Overview
Error Spotting (also called Sentence Correction or Spot the Error) is one of the most important topics in the **SSC CGL** English Language section. The English section in Tier 1 carries **50 marks (25 questions)**, and Error Spotting typically accounts for **3-5 questions per shift**. This makes it one of the highest-weightage individual topics in the English section.
In SSC CGL, a sentence is divided into 3-4 parts, and you must identify the part that contains a grammatical error. Sometimes "No Error" is also an option. These questions test your knowledge of grammar rules including subject-verb agreement, tenses, articles, prepositions, pronouns, and more.
Key Concepts
### Most Commonly Tested Error Types in SSC CGL
1. **Subject-Verb Agreement** (25% of errors)
2. **Tense Errors** (20% of errors)
3. **Preposition Errors** (15% of errors)
4. **Article Errors** (10% of errors)
5. **Pronoun Errors** (10% of errors)
6. **Parallelism/Comparison Errors** (8% of errors)
7. **Modifier Errors** (7% of errors)
8. **Redundancy/Word Usage** (5% of errors)
Detailed Explanation
### Rule 1: Subject-Verb Agreement
**Core Rule**: Singular subject → singular verb; Plural subject → plural verb.
**Tricky Cases:**
| Scenario | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject + with/along with/together with/as well as | Verb agrees with FIRST subject | The captain, along with his players, **was** present. |
| Either...or / Neither...nor | Verb agrees with NEAREST subject | Neither the boys nor the girl **was** selected. |
| Each/Every/Everyone | Always SINGULAR verb | Each of the students **has** submitted the form. |
| A number of | PLURAL verb | A number of students **were** absent. |
| The number of | SINGULAR verb | The number of students **was** high. |
| Collective noun (team, committee) | Usually SINGULAR | The committee **has** decided. |
| Uncountable nouns (information, furniture) | Always SINGULAR | The information **is** correct. |
### Rule 2: Tense Consistency
**Common Errors:**
- Mixing past and present in the same sentence
- Using wrong tense with time markers
**Time Markers and Their Tenses:**
| Time Marker | Correct Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday, last week, ago | Simple Past | He **went** yesterday. |
| Since, for (duration until now) | Present Perfect | She **has lived** here since 2010. |
| Tomorrow, next week | Simple Future | We **will go** tomorrow. |
| Already, just, yet | Present Perfect | I have **already** finished. |
| While | Past Continuous | While I **was walking**, it rained. |
| By the time | Past Perfect | By the time he came, I **had left**. |
### Rule 3: Preposition Errors
**Commonly Confused Prepositions:**
| Correct Usage | Incorrect Usage |
|---|---|
| Angry **with** a person | Angry on a person ✗ |
| Angry **at** a thing/situation | Angry for a thing ✗ |
| Congratulate **on** | Congratulate for ✗ |
| Consist **of** | Consist in ✗ (unless meaning "lie in") |
| Die **of** disease | Die from disease ✗ (in formal usage) |
| Good **at** (skill) | Good in ✗ |
| Interested **in** | Interested on ✗ |
| Prefer A **to** B | Prefer A than B ✗ |
| Superior/Inferior **to** | Superior/Inferior than ✗ |
| Accompanied **by** | Accompanied with ✗ |
### Rule 4: Article Errors
**When to use A vs An:**
- **A** before consonant sounds: a university ('yu' sound), a European, a one-rupee note
- **An** before vowel sounds: an honest man ('h' silent), an hour, an MBA ('em' sound), an heir
**Common Article Rules for SSC CGL:**
- **The** with superlatives: the best, the tallest
- **The** with unique things: the sun, the moon, the earth
- **The** with ordinals: the first, the second
- No article with proper nouns (generally): India, Delhi (NOT the India)
- **The** with some proper nouns: The Ganges, The Himalayas, The United States
### Rule 5: Pronoun Errors
- **Who** for subject, **whom** for object: The man **who** came (subject) / The man **whom** I met (object)
- **Each other** for two, **one another** for more than two
- Reflexive pronouns (myself, himself) cannot be used as subject: **I** did it (NOT Myself did it)
- **It** for singular/uncountable: The committee gave **its** report
### Rule 6: Parallelism
In a series, all elements must follow the same grammatical structure.
**Wrong**: She likes reading, writing, and **to dance**.
**Correct**: She likes reading, writing, and **dancing**.
**Wrong**: He is intelligent, hardworking, and **has determination**.
**Correct**: He is intelligent, hardworking, and **determined**.