Each of the following sentences may contain an error in grammar, idiom or usage. If there is an error, it will appear in one of the underlined portions. Answers are given at the answer part. First try to answer by yourself, and then check it against the given answer. Answer explanation for each sentence is also given. If you go through this exercise, we can assure you that you will have a vast idea in English:
- Neither of the two candidates who had applied for the job to the factory were eligible.
- This chair has the same design, but it is different shaped from that one.
- Because of the approaching cyclone, the wind began to blow hard and the sky became dark as evening.
- The flag is risen in the morning and taken down at night by the guards.
- To the men who worked so hard on the construction of the bridge, the news was profound disappointing.
Answers:
- ‘Neither’ must be followed by singular verb and pronoun in formal written English. So ‘were’ should be ‘was’.
- Most adverbs of manner are formed by adding –ly to adjectives. So ‘different’ should be ‘differently’ to modify the manner in which the chair is shaped.
- ‘because’ is a prepositional phrase, so ‘as evening’ should be ‘like evening’. ‘As’ acts as a conjunction, while ‘like’ acts as a preposition.
- Here ‘raised’ should be used instead of ‘risen’. To ‘raise’ means to move to a higher place, while to ‘rise’ means to go up.
- Adverb is used to modify an adjective. So ‘profound’ should be changed to adverb ‘profoundly’ which modifies adjective ‘disappointing’.