(d)“Had + V3 _________ would have + V3” is grammatically the correct structure for the given sentence. Hence, ‘we would have’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:3.(c) The phrase ‘hardly any’ means almost none. Similarly, the given sentence states that the woodcutter felled some trees with almost no effort at all. However, ‘many’ will never come with words like hardly, scarcely, barely because these words are of opposite sense. Hence, ‘any effort at all’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:4.(b) No error. The sentence is grammatically correct.

Sol:5.(c)‘Lead’ will take the preposition ‘to’ with it & the subject ‘lack of’ is singular so it will take a singular form of lead which is ‘leads’. Hence, ‘leads to’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:6.(c) We always use ‘than’ after a comparative degree when we do a comparison between two things. Similarly in the given sentence, the Dussehra celebrations in Mysore are compared with the other parts of Kerala. However, ‘grander’ is the comparative degree of ‘grand’. Hence, ‘are grander than’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:7.(a) ‘It’ is a singular pronoun that always takes a singular verb. However, have is a plural & has is a singular verb. Hence, ‘have’ will be replaced by ‘has’ to make the given sentence grammatically correct.

Sol:8.(b) We use apostrophes(‘s) when we want to show possession for example that is Dheeraj’s book. But according to the given sentence, the Principal requested the teachers to monitor and take care of the small children. So, there is no case of possession. Hence, ‘the teachers’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:9.(c) The interrogative statement in the given sentence is in the present tense so the verb must be used in its present/base form(like) and not in the past form(liked). Hence, ‘liked’ will be replaced by ‘like’ to make the given sentence grammatically correct.

Sol:10.(b) The preposition ‘to’ always takes the first form of the verb(V1) with it. However, ‘know’ is the base/first form of known(verb). Hence, ‘known’ will be replaced by ‘know’ to make the given sentence grammatically correct.

Sol:11.(d) The given sentence is in the simple past tense so the verb must be used in its past form. However, the past form of ‘put’ is ‘put’. Hence, ‘putted’ will be replaced by ‘put’ to make the given sentence grammatically correct.

Sol:12.(b) The phrase ‘someone is pleased with something(Object)’ is grammatically correct structure, for example, I am pleased with his kind behavior. Similarly in the given sentence, the recruiters were pleased with John’s domain knowledge and personality. Hence, ‘with John’s’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:13.(c) The phrase “Would/Will/Can you help me with this______” is grammatically the correct structure that we use when we ask someone for help in doing something. Similarly, in the given sentence, the narrator is asking someone to help him/her lift a heavy bag. Hence, ‘with this heavy box’ is the most appropriate answer. 

Sol:14.(b) We use the article ‘a’ with words starting with a consonant(B,D,F,N,etc.) for example, a dirty shirt, a neglected department, etc. However, the article ‘an’ is used with words starting with a vowel(A,E,I,O,U) for example, an educated person, an imminent danger, etc. Hence, ‘a cheap(consonant) dumping ground’ is the most appropriate answer. 

Sol:15.(d) The given sentence is in the present perfect tense so the verb must be used in its present perfect form(has) and not in the present/base form(is). Hence, ‘has led to’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:16.(d) ‘For’ refers to a specific period of time or numerical value of time for example for 2 years, 4 weeks, 3 days, etc. However, in the given question, the period of time is 10 years. Hence, ‘for ten years’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:17.(a) According to the “Subject-Verb Agreement Rule”, a singular subject always takes a singular verb and a plural subject always takes a plural verb. In the given sentence, ‘he’ is a singular subject that will take ‘wins’ as a singular verb. Hence, ‘he wins’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:18.(a) We use "too much" before uncountable nouns like too much money(uncountable), too much milk, etc. However, "too many" is used before countable nouns like too many shoes(countable), too many books, etc. But, in the given sentence, ‘windy’ is not a noun it is an adjective. So, we will remove ‘much’ before ‘windy’. Hence, either ‘too windy’ or ‘too much wind(noun)’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:19.(a) There is a prepositional error in the given sentence. The preposition ‘on’ will be replaced with ‘at’ because we generally buy something at a low/high price, not on a low/high price. Hence, ‘some convenience at a moderate price’ is the most appropriate answer.

Sol:20.(a)There is a pronoun error in the given sentence. The possessive pronoun ‘her’ that is generally used for a female subject(Lalitha in the given sentence) is missing. Hence, ‘to her sister’s house’ is the most appropriate answer.

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