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Question

Find the part of the sentence that contains an error:
The protest, though peaceful in nature, (1)/ were portrayed by official channels (2)/ as instigated by external forces (3)/ and ideologically driven groups. (4)

This question was previously asked in
SSC CGL 2025 Tier 1 Question Paper (25-Sep-2025) (Shift 3)
The correct answer is

(2)

Identifying Sentence Errors

The sentence contains a grammatical error related to subject-verb agreement.

Error Analysis

The error is located in part (2) of the sentence: "were portrayed".

The subject of the sentence is "The protest". This is a singular noun.

The verb used is "were portrayed". "Were" is a plural verb form.

According to the rule of subject-verb agreement, a singular subject must take a singular verb.

Therefore, the plural verb "were" is incorrect and should be replaced with the singular verb "was".

Corrected Sentence Fragment

The corrected part should read: "...was portrayed..."

Grammar Rule: Subject-Verb Agreement

  • The main subject of the sentence is "The protest" (singular).
  • The verb must agree in number with the subject.
  • The verb "were portrayed" is plural and does not agree with the singular subject "The protest".
  • The correct verb form is "was portrayed".

The error lies in using the plural verb "were" with the singular subject "The protest".

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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)
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    Every person who believes in principles (a) / must stand up to fight  (b) /  for their convictions . (c) / No error (d)
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    The principal of the school (a) /  stressed the need for discipline (b) /  amongst the students. (c) / No error (d)
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