GyaanVibe is a focused educational platform dedicated to helping SSC CGL aspirants crack Tier 1 & Tier 2 exam with a strategic, day-wise, and well-structured preparation approach.
SSC CGL Preparation – Day 13
English: Error Spotting
🔍 What is Error Spotting?
In Error Spotting, a sentence is divided into parts and you are required to identify the part which contains a grammatical or structural mistake. Some sentences may also be error-free.
🎯 Why It’s Important in SSC CGL
- Tests grammar accuracy and sentence structure
- Helps evaluate your attention to detail
- One of the fastest scoring sections if mastered
🧠 Key Grammar Areas Tested in Error Spotting
1. Subject-Verb Agreement
- Singular subject → singular verb
- Plural subject → plural verb
✔️ The boy plays cricket.
❌ The boy play cricket.
2. Tenses
- Correct use of verb tense depending on context
✔️ I have seen that movie before.
❌ I seen that movie before.
3. Articles (a, an, the)
- “a” before consonant sound, “an” before vowel sound
✔️ He is an honest man.
❌ He is a honest man.
4. Prepositions
- Wrong or missing prepositions are common errors
✔️ She is good at singing.
❌ She is good in singing.
5. Pronoun Errors
- Use of correct personal, reflexive, and relative pronouns
✔️ He himself did the work.
❌ He himself did himself the work.
6. Modifiers
- Misplaced modifiers make the sentence awkward or incorrect
✔️ She almost drove her kids to school every day.
❌ She drove her kids to school almost every day.
7. Adjective vs. Adverb
✔️ She sings beautifully. (Adverb for verb “sings”)
❌ She sings beautiful.
8. Parallelism
✔️ He likes cooking, jogging, and swimming.
❌ He likes cooking, to jog, and swimming.
9. Redundancy
Avoid repetition of words with the same meaning.
❌ He returned back.
✔️ He returned.
10. Confusing Words
- Then/Than, Affect/Effect, Accept/Except, etc.
✔️ He is taller than his brother.
❌ He is taller then his brother.
📝 Common Sentence Formats in SSC CGL
- Divided Sentence
“Each of the four parts is labeled A, B, C, D – spot the part that contains an error.” - Whole Sentence – Choose the Incorrect Part
“Identify the segment of the sentence that contains a grammatical error.”
🔔 Tips to Solve Error Spotting Questions
- Read the full sentence once without trying to spot the error
- Identify the subject and its verb – check agreement
- Check tense consistency
- Watch out for fixed expressions and idioms
- Eliminate options using rules if you’re unsure
🔍 Common SSC CGL Patterns
| Error Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Subject-Verb Agreement | The team have won the match. → has won |
| Tense Error | He was playing when she comes. → came |
| Pronoun Error | Each of the boys have done their work. → has done his work |
| Modifier Error | Driving along the road, the trees were seen. → I saw the trees… |
📌 Practice Drill – Spot the Error (Example)
Q: One of my friend / have gone / to Canada / on a work visa.
A) One of my friend
B) have gone
C) to Canada
D) on a work visa
✅ Answer: A
✔️ Correct form: One of my friends (Plural noun after “one of”)
