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English Exercises > Error identification

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From the marked areas A, B, C and D, identify the one that is wrong, correct it, and explain why it is wrong.

     
1.   It seems that if students (A) become aware of the fact that they are (B) being evaluated, their discussion behavior (C) tends to be affecting (D) markedly.
     
2.   Some teachers (A) have sought to involve students only superficially in the teacher-pupil planning, (B) telling students that they play an active part (C) in the process and then proceeding to oppose almost all suggestions (D) that offered.
     
3.   The same individuals tend (A) to make contributions, (B) introduce them to the group (C) in a given manner, and (D) to voice either positive or negative reactions.
     
4.   The unusually dull student cannot meet the standards of (A) the average student, and there is no (B) sound reason (C) that (D) such standards should be imposed on him.
     
5.   Taxi drivers (A) who overcharges or refuses to pick up passengers at the railway station, may have to (B) contend with (C) stiffer penalties, (D) if caught.
     
6.   Fines and suspension of the licenses of hardcore taxi drivers if they (A) persist on being discourteous to (B) the disabled (C) were among several deterrent measures (D) suggested.
     
7.   Prince Sihanouk presented, in an open letter to (A) the UN Conference participants, a (B) three-points plan for his country. His plan included a dispatch to Cambodia (C) of a (D) UN-sponsored international peace-keeping force.
     
8.   The spirit of teamwork (A) can be fostered in schools through working and playing (B) in a group. Teachers, too, can contribute towards building up this spirit by (C) being examples themselves of good (D) teamworker.
     
9.   (A) On his first day as prime minister, Mr. X wasted no time in (B) calling up to his office 16 ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries, (C) to inform them their new (D) portfolios.
     
10.   Science is more than a collection of (A) unrelated facts; (B) to be meaningful and valuable, (C) it must be arranged to show (D) generalized facts.
     

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    Answers
     
1.  

C

The context requires that the infinitive be in the passive voice rather than active : to be affected

   

 

2.  

D

A relative clause that takes the form of "relative pronoun + be + verb" is often reduced by deleting both the relative pronoun and the "be" : offered. Of course, the relative clause may remain intact : that are offered.

   

 

3.  

D

Parallel structure in English requires that equivalent ideas be presented in similar grammatical forms. A, B and D are three infinitive phrases. to in B and D is understood.

   

 

4.  

C

Most relative clauses are introduced by a relative pronoun. But if the antecedent of a relative clause is a place, time, or reason, the relative adverb where, when and why shoul dbe respectively used instead. Hence : why

   

 

5.  

A

A relative clause is to modify its antecedent. Thus the verb in the relative clause should also agree with the antecedent in number. As the antecedent "taxi drivers" is plural, the verb of the relative clause should not have the inflectional suffix -s: who overcharge or refuse

   

 

6.  

A

English nouns, verbs, and adjectives are often followed by suitable prepositions to form idiomatic expressions. It is therefore important to remember the noun/verb/adjective and preposition partnership. Hence, we should either say "insist on" or "persist in".

   

 

7.  

B

Compound adjectives become more and more popular in modern English. A commonly seen compound adjective is made up of a figure and a noun, but the noun must be in the singular form : three-point

   

 

8.  

D

The context calls for a plural noun so as to be compatible with the entire syntactic structure : teamworkers

   

 

9.  

C

There are two common patterns for the verb inform :

(a) inform + object + of, e.g. I have informed the police of the accident.

(b) inform + object + "that clause", e.g. I have informed the police that there has been an accident.

In the present context, only (a) is applicable : to inform them of

   

 

10.  

C

The error here involves the careless use of a pronoun reference. This is a very common problem among foreign learners. the pronoun it in C can only refer to a singular inanimate noun, which is obviously not possible in this case. What is needed is a pronoun that stands for the noun immediately preceding it. e.g. facts : they.

 
 
 

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