SPI English · Spotting Errors
Sentences with No Error
When every check passes, the answer is No error; mark it with confidence instead of inventing a mistake.
Why this matters
Seven of the 33 questions in the bank have No error as the key, five of them on this page and one from the 2022 paper. One is EASY and four are MODERATE here: they are hard because the sentence looks unusual, not because it is wrong.
Concept 1 of 2: Run the checks in order, then trust the result
A spotting-errors question allows for no error at all, and the bank uses that answer often. If you run the same checks on every sentence and none of them finds a fault, choose No error. Do not hunt for something because you feel a question must have an answer among the first parts.
Definition
The checklist, in the order these pages teach it:
- Verb: does it agree with its subject? Is it a full verb, and passive where the subject is acted on? Is the form after words like 'enjoy' or 'decide' right?
- Tense: does each verb match the time word? Are 'if' sentences and reported questions built correctly?
- Preposition: does each word have its own preposition, and no extra one?
- Small words: who or whom, one comparing form, the right partner for 'no sooner' or 'though', and words that make sense.
- If all four checks pass, the answer is No error.
Worked example
Find the part with the error. (a) The children were playing (b) in the garden when (c) it began to rain. (d) No error
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionModerate
Example 1 · Spotting Errors · Sentences with No Error
Find the error: Jayesh is getting fatter because he does not take exercise at all.
No error is a real answer
In this bank, about one question in five has No error as its key. Choosing a part only because 'there must be a mistake' throws away a mark you had earned.
Different is not wrong
A sentence you would have written another way can still be correct. Mark a part only when you can name the rule it breaks.
Concept 2 of 2: Correct English that looks wrong
The No error questions in the bank use English that looks odd at first: a long sentence, an old idiom, or a pattern you may not have met. These forms are correct, so learn them and do not mark them as errors.
Definition
Forms that are correct:
- Double possessive: 'a friend of mine', 'a cousin of Ravi's'. Both 'of' and the 's are right together.
- A phrase set off by commas inside a sentence: 'He left home and, holding a bag, walked to the bus.'
- Someone, everyone, nobody take a singular verb: 'Someone has left a bag.'
- Idioms keep their own meaning: 'feet of clay' is a hidden weakness in a person others admire.
- It is well to do something: an older, formal way of saying it is wise to do it.
| Correct form | Why it is right | Example |
|---|---|---|
| double possessive | standard English | She is a friend of my father's. |
| a phrase set off by commas | the commas mark extra information | She went out and, holding an umbrella, crossed the road. |
| someone, everyone, nobody | singular, so the verb takes -s | Nobody knows the answer. |
| feet of clay | an idiom: a hidden weakness in an admired person | The hero turned out to have feet of clay. |
| it is well to | formal for 'it is wise to' | It is well to check the map first. |
If an unusual form appears in an otherwise clean sentence, ask whether it is one of these before you mark it.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
SPI · 2022 · SPI Entrance Examination 2022 · Q138Moderate
Example 2 · Spotting Errors · Sentences with No Error
Spot the error in the given sentence in each of the next five questions. The sentence is divided into three parts. These are indicated by [a], [b] and [c]. One of these three parts may contain an error. You need to identify that particular part and mark your answer accordingly. If there is no error then mark [d].
[a] One day, they left their native village and carrying their few possessions,
[b] set up home in a hut placed at their disposal by an uncle of Harkwar's, in a
[c] village three miles from the cantonment of Ranikhet.
A long sentence is not a wrong sentence
A sentence from a story can run over three long parts with commas and extra phrases. Length alone is never an error; check each part with the same four checks.
Someone and everyone are singular
They talk about people, so they feel plural, but they take a singular verb: 'Everyone has arrived', not 'Everyone have arrived'.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (1)
Correct English that looks wrong5 rows
| Correct form | Why it is right | Example |
|---|---|---|
| double possessive | standard English | She is a friend of my father's. |
| a phrase set off by commas | the commas mark extra information | She went out and, holding an umbrella, crossed the road. |
| someone, everyone, nobody | singular, so the verb takes -s | Nobody knows the answer. |
| feet of clay | an idiom: a hidden weakness in an admired person | The hero turned out to have feet of clay. |
| it is well to | formal for 'it is wise to' | It is well to check the map first. |
If an unusual form appears in an otherwise clean sentence, ask whether it is one of these before you mark it.
Watch out for (4)
- No error is a real answer→ Run the checks in order, then trust the result
- Different is not wrong→ Run the checks in order, then trust the result
- A long sentence is not a wrong sentence→ Correct English that looks wrong
- Someone and everyone are singular→ Correct English that looks wrong
Test yourself on a real paper
Sit a past SPI paper, timed and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.