The given sentence is divided into four segments. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error. When it / come to football, / my brother is / an addict.
come to football,
Identifying Grammatical Errors in Sentence Segments
The question asks us to find the part of the given sentence that contains a grammatical error. Let's look at the sentence divided into its four segments:
Sentence: When it / come to football, / my brother is / an addict.
Let's examine each segment carefully to check for any grammatical issues, focusing on subject-verb agreement, tense, articles, and other common errors.
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Segment 1: When it
This segment introduces a clause and uses the pronoun "it." This part seems grammatically correct in setting up the context.
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Segment 2: come to football,
This segment contains the verb "come." The subject of the clause is "it" from the previous segment ("When it..."). The pronoun "it" is singular. In the present tense, a singular subject like "it" requires the verb to end in "-s" or "-es" (third person singular). Therefore, "come" should be "comes" to agree with the singular subject "it." This segment contains the grammatical error.
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Segment 3: my brother is
This segment contains the subject "my brother" (singular) and the verb "is" (singular form of "to be"). The subject and verb agree in number. This segment is grammatically correct.
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Segment 4: an addict.
This segment contains the article "an" followed by the noun "addict." The article "an" is correctly used before a word starting with a vowel sound ("addict"). This segment is grammatically correct.
Based on the analysis, the error is in the second segment, "come to football," due to incorrect subject-verb agreement.
The corrected sentence would be: When it comes to football, my brother is an addict.
Analyzing Subject-Verb Agreement in English
Subject-verb agreement means that the verb in a sentence must match the number (singular or plural) of the subject. Here are some key rules:
| Subject | Verb (Present Tense Example) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Singular subject (e.g., I, you, he, she, it, a cat) | Base verb + -s/-es (except for I and you) | The singular subject requires the third person singular form of the verb. Example: It comes, He runs, She eats. |
| Plural subject (e.g., we, you, they, cats) | Base verb | The plural subject requires the base form of the verb. Example: They come, We run, Cats eat. |
Revision Table: Key Grammar Concepts
| Grammar Concept | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject-Verb Agreement | Verbs must agree in number with their subjects. Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. | Correct: She walks. They walk. Incorrect: She walk. They walks. |
| Pronoun Usage | Pronouns (like it, he, she, they) must refer clearly to a noun and agree in number and gender. | "It" is a singular pronoun, often used for things or abstract concepts. |
| Idiomatic Expressions | Phrases like "When it comes to..." are fixed expressions. The structure "When it comes to X" uses the singular verb "comes" because the subject is "it." | When it comes to movies, I prefer comedies. |
Additional Information: Common Grammatical Errors
Understanding common errors can help improve writing and identify mistakes in sentences. Some frequent errors include:
- Incorrect subject-verb agreement (as seen in this question).
- Wrong verb tense (e.g., using past tense instead of present).
- Incorrect use of articles (a, an, the).
- Misplaced modifiers.
- Run-on sentences or comma splices.
- Fragment sentences.
- Incorrect pronoun agreement or unclear pronoun reference.
Practicing identifying these errors in different sentence structures helps build strong grammar skills.
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)
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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)
