Direction: Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error. If there is no error, select 'No error'. Have you ever gone into/ a high-street shop wearing/ a pair of cycling shorts?
No error
Analyzing Grammatical Errors in Sentences
Let's carefully examine the provided sentence to identify any grammatical errors:
"Have you ever gone into/ a high-street shop wearing/ a pair of cycling shorts?"
The sentence is broken down into three segments and the 'No error' option. We will analyze each segment.
Segment 1: Have you ever gone into
- This part uses the present perfect tense ("Have gone") which is appropriate for asking about experiences up to the present time.
- "Ever" is correctly placed between the auxiliary verb "Have" and the past participle "gone".
- "gone into" is a common and correct phrasal verb meaning to enter.
- This segment sets up the interrogative structure correctly.
- Conclusion: This segment appears grammatically sound.
Segment 2: a high-street shop wearing
- "a high-street shop" is a standard noun phrase describing the location.
- "wearing" is a present participle. The phrase "wearing a pair of cycling shorts" functions as a participial phrase modifying the subject ("you") or providing additional context about the situation while entering the shop.
- This construction is grammatically correct for describing a simultaneous action or state. For example, "He stood there smiling" or "She walked away crying". Here, "you went into the shop wearing cycling shorts".
- Conclusion: This segment is also grammatically correct in this context.
Segment 3: a pair of cycling shorts?
- "a pair of" is the correct way to refer to items that come in pairs, such as shorts.
- "cycling shorts" is the noun phrase referring to the specific type of shorts.
- The segment ends with a question mark, which is necessary because the sentence begins with an auxiliary verb ("Have") and is structured as a question.
- Conclusion: This segment is grammatically correct and appropriate for the sentence type.
Overall Sentence Analysis
The entire sentence "Have you ever gone into a high-street shop wearing a pair of cycling shorts?" is a well-formed question in the present perfect tense. It asks about a past experience that has relevance to the present. Each segment, when analyzed individually and in the context of the whole sentence, is grammatically correct.
Since no grammatical error is found in any segment, the correct option is 'No error'.
Revision Table
| Sentence Segment | Grammatical Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Have you ever gone into | Correct | Uses correct present perfect tense for experience. "ever" is placed correctly. |
| a high-street shop wearing | Correct | Participal phrase "wearing..." correctly modifies the subject or context. |
| a pair of cycling shorts? | Correct | Correct noun phrase structure and question punctuation. |
| Complete Sentence | Correct | All parts fit together to form a grammatically valid question. |
Additional Information on Present Perfect Tense and Participal Phrases
The present perfect tense is formed with "have/has" + the past participle of the main verb. It is used to talk about:
- Actions that happened at an unspecified time before now (e.g., I have seen that movie).
- Actions that started in the past and continue to the present (e.g., She has lived here for five years).
- Experiences (like in the sentence above) (e.g., Have you ever visited Paris?).
A participial phrase is a phrase containing a participle (present - ending in -ing; past - ending in -ed or irregular form) and any modifiers or objects. It functions as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun, or sometimes acts adverbially, providing more information about the action or state of the subject.
- Example 1 (Adjectival): The dog, barking loudly, scared the mailman. ("barking loudly" modifies "dog")
- Example 2 (Adverbial/Contextual): He entered the room, carrying a large box. ("carrying a large box" adds detail about his action of entering)
In the given sentence, "wearing a pair of cycling shorts" describes the state or action of "you" while entering the shop, which is a common and correct use of a participial phrase.
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)
