Grammar: Identifying Incorrect Sentences
This question tests the correct usage of articles ('a' and 'an') in English sentences, specifically concerning words that begin with a vowel letter but have a consonant sound.
Article Usage Rules
- Use 'an' before words that begin with a vowel sound (e.g., an apple, an hour).
- Use 'a' before words that begin with a consonant sound (e.g., a book, a car).
- The choice between 'a' and 'an' depends on the sound of the word's beginning, not just the letter itself. For instance, 'university' and 'European' begin with a 'y' sound, which is a consonant sound, requiring the article 'a'.
Sentence Analysis
- Sentence 1: $He is of Asian origin.$ is grammatically correct. 'Asian' functions as an adjective describing origin.
- Sentence 2: $They belonged to Africa.$ is grammatically correct. The preposition 'to' is correctly used with 'belonged' to indicate geographical association.
- Sentence 3: $She is an European.$ is grammatically incorrect. The word 'European' starts with a consonant sound ('y' sound). Therefore, the correct article to use is 'a', not 'an'. The sentence should be: $She is a European.$
- Sentence 4: $They migrated from India to Australia.$ is grammatically correct. The prepositions 'from' and 'to' are correctly used to indicate the direction of migration.
Conclusion
The grammatically incorrect sentence is the one that misuses the article before a word starting with a consonant sound.
Important Questions from Error Spotting
The following question has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response against the corresponding letter i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
It is identification with the audience(a)that makes one come home from the play so much more(b)satisfied than one ever is after merely passive enjoyment of the show.(c) No error.(d)
The following question has a sentence with four parts labelled (a), (b), (c), and (d). Read each sentence to find out whether there is an error in any part and indicate your response against the corresponding letter i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
CV Raman was one of the greatest sons of India (a) who has earned everlasting fame (b) for scientific researches. (c) No error. (d)
The following question has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response against the corresponding letter i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
This box(a)is heavy than(b) the other one.(c) No error. (d)
The following question has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response against the corresponding letter i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
Thewriter does not have the freedom (a) to choose his own themes, (b) society thrusts them on him (c) No error. (d)
The following question has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to find out whether there is an error in any underlined part and indicate your response against the corresponding letter i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
No one knows (a) why he did it, (b) or who was behind his doing it.(c) No error. (d)
