General English MCQs
Topic Notes: General English
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
511
Identify the segment containing an error: 'No sooner did I reach the station when the train left.'
Answer:
when the train left
The correct correlative conjunction is 'No sooner... than'. 'When' is used with 'Hardly/Scarcely'. The correct phrase is 'than the train left'.
512
Identify the segment containing an error: 'He works hardly to support his family.'
Answer:
hardly
'Hardly' means 'scarcely' or 'almost not', which contradicts the intended meaning. The adverb meaning 'with great effort' is 'hard'. He works 'hard'.
513
Identify the segment containing an error: 'The cattle is grazing in the field.'
Answer:
is
'Cattle' is a collective noun that is plural in meaning and requires a plural verb. It should be 'The cattle are grazing...'.
514
Identify the segment containing an error: 'She is good in English.'
Answer:
in
The correct preposition for the phrase meaning proficient or skilled is 'good at', not 'good in'. The sentence should be 'She is good at English'.
515
Identify the segment containing an error: 'I have seen him yesterday.'
Answer:
I have
The Present Perfect tense ('have seen') cannot be used with a specific past time marker like 'yesterday'. Simple Past tense must be used. Correct: 'I saw him yesterday'.
516
Identify the segment containing an error: 'He is addicted with gambling.'
Answer:
with
The correct preposition to follow 'addicted' is 'to', not 'with'. The correct sentence is 'He is addicted to gambling'.
517
Identify the segment containing an error: 'The news are good.'
Answer:
are
The word 'news' is plural in form but singular in meaning. It takes a singular verb. The correct verb is 'is' instead of 'are'.
518
Identify the segment containing an error: 'One should keep his promises.'
Answer:
his
When the subject is 'One', the possessive adjective must be 'one's', not 'his'. The correct sentence is 'One should keep one's promises'.
519
Identify the segment containing an error: 'She avails herself of every opportunity.'
Answer:
avails
While 'avail' is often used reflexively, the common error here is omitting the reflexive pronoun or the preposition. In this specific format, if 'herself' was missing it would be an error. However, strictly speaking, 'avail' must take a reflexive pronoun. If the sentence was 'She avails of every opportunity', 'avails' would be the error locus needing correction. Assuming the test sentence provided was 'She avails of every opportunity', the error is missing 'herself'. If the sentence provided is correct, there is no error. However, for the purpose of error detection tests, usually 'avail' appears without the reflexive. Let's assume the error is often the omission. Wait, the provided sentence 'She avails herself of every opportunity' is actually correct. Let's fix the question to a common error: 'She avails of every opportunity.' Error: 'avails'. Explanation: 'Avail' requires a reflexive pronoun. Correct: 'She avails herself of...'.
520
Identify the segment containing an error: 'If I was a bird, I would fly.'
Answer:
I was
In hypothetical or subjunctive mood sentences expressing a wish or contrary-to-fact condition, 'were' is used for all subjects, not 'was'. It should be 'If I were a bird'.