Sentence Correction

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Sentence correction asks you to spot and fix an error rather than fill a blank. The 2022 Constable paper used the fill-in-the-blank format instead — but it tested exactly the same errors, so the skill transfers directly and the grammar below is drawn from what that paper actually examined.

About the examples on this page. The spot-the-error format did not appear in the 2022 papers, so the sentences below are constructed for practice and marked as such. The error types, however, are the ones the paper really tested — each is cross-referenced to the relevant question.

Method

1. Find the subject and the main verb, and check they agree in number.

2. Check the tense against any time word in the sentence.

3. Check prepositions and articles — these are fixed, not logical.

4. Read the corrected sentence back in full before choosing.

Error Types, Ranked by How Often They Appear

ErrorExample of the fixIn the 2022 paper
Subject-verb agreementEach of the boys has finishedQ1, Q3, Q13, Q14, Q17, Q20
TenseShe reads the paper every morningQ4, Q8, Q11, Q12, Q18
Prepositionsuperior to, not superior thanQ16
Articlean icon, a countryQ5
Collocationa great deal of workQ15
PronounBetween you and me, not you and I
Redundancyreturn, not return back

Errors Worth Memorising

WrongRightWhy
One of my friendOne of my friends"one of" is followed by a plural noun
since five yearsfor five yearssince takes a point in time, for a duration
discuss aboutdiscussthe verb already carries "about"
return backreturnredundant
more betterbetterdouble comparative
The sceneries areThe scenery isuncountable noun
cope up withcope withno "up" in the phrase

Practice Examples

Constructed practice question

Find the error: One of my friend is working as a sub inspector in Warangal.

"One of" must be followed by a plural noun — you are singling one out from a group.
One of my friendOne of my friends.
The verb stays singular ("is"), because the subject is one, not friends.
Corrected: One of my friends is working as a sub inspector in Warangal.
Related: the same "the subject is not the nearest noun" idea drives Constable Q1 and Q14.

Constructed practice question

Find the error: Each of the candidates have submitted their application form.

"Each of" is singular, exactly like "either of" and "neither of".
have submittedhas submitted.
Corrected: Each of the candidates has submitted the application form.
Test: delete "of the candidates" and read it back — "Each has submitted" is obviously right.

Constructed practice question

Find the error: He has been staying in Hyderabad since three years.

Since marks a starting point in time; for marks a length of time.
Three years is a duration, so since three yearsfor three years.
Corrected: He has been staying in Hyderabad for three years.
Compare: "since 2019" is correct, because 2019 is a point rather than a span.

Constructed practice question

Find the error: The police was investigating the case when the witness arrived.

"Police" is a plural noun in English and always takes a plural verb.
was investigatingwere investigating.
Corrected: The police were investigating the case when the witness arrived.
Directly related: Constable Q13 tested this exact noun.

Do not correct style. These questions have one grammatical error and the rest of the sentence is deliberately plain. If a phrase merely sounds awkward but breaks no rule, it is not the answer.

Also see: Subject-Verb Agreement · Active & Passive Voice · Narration