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).
c
Analyzing the Sentence for Grammar Errors
The question asks us to identify if there is a grammatical error in any of the underlined parts of the sentence: "Every person who believes in principles (a) / must stand up to fight (b) / for their convictions . (c) / No error (d)". We need to examine each part carefully.
Examining Part (a): "Every person who believes in principles"
- The phrase starts with "Every person," which is treated as a singular subject.
- The relative pronoun "who" refers back to "Every person".
- The verb "believes" agrees in number with the singular antecedent "who" (and "Every person").
- "in principles" is a standard prepositional phrase.
- There is no grammatical error in part (a).
Examining Part (b): "must stand up to fight"
- "must stand up" is a correct construction using the modal verb "must" followed by the base form of the verb "stand up".
- "to fight" is an infinitive phrase used correctly here to indicate the purpose of standing up.
- There is no grammatical error in part (b).
Examining Part (c): "for their convictions"
- This part contains the possessive pronoun "their".
- The pronoun "their" refers back to the subject of the sentence, which is "Every person".
- "Every person" is a singular noun phrase.
- The pronoun "their" is a plural possessive pronoun.
- According to traditional grammar rules regarding pronoun-antecedent agreement, a singular antecedent (like "Every person") requires a singular pronoun.
- Using the plural pronoun "their" to refer to the singular antecedent "Every person" is a grammatical error in formal contexts.
- The pronoun should agree in number with its antecedent. A singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun (like "his", "her", or "his or her").
- Therefore, the use of "their" in this context is incorrect. It should ideally be "his or her convictions".
Analyzing the Error
Based on the analysis, the error lies in part (c) due to the incorrect pronoun-antecedent agreement. The singular subject "Every person" is referred to by the plural possessive pronoun "their".
Since there is an error in part (c), option (d) "No error" is incorrect.
Identifying the Correct Answer
The error is found in part (c) of the sentence.
| Part | Sentence Fragment | Analysis | Error? |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) | Every person who believes in principles | Subject "Every person" (singular), verb "believes" agrees. | No |
| (b) | must stand up to fight | Correct use of modal verb and infinitive. | No |
| (c) | for their convictions | Pronoun "their" (plural) refers to "Every person" (singular). Pronoun-antecedent agreement error. | Yes |
| (d) | No error | Incorrect as there is an error in (c). | No |
The correct option indicating the part with the error is (c).
Revision Table: Key Grammar Concepts
| Concept | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement | A pronoun must agree in number (and gender) with the noun or pronoun it refers to (its antecedent). If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun should be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun should be plural. | Incorrect: Every student brought their book. Correct: Every student brought his or her book. Correct: All students brought their books. |
| Singular Indefinite Pronouns/Adjectives | Words like "each," "every," "everyone," "everybody," "anyone," "anybody," "someone," "somebody," "no one," "nobody" are grammatically singular. | Each of the students Everybody is here. No one has finished. |
Additional Information on Pronoun Agreement
The issue of using "their" as a singular pronoun is a topic of ongoing discussion and evolution in English grammar. While traditionally considered incorrect in formal writing when referring to a singular antecedent of indeterminate gender (like "every person"), its use is becoming increasingly common and accepted in informal contexts and even some formal ones as a gender-neutral option.
However, in many standardized grammar tests that follow traditional rules, using a plural pronoun like "their" with a singular antecedent like "every person," "each student," or "someone" is marked as an error in pronoun-antecedent agreement. The expectation in such tests is often the use of "his or her," "his," or "her" depending on context or convention.
In this specific sentence and format (common in error identification questions), the mismatch between the singular "Every person" and the plural "their" is the intended error based on traditional grammar rules.
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 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)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).
Failure is the stepping stone to success; (a) / however, successive failures are not (b) / successive stepping stones to success. (c) / No error (d)
