(a) The officer marvelled
(b) at the low attendance
(c) remarking on the presence of less than twenty people at work.
(d) No error
Grammar Error Analysis in Sentence Correction
The question asks us to identify a grammatical error in the given sentence. We need to examine the three underlined parts of the sentence: (a) "The officer marvelled", (b) "at the low attendance", and (c) "remarking on the presence of less than twenty people at work.". We must determine if any of these parts contain an error.
Understanding Quantifiers: Less vs. Fewer
The key to solving this question lies in understanding the correct usage of quantifiers like "less" and "fewer".
- Fewer: This is used when referring to things you can count individually (countable nouns). For example, fewer chairs, fewer books, fewer mistakes, fewer people.
- Less: This is typically used for quantities that cannot be counted (uncountable nouns). For example, less water, less sugar, less time, less effort.
Step-by-Step Sentence Analysis
- Part (a): "The officer marvelled" - This part is grammatically correct. The verb "marvelled" is appropriate here.
- Part (b): "at the low attendance" - This phrase is also grammatically correct. "Attendance" is used correctly in this context.
- Part (c): "remarking on the presence of less than twenty people at work." - This part contains the error. "People" is a countable noun. Therefore, we should use "fewer" instead of "less" when quantifying the number of people. The correct phrasing should be "fewer than twenty people".
Identifying the Error
The error is in part (c) because it uses "less" with a countable noun ("people"). The correct quantifier for countable nouns is "fewer".
Corrected Sentence
The corrected sentence would read: "The officer marvelled at the low attendance remarking on the presence of fewer than twenty people at work."
Conclusion
Based on the analysis, the underlined part (c) contains the grammatical error related to the misuse of "less" instead of "fewer".
Important Questions from Error Spotting
Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
A honest mistake (a) / is no more than that; (b) / just an honest mistake. (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
A company of five thousand soldiers , (a) / having marched tirelessly for over five days , (b) / have just moved into their cantonment . (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
Every person who believes in principles (a) / must stand up to fight (b) / for their convictions . (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
The Olympic Games reflects(a) / the highest spirit of (b) / human endeavour and achievement . (c) / No error (d)Direction: Each item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c) Read each sentence to determine whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter, i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
The principal of the school (a) / stressed the need for discipline (b) / amongst the students. (c) / No error (d)
