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Question

Directions: item in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c). Read sentence to find out 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 guidance from the mentors (a) / and teachers facilitated the (b) / smooth conduct of elections to the Students' council. (c) / No error (d)

This question was previously asked in
NDA I 2023 GAT Previous Year Paper (16-Apr-2023)
The correct answer is

d

Understanding Grammar Error Identification

This question asks us to identify any grammatical errors within a given sentence that is divided into three parts, labelled (a), (b), and (c). If no error is found in any part, the correct answer is (d).

Let's break down the sentence and analyze each part:

The sentence is: "The guidance from the mentors (a) / and teachers facilitated the (b) / smooth conduct of elections to the Students' council. (c) / No error (d)"

Analysing Part (a): "The guidance from the mentors"

  • The subject of the sentence is "The guidance from the mentors and teachers".
  • In part (a), we see "The guidance from the mentors". "Guidance" is the main noun here, which is singular and uncountable.
  • "from the mentors" is a prepositional phrase modifying "guidance", indicating the source of the guidance.
  • Grammatically, this part appears correct as it sets up the subject phrase.

Analysing Part (b): "and teachers facilitated the"

  • This part continues the subject phrase, adding "and teachers" as another source of the guidance.
  • The full subject phrase is "The guidance from the mentors and teachers".
  • The verb is "facilitated". This is the past tense of "facilitate".
  • The verb "facilitated" agrees with the subject phrase. Even though there are multiple sources (mentors and teachers), the core subject is "guidance" (singular). However, collective subjects or subjects joined by 'and' can sometimes be tricky. In this construction, where 'guidance' is the main noun and 'from X and Y' modifies it, the singular verb 'facilitated' is appropriate.
  • "facilitated the" leads into the object of the verb. This part appears grammatically sound.

Analysing Part (c): "smooth conduct of elections to the Students' council."

  • "smooth conduct" is the direct object of the verb "facilitated". "Conduct" is a noun here, meaning the act or manner of managing something. "smooth" is an adjective modifying "conduct".
  • "of elections" is a prepositional phrase modifying "conduct", specifying what was conducted smoothly.
  • "to the Students' council" is a prepositional phrase modifying "elections", indicating the destination or purpose of the elections.
  • "Students' council" uses the possessive form correct for a council belonging to students (plural).
  • The punctuation (a period) marks the end of the sentence.
  • This part of the sentence appears grammatically correct and structurally sound.

Overall Sentence Analysis

Let's look at the sentence as a whole:

"The guidance from the mentors and teachers facilitated the smooth conduct of elections to the Students' council."

The subject is "The guidance from the mentors and teachers". The main noun is "guidance". The verb is "facilitated" (past tense). The object is "the smooth conduct". The rest are modifiers.

The structure is Subject + Verb + Object + Modifiers. This is a standard sentence structure in English.

There are no obvious errors in subject-verb agreement, tense usage, pronoun reference, parallel structure, or punctuation that are evident in the underlined parts.

Conclusion on Grammar Error

Based on the analysis of parts (a), (b), and (c), the sentence appears to be grammatically correct with no errors in the underlined sections. Therefore, the correct option is (d), indicating 'No error'.

Part Text Analysis Error?
(a) The guidance from the mentors Subject phrase initiation; "guidance" is the key noun. No
(b) and teachers facilitated the Completion of subject phrase and introduction of the verb "facilitated". No
(c) smooth conduct of elections to the Students' council. Object and modifying phrases, correct possessive use. No
(d) No error Indicates the absence of errors in (a), (b), and (c). N/A

Final Answer Derivation

Since no grammatical error was identified in parts (a), (b), or (c), the correct response is (d).

Revision Table: Key Grammar Concepts

Concept Explanation Relevance to Question
Subject-Verb Agreement Singular subjects take singular verbs (usually ending in -s in present tense); plural subjects take plural verbs. Past tense verbs generally don't change form for singular/plural. Checked agreement of "facilitated" with the subject phrase "The guidance...".
Prepositional Phrases Phrases starting with a preposition (e.g., from, of, to) and ending with a noun or pronoun. They often function as adjectives or adverbs. "from the mentors", "of elections", "to the Students' council" were identified as prepositional phrases. They modify other parts of the sentence and do not typically contain the main verb or core subject noun.
Possessives Using apostrophes ('s or s') to show ownership or relation. "Students' council" shows the council belongs to the students. Checked the correct usage of the possessive form "Students'".

Additional Information: Sentence Structure Basics

Understanding basic sentence structure is crucial for identifying grammar errors. A simple English sentence typically includes a subject (who or what the sentence is about) and a predicate (what the subject does or is).

  • Subject: Can be a single noun or pronoun, or a phrase (like a noun phrase).
  • Predicate: Includes the verb and often the object(s) and modifiers.
  • Verb: Shows the action or state of being of the subject.
  • Object: The noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb (direct object) or is indirectly affected (indirect object).
  • Modifiers: Words or phrases (adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, clauses) that provide more information about other parts of the sentence.

In our sentence, "The guidance from the mentors and teachers" is the subject, and "facilitated the smooth conduct of elections to the Students' council" is the predicate. Identifying these core components helps in checking for issues like subject-verb agreement or misplaced modifiers.

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