Question 1: Though all competitive exams do not allow using a calculator, but where they are permitted, there are restrictions on the models allowed.
A. Though all competitive exams do not allow using calculators,
B. Not all competitive exams allow the use of a calculator,
C. Every competitive exam does not allow using of calculators,
D. No correction required
Answer: Not all competitive exams allow the use of a calculator,
Explanation:
Note that there is a 'but' in the sentence immediately following the clause given. So the option that starts with "though" isn't correct.
What do competitive exams allow/not allow? In answer to this question, "the use of a calculator" is the correct wording of the response. Both "using calculators" and "using of calculators" are incorrect.
The quantifier 'every' stresses all the members of the complete group. Here, we want to say that only some (not all) exams allow the use of a calculator. So option c is also incorrect.
The correct option is (b). Not all competitive exams allow the use of a calculator, but where they are permitted, there are restrictions on the models allowed.
The question is "Choose the grammatically correct option"
Hence, the answer is option B
Choice B is the correct answer.
Question 2: Denouncing it as anti-democratic,the Lobbying Act was slammed by critics, imposing draconian limits on the activities of trade unions.
A. the Lobbying Act, which imposes draconian limits on the activities of trade unions, was slammed by critics.
B. critics slammed the Lobbying Act, imposing draconian limits on the activities of trade unions.
C. critics slammed the Lobbying Act, which imposes draconian limits on the activities of trade unions.
D. No correction required
Answer: critics slammed the Lobbying Act, which imposes draconian limits on the activities of trade unions.
Explanation:
As the sentence starts off with "Denouncing it...", the clause that follows has to first refer to who denounced it- in this case, it is the critics.
Option B is not correct, as it implies critics impose draconian limits on the activities of trade unions.
The pronoun "which" after the "Lobbying Act" in option C clarifies that it is the Act that limits the activities of the trade unions.
The question is "Choose the grammatically correct option"
Hence, the answer is option C
Choice C is the correct answer.
Question 3: While people in the Middle East have good reason to feel gravely threatened by terrorism,but elsewhere in the world, its more that people are paying greater attention to the terrorist threat then they used to.
A. but, elsewhere in the world, it’s more that people are paying greater attention to the terrorist threat then they used to.
B. elsewhere in the world, it’s more that people are paying greater attention to the terrorist threat than they used to.
C. but elsewhere in the world, it’s more that people are paying greater attention to the terrorist threat than they used to
D. elsewhere in the world, its more that people are paying greater attention to the terrorist threat than they used to.
Answer: elsewhere in the world, it’s more that people are paying greater attention to the terrorist threat than they used to.
Explanation:
There are 3 errors to spot in the given sentence:
Firstly, as the sentence starts with "while...", any option that follows this clause with "but" is incorrect.
Secondly, "its" is a personal pronoun- not the correct word to use here. "It's" meaning "it is" is the right word to use in the given context.
Thirdly, the sentence says people are paying greater attention to the terrorist threat "then" they used to. This is incorrect. The correct word to use instead is "than".
The only option that corrects these errors is B.
The question is "Choose the grammatically correct option"
Hence, the answer is option B
Choice B is the correct answer.
Question 4: Long-term risk is rarely taken by air-quality indices into account, they also vary from place to place.
A. Air-quality indices rarely take long-term risk into account;
B. Rarely do air-quality indices take long-term risk into account,
C. Though long-term risk is rarely taken by air-quality indices into account,
D. No correction required
Answer: Air-quality indices rarely take long-term risk into account;
Explanation:
In the given sentence, ‘they’ in the second clause seems to refer to ‘long-term risk’, which is the subject of the first clause. So it is grammatically incorrect.
Now let us look at the answer options.
Option C does not make sense. So we rule this out.
Option B has two independent clauses- (1) Rarely do air-quality indices take long-term risk into account, and (2) they also vary from place to place. Each of these is a sentence in its own right. When joining two independent clauses without the use of a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, or nor), a semicolon has to be used, not a comma. So option B is incorrect.
In option A, again, there are two independent clauses - (1) Air-quality indices rarely take long-term risk into account, and (2) they also vary from place to place. The clauses are joined by a semicolon. So option A is grammatically correct.
The question is "Choose the grammatically correct option"
Hence, the answer is option A
Choice A is the correct answer.
Question 5: The solution that he worked out was not only correct but complicated.
A. was not only correct but also complicated.
B. was correct but complicated.
C. was correct only but complicated.
D. No correction required
Answer: was correct but complicated.
Explanation:
"Correct" is a positive description of the solution, while "complicated" is not. So a parallel sentence construction (in this case, ‘not only…but’) is inappropriate.
Option C uses ‘only’ inappropriately.
Option B is the correct choice.
The question is "Choose the grammatically correct option"
Hence, the answer is option B
Choice B is the correct answer.
Question 6: As there was no place in the first compartment, he shifted to the second.
A. As there was no room in the first compartment, he moved
B. As there was no space in the first compartment, he shifted
C. As there was no seat in the first compartment, he moved
D. No correction required
Answer: was correct but complicated.
Explanation:
The sentence given has two errors.
The first error is the reference to “no place”. The correct word to be used in this context is “room” (as the person here looks for a space to occupy).
Place = a specific location, or a particular portion of space
Room = a portion of space, that is available to occupy or already occupied
Space = a continuous unoccupied area
Seat = place to sit
“There were no unoccupied seats” would have worked; as ‘seat’ is a countable noun, it is more natural to say “no seats” than “no seat”. Using ‘no’ combined with a singular is possible, but implies that there would only be either one of that thing, or nothing.
The second error is the use of the word “shifted”.
‘Shift’ implies a small movement or a swap; for a greater change in position, ‘move’ is the word to be used.
So the correct option is (A).
The question is "Choose the grammatically correct option"
Hence, the answer is option A
Choice A is the correct answer.
Question 7: Whoever is chosen as the new chief, it is likely to continue many of the policies that the incumbent holds dear.
A. Whoever is chosen as the new chief, they are
B. Whomever is chosen as the new chief, he is
C. Whoever is chosen as the new chief is
D. No correction required
Answer: Whoever is chosen as the new chief is
Explanation:
In the sentence given, the clause “whoever is chosen as the new chief” is followed by “it is”, which is incorrect. The person chosen as the new chief cannot be referred to as “it”.
Answer option (a) is also incorrect. “Whoever” refers to one person, and that person cannot be referred to in plural subsequently, as “they”.
Option (b) uses the word ‘whomever’ instead of ‘whoever’. But the right word in this context is ‘whoever’.
‘Whoever’ is a subject pronoun like 'he', 'she' and 'they' whereas ‘whomever’ is an object pronoun like 'him', 'her' and 'them'. When the whoever/whomever clause is the subject of the verb that follows the clause, the correct word to use is the one that agrees with the verb. Here, the verb is 'is likely'. 'He is likely' makes sense, while 'Him is likely' does not. So, the right word here is ‘whoever’, not ‘whomever’.
Option (c) does not carry any errors and is the right answer choice.
The question is " Choose the grammatically correct option "
Hence, the answer is option C
Choice C is the correct answer.
Question 8: The cricketer, whose record is exemplary, bagged an eight-year endorsement contract with a sportswear giant.
A. who’s record is exemplary, bagged eight years’ endorsement contract
B. who’s record is exemplary, bagged eight year’s endorsement contract
C. whose record is exemplary, bagged an eight-years endorsement contract
D. No correction required
Answer: No correction required
Explanation:
There are two things to pick up on here- the difference between whose and who’s, and the rules to be followed when using compound adjectives.
Who’s is a contraction of ‘who is’ or ‘who has’. You would use it to ask, for example, “Who’s the first?”.
Whose, on the other hand, is the possessive form of ‘who’ and functions as an adjective or pronoun. For example, “Whose book is this?”
The easiest way to identify which word is right in the given context is to substitute ‘who is/has’ instead of who’s in the sentence and see if it makes sense. If it does, who’s is the word you are looking for.
In the sentence given, ‘whose’ is the correct word to use. It functions as a pronoun for ‘the cricketer’.
Now, in the sentence given ‘eight-year’ is a compound adjective used to describe the noun ‘contract’. The hyphen between the two words is used to link them together and show that it is one adjective.
When compound adjectives include a number + a time period, the word referring to the time period is always in singular form and is joined to the number with a hyphen.
So, the given sentence does not contain any errors.
The question is "Choose the grammatically correct option"
Hence, the answer is option D
Choice D is the correct answer.
