Sentence Correction Rules and Examples | English for CLAT PDF Download

Sentence Correction Rules

Sentence Correction forms an integral part of the English syllabus of CLAT. While preparing for exam, students must make it a point to revise the sentence correction rules well. Sentence Correction questions are often too tricky and students find it difficult to answer. Hence, it is always advised to go through the rules well and practise as many questions as possible. In this doc, we shall first discuss a few basic sentence correction rules and then solve a few questions following the sentence correction rules.

Here are all the Sentence Correction Rules:

1. Subject Verb Agreement 

Now we are sure you must have studied this back in school. But let’s go through it again. Subject Verb Agreement  implies that the verb used in a sentence must be in agreement with the subject of the sentence.

Let’s go over the basic subject-verb agreement rules quickly:

• The verb must be singular for collective nouns.
• The verb must be plural when words are connected using ‘and/or’.
• The verb must be singular when the sentence begins with each one/anyone/everyone.
• For either/or and neither/nor, the verb is singular if the subjects of the sentences are singular.

2. Parallelism 

To put it simply, parallelism refers to the structure of a sentence. To ensure the sentence is grammatically correct, different words that signify the same performance in a sentence should be used in a similar format.

For instance:
Diya likes dancing, cooking and singing – Correct.
Diya likes to dance, cook and sing – Correct 
Diya likes to dance, cook and singing – incorrect.

3. Errors in the Placement of Modifiers

Modifiers are words that modify the subject of a sentence and hence, by rule must be placed next to the subject. Often the modifiers are placed such that they describe the wrong thing.

Example:
Walking on the main road, a car hit her. INCORRECT (since we can’t depict who was hurt)
Walking on the main road, she was hit by a car. CORRECT

4. Repetitions

While answering sentence correction questions, students must carefully observe there is no direct or indirect repetition of any word in the sentence.

For instance:
I returned back from London. – Incorrect
I came back from London. – Correct

5. Degree of Comparison

6. Parts of Speech

While analysing the question, students must check if all the parts of speech used in the sentence are correct and have been used in the correct place appropriately. 

Five Sentences with All Parts of Speech

1. The (article) quick (adjective) brown (adjective) fox (noun) jumps (verb) over (preposition) the (article) lazy (adjective) dog (noun).
2. She (pronoun) happily (adverb) plays (verb) the (article) piano (noun) every (adjective) day (noun) in (preposition) the (article) evening (noun).
3. The (article) old (adjective) man (noun) gives (verb) his (pronoun) time (noun) to (preposition) help (verb) the (article) community (noun).
4. My (pronoun) sister (noun) often (adverb) reads (verb) interesting (adjective) books (noun) in (preposition) her (pronoun) spare (adjective) time (noun).
5. After (preposition) the (article) rain (noun), we (pronoun) went (verb) to (preposition) the (article) park (noun) and (conjunction) played (verb) a (article) game (noun).

Sentence Correction Practice Questions for CLAT

The sentences given below ( Q1- Q5) are divided into four parts, you need to identify which part contains an error.

Q1: Sentence:
(a) The oxygen content of Mars is not
(b) sufficient enough to support life
(c) as we know it.
(d) no error

Answer: (d) no error
Explanation: The sentence is grammatically correct. "Sufficient enough" is not a redundancy here because "enough" emphasizes the inadequacy of oxygen for supporting life on Mars.

Q2:Sentence:
(a) Diya goes to the bed
(b) at eight
(c) every night
(d) no error

Answer: (a)
Explanation: The use of "the bed" is incorrect in this context. The correct phrase is "Diya goes to bed," as "go to bed" is an idiomatic expression. Adding "the" before "bed" is unnecessary.

Q3: Sentence:
(a) As soon the movie started
(b) she developed
(c) an irritating headache
(d) no error

Answer: (a)
Explanation: The phrase "As soon the movie started" is incorrect. It should be "As soon as the movie started" to be grammatically correct. The conjunction "as soon as" is required here.

Q4: Sentence:
(a) Unless you do not listen to his advice
(b) I am not going
(c) to help you
(d) no error

Answer: (a)
Explanation: The use of "do not" in "Unless you do not listen" is incorrect because "unless" already implies a negative condition. The correct phrasing is "Unless you listen to his advice."

Q5: Sentence:
(a) A little quantity of sugar
(b) is required to meet
(c) the present demands.
(d) no error

Answer: (a)
Explanation: The use of "A little quantity of sugar" is incorrect. The word "quantity" is redundant when "a little" is used. The correct phrasing is "A little sugar is required to meet the present demands."

Here are the sentences (Q6 - Q10) pick out the correct option which suits best in the sentence.

Q6:
Sentence: I think Swati had something important to say, however, she was unable to express her viewpoint to a dubious audience.

Options:
A. the people were willing to accept her views
B. she did not change the minds of the intelligent public
C. she failed to convince a suspicious congregation
D. she could not ex

Answer: C. she failed to convince a suspicious congregation
Explanation: The word "dubious" means doubtful or suspicious. Hence, the most appropriate option is that she failed to convince a "suspicious congregation," as it matches the context of the sentence.

Q7:
Sentence:The reason why she had left the job was that she was angry with the manager.

Options:
A. has left the job
B. having left the job
C. is having left the job
D. No Improvement

Answer: D. No Improvement
Explanation: The sentence is correct as it is. The past perfect tense "had left" is appropriate to describe an action that occurred before another past action ("she was angry"). No changes are needed.

Q8:
Sentence:The gym trainer appreciated the novice at handling considered to be difficult exercises.

Options:
A. considerable difficult
B. considerably difficult
C. considerably and difficult
D. No Improvement

Answer: B. considerably difficult
Explanation: The adverb "considerably" is needed to modify "difficult" and describe the degree of difficulty appropriately. The original phrasing is incorrect because it does not use an adverb to modify "difficult."

Q9:
Sentence: No sooner did the rain stop than the boys went to play.

Options:
A. did the rain stop than
B. had the rain stop
C. rain stop than did
D. No Improvement

Answer: A. did the rain stop than
Explanation: The sentence is correct with "No sooner did the rain stop than," which is the standard construction for such sentences. Although the original sentence may seem fine, the correct structure emphasizes the sequence of events.

Q10:
Sentence: Each country has a blended approach to engaging China, which includes preparation for a turn for the worse in Chinese behaviour.

Options:
A. prepares in a turn
B. preparation of a turn
C. preparation to account
D. No improvement

Answer: C. preparation to account
Explanation: The correct phrase is "preparation to account for a turn for the worse," as it clarifies the intent of being prepared to handle worsening behavior. "Preparation to account" is more precise and grammatically appropriate than the original phrasing.