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Question

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).

India's strengths are  (a) / its diversity of culture and (b) / the spirit of tolerance in it's people.(c) / No error (d)

This question was previously asked in
NDA I 2022 GAT Previous Year Paper (10-Apr-2022)
The correct answer is

c

Understanding Grammar Errors in Sentences

Let's carefully examine the given sentence to identify any grammatical errors. The sentence is divided into three parts, labelled (a), (b), and (c). We need to check each part for errors.

The sentence is: "India's strengths are (a) / its diversity of culture and (b) / the spirit of tolerance in it's people.(c) / No error (d)"

Analysing Part (a): India's strengths are

This part says "India's strengths are".

  • "India's" is the possessive form of India, indicating something belonging to India. This is correctly used.
  • "strengths" is a plural noun, referring to multiple strengths.
  • "are" is the plural form of the verb "to be", which agrees with the plural subject "strengths".

Part (a) appears to be grammatically correct.

Analysing Part (b): its diversity of culture and

This part says "its diversity of culture and".

  • "its" is a possessive pronoun. It refers back to India and shows that the diversity belongs to India. This is the correct possessive form.
  • "diversity of culture" is a noun phrase describing one of India's strengths.

Part (b) also appears to be grammatically correct.

Analysing Part (c): the spirit of tolerance in it's people.

This part says "the spirit of tolerance in it's people."

  • "the spirit of tolerance" is a noun phrase.
  • "in it's people" refers to where the spirit of tolerance is found.
  • The word used here is "it's". The word "it's" is a contraction, meaning "it is" or "it has".
  • We need a word here that shows possession by "people". The spirit of tolerance is in the people belonging to India. The possessive pronoun for "it" is "its".

Therefore, "it's" is incorrectly used. It should be the possessive pronoun "its" to indicate possession by India's people (or simply the people being discussed in the context of India). The phrase should be "in its people".

Identifying the Error and Correcting Part (c)

The error is in part (c), where "it's" is used instead of "its".

The corrected phrase for part (c) would be: the spirit of tolerance in its people.

Concluding the Analysis

Based on the analysis, there is an error in part (c).

Let's summarise the parts and their correctness:

Part Text Analysis Error?
(a) India's strengths are Possessive 'India's', plural subject 'strengths', plural verb 'are' - Correct agreement. No
(b) its diversity of culture and Possessive pronoun 'its' referring to India, phrase structure - Correct. No
(c) the spirit of tolerance in it's people. 'it's' (it is/it has) used instead of the possessive pronoun 'its'. Yes
(d) No error Applicable if no error is found in (a), (b), or (c). No (since error found)

Since an error is found in part (c), option (d) "No error" is incorrect.

Revision Table: Common Grammar Errors

Error Type Example of Error Correction Explanation
Subject-Verb Agreement He walk to the park. He walks to the park. Singular subject (He) needs a singular verb (walks).
Pronoun Agreement Everyone should bring their book. Everyone should bring his or her book. (or rephrase) 'Everyone' is singular, needs a singular pronoun.
Apostrophe Use (Possession vs. Contraction) The dog wagged it's tail. The dog wagged its tail. 'it's' means 'it is' or 'it has'. 'its' is the possessive pronoun.
Misplaced Modifiers I saw a man with a telescope on the hill. On the hill, I saw a man with a telescope. (or I saw a man on the hill with a telescope) Phrase 'on the hill' should clearly modify what is on the hill.

Additional Information: Understanding 'Its' vs. 'It's'

The confusion between 'its' and 'it's' is very common. Here's a simple breakdown:

  • Its: This is a possessive pronoun. It means "belonging to it". It is used like 'his', 'her', 'your', 'our', 'their'. For example:
    • The dog chased its tail. (The tail belonging to the dog)
    • The company is proud of its employees. (The employees belonging to the company)
  • It's: This is a contraction of two words:
    • It is: For example: It's a sunny day. (It is a sunny day.)
    • It has: For example: It's been a long time. (It has been a long time.)

A simple test is to try replacing "it's" with "it is" or "it has". If the sentence still makes sense, "it's" is correct. If it doesn't make sense, you likely need the possessive "its".

In the original sentence, "the spirit of tolerance in it's people", if we replace "it's" with "it is", we get "the spirit of tolerance in it is people", which doesn't make sense. If we replace it with "it has", we get "the spirit of tolerance in it has people", which also doesn't make sense. Therefore, the possessive 'its' is required.

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Similar Questions

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Important Questions from Error Spotting

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