Correction of Sentences Self Test Exercises

Correct: 1. In a democratic society every voter has a responsibility to cast his vote in the election process.

Explanation: Singular pronoun every requires a singular referrent his or her

Correct: 2. If the employees had succeeded in their attempt they would have achieved a good target.

Explanation: Conditional perfect (would have) is not used for something that did not happen in the past. Instead past perfect (had) is used.

Correct: 3. The question is so complicated that it cannot be solved immediately.

Explanation: The tense of the first part (is - present tense) does not match the second part (could not - past tense). The sentence "The question was so complicated that it could not be solved immediately" is also correct.

Correct: 4. Unless he does not disciplines himself and tries hard he will not learn.

Explanation: Use of negative with unless is incorrect.

Correct: 5. Despite of having an exceptionally bright career record she could not get whatever she deserved.

Explanation: Use of of with despite is incorrect.

Correct: 6. Hari alongwith his father is going to Ambala for purchasing some books for his studies.

Explanation: Prepositional phrases like 'along with', 'as well as' do not change the number of the subject. In this case the subject Hari is singular.

Correct: 7. When the plane landed he found that one of the wings had been damaged by a shell.

Explanation: The past perfect (had been) is used when we are already discussing the past and want to refer back to an earlier period in time.

Correct: 8. She will not be happy unless her friends do not help her in the examination.

Explanation: Use of negative with unless is incorrect.

Correct: 9. Neither of the two sisters loves the other due to some misunderstandings.

Explanation: Neither is used when referring to two items.

Correct: 10. He will not heave a sigh of relief unless he qualifies in the written test..

Explanation: Simple present is used with future constructions.

1. I tried to meet the person who you said was looking for me.

2. We looked for the thief but he was nowhere to be found.

3. I hoped that the train would arrive in time but it did not.

4. All their belongings were lost in the fire.

5. The decorations in your house are similar to those in his house.

6. Despite of the increase in air fares, most people will prefer to travel by plane.

7. He told the boys that if they worked hard they would surely pass.

8. I shall write to you when I shall reach Chennai.

9. The sentence is correct.

10. My book, which I gave it you yesterday is very interesting.

1. There are a number of people of every class and nationality who doubt the truth of his statement. (Agreement of verb with the subject)

2. As an officer he was not only competent but also honest. The verb following the subject must precede not only so that it applies to both parallel phrases, or the verb must be repeated. Thus the above sentence can also be written as - As an officer he not only was competent but was also honest.

3. She is very weak in the subject and does not understand things though the teacher explains to her repeatedly.

4. If you come tomorrow we can go to the market and do our own shopping together.

5. If we exercise regularly we will be more healthier. Use of more with comparative degree of healthy is not correct.

6. Neither the teacher nor the student is keen on joining the dance. (Incorrect combination of 'neither – nor')

7. News travels very fast today due to advancement in technology. (News is a plural noun with singular construction.)

8. The Chairman made it clear at the meeting that he would not step down from his position as chairman. (In reported speech will changes to would.)

9. Now we have banks and people deposit their money there and draw it out by cheques. (Incorrect use of 'there' and 'their')

10. Just as he was driving along the road a bus pulled up and the driver asked him if he had seen a briefcase on the road. [In reported speech (indirect speech) has changes to had.]

1. India's problems are not similar to those of other countries in several ways.

2. Lack of winter rains has delayed the sowing of wheat crop in this area. Plural verb 'have' does not agree with singular "Lack of winter rains".

3. The teacher let the boy off with a warning though he was convinced of his guilt (Wrong use of preposition)

4. The Ganges and its tributaries constitute one of the largest river-systems in the world. (it's is the abbreviated form of it is and its is the possessive form of it.).

5. He has been going to the office for a year now and he can't even understand its working. (even follows can, cannot etc. and is placed before if, though, when, so etc.).

6. The sudden change of place affected her health. (wrong use of effect and affect)

7. He boasts of having visited Europe many times but he can neither speak English nor can he speak French. The sentence would be simpler thus - He can speak neither English nor French.

8. Whenever possible, one should avail the opportunity that comes one's way if one wants to achieve sucess in life. Opportunity comes and opportunities come.

9. He had lost a ring in the sand and I helped search for it but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. (Incorrect form of verb)

10. When my friends came to visit us, at the railway station, they left some of their luggage. (Luggage is used in the singular)

1. What sort of a drug is this that no one seems to be able to predict its long-term effects with any certainity. [Subject-verb inversion]

2. The Foreign Minister said there was no use of criticizing the policy of non-alignment which had stood the test of time.

3. You will lose your dog if you do not tie it up.

4. The train should have arrived at 7.30 in the morning but it was almost an hour late.

5. You must either be regular with your studies or study for longer period before the examination.

6. Suppose and if mean the same and one of them is unnecessary.

7. The new tax rates announced by the government are bound to affect the export sector. (Incorrect use of affect and effect)

8. The nation should be grateful to the armed forces for protecting them. (There is no such word as greatful.)

9. These days, job opportunites are not as good as they used to be in the early 70's.

10. We don't discuss about the case in his presence.

1. If he hadn't known what to do, he would have asked us.

2. I would love to be able to swim, if I was not afraid of water.

3. Only when you have your children will you understand how difficult it is.

4. If she goes to the university next year, we will have the house ourselves.

5. I said goodbye to Deepesh but he ignored me completely.

6. If I had been thirsty I would have drunk the lemonade without waiting for you.

7. We had already seen the movie, so we refused and went to the stadium instead.

8. Now was the time to escape and he opened the window and jumped out.

9. The officer is angry with the clerk for completing the job on time.

10. Everyone who was injured in the accident was taken to the hospital.

1. The best way to open a bottle is by putting it into hot water first.

2. No error

3. Electricity companies are working day and night to repair the damage.

4. No error.

5. Two thirds of the book is rubbish.

6. You will be answerable to the court for any lies you have told.

7. She felt terribly anxious about having to sing in front of such a large audience.

8. No error.

9. The fruit can be made into jam.

10. I asked him what he had done.

1. There has been a tornado watch issued for Texas country until eleven O' clock tonight.

2. Although the Red Cross accepts blood from the donors the nurses will not let you give blood, if you have just had cold.

3. A prism is used to refract white light so that it spreads out so that it in a continuous spectrum.

4. Because of the movement of a glacier, the formation of the Great Lakes was very slow.

5. The new model costs twice as much as the last year’s model.

6. Gandhiji always regretted the fact that people gave him adulation while what he wanted was acceptance of his way of life.

7. The party was ousted from power after twelve years.

8. He was held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

9. He has great fascination for each and everything that is connected with drama.

10. No error.

1. No error

2. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested/kept under arrest on several occasions during the freedom struggle.

3. No error

4. I have been frantically trying to find a suitable house in Delhi for the past six months.

5. People are likely to revolt against a government if treated harshly over a long period.

6. Speech is the most valuable among the faculties which man possesses.

7. A large number of people continue to be illiterate in our country.

8. A day later they went shopping in city with a lot of money or lots of money.

9. What are you doing to achieve a first in the annual examinations?

10. No error

1. My friend was habituated to driving the car at very high speed.

2. It being a day of national mourning the offices were closed and the national flag flew half mast.

3. If you want to watch the birds nesting you must not let them see you.

4. He does not listen to what I say, although I have been advising him for a long time.

5. It is very essential for us to reach the station before noon lest we should miss the train.

6. No error.

7. The guards dare not harm him.

8. The Principal looks very worried because students have been on strike for the last fifteen days as a protest against his disciplinary action against some miscreants.

9. The king was embarrassed to find evidence against his own queen.

10. As I prefer coffee to tea my friends always take the trouble to get me a cup of coffee whenever I visit them.

1. No error.

2. He waved us a bye-bye as he boarded the train which disappeared into the tunnel.

3. There was a great deal that had to be scrapped, that must be scrapped; but surely India could not have been what she undoubtedly was, and could not have continued a cultured existence for thousands of years.

4. With regard to interior decoration, it is the attention given to the less overt aspects of using space that give it a life, an identity, a quality that makes it exciting and unusual.

5. No error.

6. His greatest weakness is that he does not listen to anybody and is often blind to his own faults..

7. No error.

8. Spectators of a football match are please when a goal is scored.

9. The whole country will perish if people do not work hard.

10. I know from experience that badminton can be a very exciting game.

1. After mysteriously expanding for decades, Antarctica’s ice cover has started melting.

2. The auction, conducted by the bank, will be price based using multiple price method.

3. If the scheme had been implemented effectively all affected would have benefitted.

4. Government Stock offers safety, liquidity and attractive returns for long duration.

5. Scrolling through my social media timeline, I hovered over a video of a minor road traffic accident.

6. The fascination with gold at least seems to be a case where traditional belief and modern finance would point the same way.

7. Evolutionary biology leaves us distinctly pessimistic about the possibility that altruism can arise naturally among humans.

8. When everything starts working for you, you will find things are achieved and delivered.

9. No error.

10. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, female literacy was extremely low in comparison to male literacy.