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Question

Each of the following sentences is divided into four parts (a), (b), (c) and (d). Some of the sentences have errors in one part and some have none. Find out which part of the sentence has an error.

He explained to the government why (a)/ the manufacturing of cars (b)/ have stopped in his new factory. (c)/ No error(d)

The correct answer is

(c)

Identifying the Grammatical Error

The question asks us to find the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error. The sentence is divided into four parts: (a), (b), (c), and (d).

Analyzing Each Part for Errors

Let's examine each part of the sentence to identify any potential grammatical error.

  • (a) He explained to the government why
    This part sets up the action and the recipient. "Explained to someone" is a correct structure in English. The conjunction "why" introduces a subordinate clause that explains the reason. This part seems grammatically correct.
  • (b) the manufacturing of cars
    This is the subject phrase of the subordinate clause introduced by "why". The main noun in this phrase is "manufacturing". "Manufacturing" is a gerund acting as a noun here, and it is singular. The phrase "of cars" modifies "manufacturing" but does not change the singular nature of the subject "manufacturing". This part is grammatically correct.
  • (c) have stopped in his new factory.
    This part contains the verb related to the subject phrase in part (b). The subject, as identified in part (b), is "the manufacturing of cars", where "manufacturing" is the singular head noun. In English grammar, a singular subject requires a singular verb. The verb used here is "have stopped", which is a plural form of the verb "to stop" in the present perfect tense. The singular form would be "has stopped". Therefore, there is a subject-verb agreement error in this part.
  • (d) No error
    Since we have identified a grammatical error in part (c), this option is incorrect.

Understanding the Subject-Verb Agreement Error

The core issue in this sentence is subject-verb agreement. The subject is "the manufacturing of cars". The head noun of this subject phrase is "manufacturing", which is singular. The verb must agree with the subject in number.

  • Singular subject: "manufacturing"
  • Required verb form: Singular (e.g., "has stopped")
  • Verb used: "have stopped" (Plural form)

The correct verb form to agree with the singular subject "manufacturing" is "has stopped". The sentence should read: "He explained to the government why the manufacturing of cars has stopped in his new factory." This correction ensures proper subject-verb agreement, fixing the grammatical error.

Identifying this type of grammatical error is crucial for sentence correction exercises. Understanding the rules of English grammar helps in spotting such issues easily, whether dealing with manufacturing details or other subjects.

Conclusion on the Grammatical Error

Based on the analysis, the grammatical error is located in part (c) of the sentence, specifically concerning the verb "have stopped" which should be "has stopped" to agree with the singular subject "manufacturing". This is a classic case of subject-verb agreement problem in English grammar.

Therefore, the part of the sentence with the error is (c).

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Important Questions from Error Spotting

  1. 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)
  2. 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)
  3. 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).

    Every person who believes in principles (a) / must stand up to fight  (b) /  for their convictions . (c) / No error (d)
  4. 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)
  5. 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)
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