IBA MBA + BB (AD) Pin Point Error Practice

Directions: Each sentence has four underlined portions (A)(B)(C)(D) and a 'No error (E)' option. Select the underlined portion that contains a grammatical error, or choose (E) if there is no error.

1. The teacher insisted that every student submits (A) their assignment before they leave (B) the classroom, which (C) was scheduled to end at three o'clock (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — After 'insisted that,' the subjunctive base form 'submit' (not 'submits') is required.

2. The report which (A) the committee prepared were (B) submitted on time (C) even though several members had objected (D) to its conclusions. No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — The subject 'The report' is singular, so the verb should be 'was submitted,' not 'were submitted.'

3. Although the manager has approved (A) the plan last month, the employees (B) were still waiting for confirmation (C) before beginning the project. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Has approved' (present perfect) is inconsistent with 'last month' (a specific past time). It should be 'approved' (simple past).

4. The scientist who (A) discovered the compound announced (B) that the results was (C) more significant than expected. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (C) — 'Results' is plural, so the verb should be 'were,' not 'was.'

5. The bridge, that (A) was constructed over a century ago, still carries (B) thousands of vehicles each (C) day without difficulty. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — For a non-restrictive clause modifying a non-person noun with extra information, 'which' should be used instead of 'that.'

6. The regulations require that every employee (A) working in the facility wears (B) protective gear whenever they enter (C) the production floor, regardless of their role. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — After 'require that,' the subjunctive base form 'wear' (not 'wears') is required.

7. Since the new law was enacted, (A) the number of violations that have been reported (B) by authorities have (C) decreased significantly (D) . No error (E) .

Answer: (C) — 'The number of' takes a singular verb. It should be 'has decreased,' not 'have decreased.'

8. The board demanded that (A) the auditors reviewed (B) all transactions that occurred (C) during the previous fiscal year. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — After 'demanded that,' the subjunctive base form 'review' is required, not the past tense 'reviewed.'

9. The documentary, which was filmed (A) in remote locations, provide (B) a fascinating look at wildlife (C) that rarely seen (D) by the public. No error (E) .

Answer: (D) — 'Rarely seen' is missing an auxiliary verb. It should be 'is rarely seen' to form a complete relative clause.

10. The professor recommended that the student (A) revise her thesis before (B) she submits (C) it for final evaluation. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (C) — Since the sentence is in past context (recommended), the subordinate clause should use 'submitted' for consistency, or 'submit' (subjunctive) after 'recommended that.'

11. Neither the directors or (A) the shareholders were (B) informed about the merger (C) before it was announced publicly. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Neither' must be paired with 'nor,' not 'or.' The correct form is 'Neither...nor.'

12. The new policy will affect not only (A) current employees but (B) future hires who join (C) the company after January. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — 'Not only' must be paired with 'but also,' not just 'but.' The correct form is 'not only...but also.'

13. The results were inconclusive; however, (A) the team decided to continue (B) the experiment, hoping (C) to gather more reliable data. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (E) — No error. 'However' after a semicolon is correctly used as a conjunctive adverb. All other elements are grammatically correct.

14. The committee agreed that (A) the proposal had merit but (B) several members requested revisions (C) were needed before approval. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (C) — After 'requested,' the subjunctive construction 'that revisions be made' is needed. 'Revisions were needed' is an incorrect clause structure here.

15. Both the finance team as well as (A) the legal department were (B) consulted before the final decision (C) was made last week. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Both' must be paired with 'and,' not 'as well as.' The correct form is 'Both the finance team and the legal department.'

16. The candidate was well-qualified, (A) however the hiring committee (B) chose someone with less (C) experience in the field. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'However' is a conjunctive adverb and cannot join two independent clauses with only a comma. A semicolon is needed before 'however,' or it should be replaced with 'but.'

17. The firm stalled not because (A) it lacked resources but since (B) the management failed to coordinate (C) efforts across departments. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — The correlative pair 'not because...but because' requires 'because' in both parts for parallel structure, not 'but since.'

18. She was tired, yet (A) she continued working until (B) midnight to ensure that (C) the project was completed on time. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (E) — No error. 'Yet' correctly joins two contrasting independent clauses. All verb tenses and clause structures are correct.

19. Either the manager or (A) the supervisor are (B) responsible for ensuring that safety protocols (C) are followed at all times. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — With 'either...or,' the verb agrees with the nearest subject ('the supervisor,' singular). It should be 'is,' not 'are.'

20. The scientist argued that (A) climate change is real and (B) immediate action is (C) necessary, but her colleagues disagreed. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — When two 'that' clauses follow 'argued,' parallel structure requires repeating 'that': '...that climate change is real and that immediate action is necessary.'

21. The criterias for (A) selecting candidates were (B) announced after a lengthy (C) discussion among the panel members. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — Actually the error is in 'criterias' — there is no such word. 'Criteria' is already plural; 'criterion' is the singular form. (The error precedes label A.)

22. The datas collected (A) during the experiment suggest (B) that the hypothesis needs (C) to be significantly revised. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Datas' is incorrect. 'Data' is already plural (singular: datum) and needs no additional plural marker.

23. A number of employees has (A) complained about the new scheduling policy (B) that was introduced (C) by management last month. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'A number of' (meaning 'many') takes a plural verb. It should be 'have complained,' not 'has complained.'

24. The amount of (A) errors found in the audit report was (B) surprising to the senior management (C) team, who demanded an explanation. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Amount' should be 'number' because 'errors' is a countable noun. 'Amount' is used for uncountable nouns.

25. The news of the merger (A) have caused significant (B) volatility in the stock markets (C) around the world. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — 'Have caused' is incorrect. 'News' is an uncountable noun that always takes a singular verb: 'has caused.'

26. Each of the candidates were (A) required to submit a portfolio (B) that demonstrated their skills (C) and relevant professional experience. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Each' is always singular and requires a singular verb. It should be 'was required,' not 'were required.'

27. The phenomenon observed (A) by researchers in the lab were (B) unlike anything previously documented (C) in the scientific literature. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (B) — 'Phenomenon' is singular. The verb should be 'was,' not 'were.' The plural form is 'phenomena.'

28. The committee's advices (A) on the matter were ignored (B) by the directors, who proceeded (C) with their original plan regardless. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Advice' is an uncountable noun and has no plural form. 'Advices' is incorrect; it should be 'advice.' The verb should also change to 'was ignored.'

29. Two-thirds of the company's revenue come (A) from its international operations (B) in Asia (C) and Europe. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — When a fraction precedes an uncountable noun ('revenue'), the verb must be singular: 'comes,' not 'come.'

30. The equipments in all three (A) facilities needs (B) to be inspected before operations (C) can resume next month. (D) No error (E) .

Answer: (A) — 'Equipments' is incorrect. 'Equipment' is an uncountable noun with no plural form. It should be 'The equipment...needs.'

Post Credit: Abdul Kaium Tanvir

IBA MBA + BB (AD) Pin Point Error Practice

IBA MBA + BB (AD) Pin Point Error Practice

IBA MBA + BB (AD) Pin Point Error Practice

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