Spot the error - MCQs with answers and explanation - Part III
Each question below has a set of sentences. Identify which of the two sentences is correct1. a. Your the one I was looking for.
b. You're the one I was looking for.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: b. You're the one I was looking for.
Explanation: 'You're' is the contraction for 'you are'. The apostrophe is used for the dropped 'a'.
2. a. It's not a good day.
b. Its not a good day.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: a. It's not a good day.
Explanation: 'It's' is a contraction for 'it is' or 'it has'. The apostrophe is put in place of the dropped letters.
3. a. The dog ate its biscuits.
b. The dog ate it's biscuits.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: a. The dog ate its biscuits.
Explanation: 'Its' means 'of it'. The usual apostrophe used to show the possessive form of a noun is dropped here to avoid confusion with 'it's'.
4. a. These distractions will effect your concentration.
b. These distractions will affect your concentration.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: b. These distractions will affect your concentration.
Explanation: 'Affect' means 'impact' on something whereas 'effect' means 'result', 'consequence'.
5. a. The man with the dogs have a stick.
b. The man with the dogs has a stick.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: b. The man with the dogs has a stick.
Explanation: 'Has' is the verb for the 'man' here, which is a singular form, and not the 'puppies'.
6. a. This is an unique situation.
b. This is a unique situation.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: b. This is a unique situation.
Explanation: Although 'unique' starts with a vowel, it takes 'a' before it and not 'an' because the pronunciation is like 'yu'.
7. a. I felt bad when he missed the chance.
b. I felt badly when he missed the chance.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: a. I felt bad when he missed the chance.
Explanation: 'Badly' means 'seriously' or 'desperately'.
8. a. If you are feeling unwell, lay down for a while.
b. If you are feeling unwell, lie down for a while.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: b. If you are feeling unwell, lie down for a while.
Explanation: It is a very common confusion that we make between 'lie' and 'lay'. 'Lay' means 'to put down'.
9. a. I am not taking up nothing more.
b. I am not taking up anything more.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: b. I am not taking up anything more.
Explanation: 'Not' and 'nothing' are both negatives. Two negatives cannot be used in one sentence.
10. a. I should have went to the party.
b. I should have gone to the party.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: b. I should have gone to the party.
Explanation: 'Gone' is the past participle form of 'go'. So the past form i.e. 'went' cannot be used here.
