Question 1

Identify the error in the sentence below:

She worked hard not only to earn money (A) but also for gaining (B) recognition in her field. (C) No error (D)

Accepted Answer

The error lies in part (B). The correlative conjunction 'not only...but also' requires parallel structure. The first part uses the infinitive form 'to earn', so the second part must also use the infinitive form 'to gain', not the gerund 'gaining'. The correct form is 'She worked hard not only to earn money but also to gain recognition in her field.'

Question 2

Identify the error in the sentence below:

The committee decided that they would either postpone the meeting (A) or cancel it, (B) and they informed all members (C) about the decision. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error lies in part (B). The correlative conjunction 'either...or' is used, but the structure is incomplete or awkwardly placed. The correct parallel structure should be 'either postpone the meeting or cancel it', which is present. However, the real issue is that 'or cancel it' should maintain parallel structure with 'postpone the meeting'. The sentence is actually correct as written. Upon careful review, there is NO ERROR in this sentence. All conjunctions are used correctly: 'either...or' maintains parallelism, and 'and' correctly joins independent clauses.

Question 3

Identify the error in the sentence below:

Neither the manager nor the employees (A) was willing to accept the new policy, (B) so they decided to meet (C) and discuss the matter further. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error lies in part (A). When using the correlative conjunction 'neither...nor', the verb must agree with the nearest subject. Here, 'employees' (plural) is the nearest subject to the verb, so the verb should be 'were' (plural), not 'was' (singular). The correct form is 'Neither the manager nor the employees were willing to accept the new policy.'

Question 4

Identify the error in the sentence below:

Although he was tired, (A) yet he continued working (B) because he wanted to complete the project (C) and impress his manager. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error lies in part (A). The conjunction 'although' is a subordinating conjunction that already expresses contrast. Using 'yet' (a coordinating conjunction) immediately after creates a redundant and grammatically incorrect construction. In standard English, 'although' should not be paired with 'yet' in the same clause. The correct form would be either 'Although he was tired, he continued working' or 'He was tired, yet he continued working.'

Question 5

Identify the error in the sentence:
The report states that the company will expand its operations (A) wherever there is demand, (B) however the management (C) must ensure that costs remain controlled. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error lies in part (C). The conjunction 'however' is used incorrectly here. 'However' is a conjunctive adverb (transitional word), not a coordinating conjunction, and cannot join two independent clauses with only a comma. This creates a comma splice. The sentence should either use a semicolon before 'however' (The report states...wherever there is demand; however, the management...) or replace 'however' with a coordinating conjunction like 'but' (The report states...wherever there is demand, but the management...). The current punctuation violates the rule of comma splice.

Question 6

Identify the error in the sentence:
Neither the manager nor the employees (A) was willing to compromise, (B) so they decided to seek mediation (C) unless a solution could be found quickly. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error lies in part (C). The conjunction 'unless' is inappropriate here because it introduces a negative conditional clause, which contradicts the context. The sentence states they 'decided to seek mediation unless a solution could be found quickly'—this means they would NOT seek mediation if a solution were found, which is illogical. The correct conjunction should be 'until' (temporal) or 'so that' (purposive), which would mean they seek mediation in order to find a solution.

Question 7

Identify the error in the sentence:
Although he was tired, (A) yet he continued working (B) because he wanted to complete the project (C) before the deadline arrived. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error lies in part (A). The conjunction 'Although' already expresses contrast, so using 'yet' immediately after creates a redundant conjunction pair. In standard English, 'Although' should not be followed by 'yet' in the same clause. The correct form would be either 'Although he was tired, he continued working' or 'He was tired, yet he continued working.' Using both conjunctions violates the rule of conjunction coordination.

IBPS Clerk Conjunctions

Conjunctions— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

Exam-Specific Tips

Conjunctions — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Conjunctions