SPOTTING ERRORS (PART II)

 

SPOTTING ERRORS (PART II)

 

7. Sentences are always opposite to question tags, for example, if the question tag is positive then the sentence is negative and vice versa.

It’s a bit early, is it? (Incorrect)

It’s a bit early, isn’t it? (Correct)

 

8. Instead of ‘who’ or ‘which’, the relative pronoun ‘that’ is used after adjectives in the superlative degree.

These are the best which he could get. (Incorrect)

These are the best that he could get. (Correct)

 

9. ‘As’ is used both before and after the adjective to show equality.

I can write as fast, if not faster than her. (Incorrect)

I can write as fast as, if not faster than her. (Correct)

 

10. ‘Though’ is always followed by ‘yet’ in a sentence and not by ‘but’. Thus,

Though he is rich but he is kind. (Incorrect)

Though he is rich, yet he is kind. (Correct)

 

11. ‘Not’ is never used with ‘unless’ as ‘unless’ expresses a condition that is always used in the negative sense. Thus,

Unless you do not pay the fine, you will not be excused. (Incorrect)

Unless you pay the fine, you will not be excused. (Correct)

 

12. ‘While’ implies a time duration of doing something and ‘When’ denotes a general sense. Thus,

When learning how to box, the technique is of utmost importance. (Incorrect)

While learning how to box, the technique is of utmost importance. (Correct)

 

AUTHOR

Dr L Suresh

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore - 641020

Contact: 9944138137

e-mail ID: sureshenglit@rmv.ac.in