Error Detection for the Assam Police Constable (AB & UB) Exam
Error detection is the part of General English in which a sentence is broken into parts and the candidate must point out the part that carries a grammatical mistake. There is no long passage and no hidden meaning here; the whole question rests on a handful of rules of agreement, tense, article, preposition, pronoun and word order. Because one part of the sentence is wrong and the remaining parts are correct, the candidate has to test each part against the rule it belongs to and reject the parts that are sound. The difficulty is that the wrong part often looks and sounds familiar, while the correct part is the one that a careless reader passes over without a second look. This page explains how the question is set, lists the areas from which errors are taken, gives a step-by-step method for locating them, and collects the patterns that repeat in the paper. The material follows the standard grammar reference books used for Assam recruitment examinations and is reviewed before it is published.
How This Portion Is Set
In most papers the sentence is printed in parts marked A, B, C and D, and the candidate has to choose the part that contains an error. Sometimes the whole sentence is given and the candidate must say whether it is correct or, if it is wrong, which word or phrase spoils it. A few papers ask the candidate to pick the correct version of a sentence from four options. In every form the answer is decided by a rule and not by taste, so a candidate who knows the rule answers without delay, while a candidate who trusts only the sound of the sentence is caught by the parts that have been carefully made to sound right.
Errors of Subject-Verb Agreement
Agreement means that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Errors are introduced when words come between the subject and the verb, as in the quality of the mangoes were poor, where the verb must agree with quality and not with mangoes. They are also introduced by collective nouns, by either and neither, by each and every, and by phrases such as one of the boys, which always take a singular verb. A noun joined by with, along with, as well as or together with does not change the number of the subject.
Errors in the Use of Tenses
Tense errors appear when the time signal in the sentence does not match the verb. Placing the simple past in a slot that the present perfect demands, as in saying I saw him already for I have seen him already, forgetting the past perfect for the earlier of two past actions, and using will after if and when are the commonest mistakes. A sentence may also mix the continuous form with a verb such as know, understand or believe, which is not normally used in the continuous tense. When two past actions are named, the earlier action takes the past perfect and the later one the simple past.
Errors with Articles and Determiners
Articles and determiners are small words, and examiners place the fault on them because they are easy to overlook. A proper noun that needs no article is given one, and a singular countable noun that needs an article is left bare. Errors also occur with the definite article before superlatives, before the names of rivers and ranges, and before unique objects. Determiners such as much, many, few, a few, little and a little are swapped, and one, each and every are paired with the wrong number.
Errors with Prepositions
A preposition that is right in one phrase is wrong in another, and the examiner relies on this. We say good at, angry with a person, angry at a thing, married to, afraid of, different from, and superior to. A verb may need a fixed preposition that the candidate must know, as in dispose of, comply with, listen to and wait for. Wrong prepositions also appear in time phrases, where since is used with a point of time and for with a period, and in place phrases where in and at are interchanged.
Errors in Pronouns and Number
Pronoun errors arise when the pronoun does not agree with its noun in number, gender or person. Every student must bring their book is now common in speech but is marked wrong in a strict paper, where the answer is his or her book. Errors of case occur when I is used in place of me, and when who is used in place of whom. Reflective pronouns and the order of persons, as in you, he and I, are also tested.
Errors of Word Order and Redundancy
Word order carries meaning in English, so an adverb placed in the wrong position or an adjective used where an adverb is needed spoils the sentence. Double comparatives such as more better and double negatives such as did not do nothing are clear errors. Redundancy, where a word repeats an idea already present, is another favourite: free gift, return back, discuss about, and enter into the room all repeat meaning and are therefore wrong.
Confusable Pairs That Carry the Error
- Lie and lay, where lie means to rest and lay means to place something down.
- Affect and effect, where affect is a verb and effect is usually a noun.
- Its and it's, where the first shows possession and the second is short for it is.
- Their, there and they're, which are often swapped in a hurry.
- Then and than, used in time and in comparison respectively.
- Principal and principle, and stationary and stationery, which differ by a letter.
A Step-by-Step Method to Find the Error
- Read the whole sentence once for its meaning before you look at the parts.
- Look at the subject first and check every verb for agreement and tense.
- Check the articles and determiners before the nouns, and the prepositions after the verbs.
- Check each pronoun for number, gender, person and case.
- Ask whether any word repeats an idea that is already present.
- If no part seems wrong, choose the part that breaks a fixed rule rather than the part that merely sounds odd.
High-Yield Patterns to Memorise
- One of the boys has come, not have come; each of the girls is present.
- The number of students is large, but a number of students are absent.
- He is one of the best players who have played for Assam.
- I have been living here for five years, not since five years.
- Hardly had I reached the station when the train left.
- No sooner did he see me than he ran away.
- Scarcely had she entered the room when the lights went out.
- The scenery of Assam is beautiful, not the sceneries are beautiful.
Traps That Cost Marks
- Choosing the part that sounds unusual but is correct, while missing the quiet rule broken elsewhere.
- Assuming an error must be in the verb, and so ignoring a wrong preposition or article.
- Treating a collective noun always as plural or always as singular.
- Reading only the options and not the printed sentence, where the real fault lies.
- Ignoring words such as hardly, scarcely and no sooner, which need when or than in a set pattern.
A Revision Plan for This Block
- Revise one rule a day and write two sentences of your own using it.
- Keep a notebook of the errors you miss and read it before every test.
- Practise ten mixed sentences daily, marking the part you believe is wrong before checking.
- Learn the fixed preposition of at least twenty common verbs by heart.
- Answer a full error detection set once a week under time to build speed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which part of the sentence is usually wrong?
There is no fixed part, but the faults fall most often on subject-verb agreement, tense, articles, prepositions and pronouns, because these are the rules that are easiest to break without changing the general meaning.
How do I decide whether to use since or for?
Use since with a point of time, as in since 2015 or since Monday, and for with a period, as in for five years or for two hours.
Is the whole sentence always marked wrong?
No. In many questions only one part is wrong and the others are correct, so the candidate must still read every part and choose the single part that breaks a rule.
What is redundancy in error detection?
Redundancy is the repetition of an idea in two words, as in free gift, return back and discuss about. Such repetition is counted as an error even though the meaning is clear.
Does the verb follow the noun nearest to it?
No. The verb follows the real subject and not the nearest noun, so in the quality of the mangoes were poor the verb agrees with the singular subject quality and should be was.