Question 1

She is one of the students who has scored full marks in the examination. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

The phrase 'one of the students who' requires a plural verb because the relative pronoun 'who' refers to the plural noun 'students', not to 'one'. The correct form is: 'She is one of the students who have scored full marks in the examination.'

Question 2

Despite of the heavy rain, the match was played as scheduled. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

The preposition 'despite' is already complete and does not require the preposition 'of' after it. The correct form is: 'Despite the heavy rain, the match was played as scheduled.' Note: 'In spite of' (with 'of') is correct, but 'despite' (without 'of') is the standard form.

Question 3

The manager insisted on that all employees should attend the meeting. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

The verb 'insist' is followed by the preposition 'on', which must be followed by a gerund (verb + -ing) or a noun, not by a 'that' clause. The correct form is: 'The manager insisted on all employees attending the meeting.' Alternatively: 'The manager insisted that all employees attend the meeting' (without 'on').

Question 4

The principal along with the teachers are planning to organise a cultural programme. Which of the following is the BEST improvement?

Accepted Answer

When a singular subject is followed by a phrase introduced by 'along with', 'together with', or 'as well as', the verb must remain singular because these phrases do not create a compound subject. The correct form is: 'The principal along with the teachers is planning to organise a cultural programme.'

Question 5

The manager insisted that all employees should attend the training session, but few of them was willing to participate.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error in the second clause. The subject 'few of them' is plural (few = plural indefinite pronoun), so it requires the plural verb 'were', not the singular 'was'.

Question 6

The report highlights that the company's revenue has increased significantly, and its market share have also grown in the last quarter.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The subject 'market share' is singular, so it requires the singular verb 'has', not the plural 'have'.

Question 7

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting because of the unexpected circumstances that has arisen recently. Which of the following is the best way to improve this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that can take either singular or plural verb depending on context. In British English, when the committee acts as a unified body, it takes a singular verb 'has'. Additionally, 'circumstances' is plural, so it requires the plural verb 'have', not 'has'.

Question 8

The principal has requested that all staff members be present at the assembly, and he expects that they will adhere to the new attendance policy which has been implemented last month.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a tense error in the relative clause. 'Which has been implemented last month' mixes present perfect with a specific past time marker ('last month'). When a specific past time is mentioned, simple past 'was implemented' should be used instead of present perfect.

Question 9

The report, along with the supporting documents, were submitted to the board yesterday, and it have been reviewed by the finance department since then.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains two errors: (1) 'were' should be 'was' because the subject 'report' is singular; 'along with' is a prepositional phrase that does not affect subject-verb agreement. (2) 'have' should be 'has' because the subject 'it' (referring to 'report') is singular.

Question 10

The manager insisted that every employee submits their report by Friday, regardless of whether they have completed the project or not.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a tense inconsistency in reported speech. After 'insisted that', the verb should be in the subjunctive mood (base form 'submit') to express a demand or requirement, not the indicative 'submits'. Additionally, 'their' is incorrect because 'every employee' is singular and requires 'his or her'.

Question 11

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting, but they was unable to inform all members in time.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a plural verb in British English when the members are acting individually. However, the second clause incorrectly uses 'was' (singular) instead of 'were' (plural) to match the plural verb 'have' used earlier.

IBPS Clerk Sentence Improvement

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Sentence Improvement — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Sentence Improvement