Question 1

The committee (A) have decided (B) to postpone the meeting (C) until next week. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in Indian English. The correct form should be 'has decided' not 'have decided'. In British and Indian English, collective nouns like committee, team, and group are treated as singular units and require singular verbs.

Question 2

Neither the teacher nor the students (A) was (B) aware of the change (C) in the schedule (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When 'neither...nor' connects subjects, the verb agrees with the nearest subject. Here, 'students' (plural) is nearest to the verb, so it should be 'were' not 'was'.

Question 3

The students are required (A) to submit their assignments (B) before the deadline, (C) but few of them does so. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (D). The subject 'few of them' is plural and requires the plural verb 'do', not the singular verb 'does'. The correct form should be 'few of them do so'. The word 'few' is an indefinite pronoun that is always plural and takes plural verbs.

Question 4

The data (A) shows that the number of applicants (B) have increased (C) significantly this year (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). 'The number of applicants' is a singular noun phrase (the head noun is 'number', which is singular), so it requires a singular verb 'has' not 'have'. Note: 'data' can be singular or plural in modern usage, but 'number' is always singular.

Question 5

Identify the error in the following sentence:

Neither the manager nor the employees (A) / was happy with (B) / the new working hours (C) / No error (D)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When a compound subject is joined by 'neither...nor', the verb must agree with the nearest subject. Here, 'employees' (plural) is nearest to the verb, so the correct verb form should be 'were' instead of 'was'. The sentence should read: 'Neither the manager nor the employees were happy with the new working hours.' This tests the rule of subject-verb agreement with correlative conjunctions.

Question 6

She is one of the students who (A) has completed (B) the project (C) on time. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). The relative pronoun 'who' refers to 'students' (plural), not 'one', so the verb should be plural 'have completed' not singular 'has completed'. The rule is: in 'one of the + plural noun + who' constructions, the verb agrees with the plural noun, not 'one'.

Question 7

The manager along with his team (A) are planning (B) to launch a new product (C) in the market next month. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When a singular subject is followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with 'along with', the verb must agree with the main subject, which is 'manager' (singular). The correct form should be 'is planning', not 'are planning'. The phrase 'along with his team' is additional information and does not change the number of the main subject.

Question 8

She has been working (A) in this office (B) for the last five years (C) and she have not received (D) a promotion yet. (E) No error

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (D). The subject 'she' is singular and requires the singular auxiliary verb 'has', not 'have'. The correct form should be 'she has not received'. This is a straightforward subject-verb agreement error where the plural verb 'have' is incorrectly paired with the singular pronoun 'she'.

Question 9

The manager asked him to submit the report (A) by the end of (B) the day, but he (C) have not submitted it yet. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (D). The pronoun 'he' is singular, so the verb should be 'has not submitted' not 'have not submitted'. The auxiliary verb must agree with the singular subject 'he'. This is a straightforward subject-verb agreement error.

Question 10

Neither the manager nor the employees (A) was willing (B) to accept (C) the new salary structure. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When 'neither...nor' connects subjects, the verb agrees with the nearest subject. Here, 'employees' (plural) is nearest to the verb, so it should be 'were willing' not 'was willing'. The rule is: with 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.

Question 11

The data (A) shows that the number of students (B) have increased (C) significantly this year (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). 'Data' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in modern Indian English. Additionally, 'the number of students' is also singular and requires a singular verb 'has increased' not 'have increased'. The correct form is 'has increased'. Rule: 'The number of' always takes a singular verb, and 'data' is treated as singular in contemporary usage.

Question 12

Neither the principal nor the teachers (A) was present (B) at the meeting (C) yesterday evening (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When using 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearest noun. Here, 'teachers' (plural) is nearest to the verb, so the verb should be plural 'were' not singular 'was'. The correct form is 'were present'. Rule: With 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.

Question 13

The manager asked (A) the employees (B) to submit their reports (C) by next Friday (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

There is no error in this sentence. All parts are grammatically correct. (A) 'asked' is the correct past tense verb. (B) 'the employees' is the correct object. (C) 'to submit their reports' is the correct infinitive construction after 'asked'. (D) 'by next Friday' is the correct prepositional phrase indicating a deadline. The answer is 'No error'.

Question 14

She has been working (A) in this organisation (B) since five years (C) and she is very satisfied (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). The phrase 'since five years' is incorrect. When using 'since' with a duration of time, we should use 'for' instead. The correct form is 'for five years'. 'Since' is used with a point in time (since 2019, since Monday), while 'for' is used with a duration (for five years, for two months).

Question 15

The committee (A) have decided (B) to implement the new policy (C) across all departments next month (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in Indian English. The correct form should be 'has decided' not 'have decided'. In British and Indian English, collective nouns like committee, team, group are treated as singular units and require singular verbs.

Question 16

The committee (A) have decided (B) to postpone the meeting (C) until next week (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in Indian English. The correct form should be 'has decided' not 'have decided'. In British and Indian English, collective nouns are treated as singular units.

Question 17

Neither the teacher nor the students (A) was present (B) at the assembly (C) yesterday morning. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). When 'neither...nor' connects two subjects, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. Here, 'students' (plural) is closest to the verb, so the correct form should be 'were present', not 'was present'. The rule is: with 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

Question 18

The teacher explained the concept (A) in a clear manner (B) so that all students (C) could understand it easily. (D) No error (E)

Accepted Answer

There is no error in this sentence. All parts are grammatically correct: (A) 'explained the concept' uses correct verb-object structure, (B) 'in a clear manner' is a correct prepositional phrase, (C) 'all students could understand' shows correct subject-verb agreement with the modal verb 'could', and (D) 'it easily' is correct pronoun and adverb usage. The answer is 'No error'.

Question 19

She is one of the few employees (A) who has / (B) who have / (C) which has / (D) that has completed the project on time. No error

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (A). The relative pronoun 'who' refers to 'employees' (plural), so the verb must be plural: 'have', not 'has'.

Question 20

The report, (A) which was submitted / (B) that was submitted / (C) being submitted / (D) having submitted last week, contained several important recommendations. No error

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (D). The phrase 'having submitted' is incorrect because it suggests the report itself submitted something, which is illogical. The correct form is 'which was submitted' (passive voice, part A), indicating the report was submitted by someone.

RPF Sub-Inspector Correct / Incorrect Sentences

Correct / Incorrect Sentences— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

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Correct / Incorrect Sentences — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Correct / Incorrect Sentences