Identify the segment which contains the grammatical error. Great many students who are good at other subjects perform poorly in English.
Great many students
Identifying and Correcting Grammatical Errors
Let's analyze the given sentence to identify the grammatical error: "Great many students who are good at other subjects perform poorly in English." We need to examine each segment provided in the options.
Analyzing the Sentence Segments
The sentence consists of several parts:
- The subject phrase: "Great many students"
- A relative clause modifying "students": "who are good at other subjects"
- The verb phrase: "perform poorly"
- The prepositional phrase indicating the area: "in English"
We will look at each option to see if it contains an error.
Examining Option 1: Great many students
The phrase is "Great many students". In standard English, when we use "great many" to mean "a large number", it is an idiomatic expression that requires the indefinite article 'a' before 'great'. The correct phrase is "A great many". Therefore, the segment "Great many students" contains a grammatical error because the article 'a' is missing.
Examining Option 2: in English
The phrase "in English" is a prepositional phrase indicating the subject area where the students perform poorly. This usage is grammatically correct.
Examining Option 3: who are good at
The phrase "who are good at" is part of the relative clause "who are good at other subjects". This clause correctly modifies "students" (people, hence 'who') and uses the correct idiom "good at" followed by the subject "other subjects". This segment is grammatically correct.
Examining Option 4: perform poorly
The phrase "perform poorly" describes how the students perform in English. "Perform" is the verb, and "poorly" is an adverb modifying the verb, indicating the manner of performance. This structure is grammatically correct.
Identifying the Grammatical Error
Based on the analysis, the segment containing the grammatical error is "Great many students" due to the missing article 'a'.
The Corrected Sentence
The grammatically correct sentence should be: "A great many students who are good at other subjects perform poorly in English."
| Segment | Grammatical Status | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Great many students | Incorrect | Should be "A great many students". The article 'a' is missing before "great many". |
| in English | Correct | Correct usage of preposition "in" for a subject. |
| who are good at | Correct | Correct relative pronoun "who" for people and correct idiom "good at". |
| perform poorly | Correct | Correct use of adverb "poorly" to modify the verb "perform". |
Revision Table: Common Determiner Errors
| Incorrect Usage | Correct Usage | Rule/Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Great many + countable noun | A great many + countable noun | "A great many" is a fixed phrase meaning "a large number". |
| Many a students | Many a student | "Many a" is followed by a singular countable noun and a singular verb. |
| A number of student | A number of students | "A number of" is followed by a plural countable noun and a plural verb. |
Additional Information: Quantifiers with Countable Nouns
Quantifiers are words or phrases that are used before nouns to indicate the amount or quantity. With plural countable nouns like "students", we use various quantifiers. Understanding these can help identify similar grammar errors.
- Many: Used with plural countable nouns (e.g., many books, many students).
- A lot of / Lots of: Can be used with both plural countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., a lot of students, a lot of water).
- Several: Used with plural countable nouns (e.g., several ideas, several students).
- A large number of: Similar in meaning to "a great many", used with plural countable nouns (e.g., a large number of people, a large number of students).
- Few / A few: Used with plural countable nouns. "Few" means not many (negative sense), "a few" means some (positive sense) (e.g., few opportunities, a few friends).
The phrase "a great many" is a specific idiom that functions like "a large number of" and is used exclusively with plural countable nouns, always requiring the article 'a' at the beginning.
Important Questions from Error Spotting
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)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)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)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)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)
