Spot the error in the following sentence; if there is no error, mark (d). He had arrived at Cairo (a) a few months before (b) protests shook the Arab world (c). No error (d)

Correct — A, 'He had arrived at Cairo'. The preposition is wrong: with the names of large places such as cities and countries we use 'in', not 'at', so it should read 'arrived in Cairo'. 'At' fits small or specific points (arrive at the station, at the airport), while a whole city takes 'in'.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  a few months before — Correct — 'a few months before' properly sets the earlier time relative to the past events and matches the past-perfect 'had arrived'.
• (c)
  protests shook the Arab world — Correct — the simple past 'shook' rightly describes the later completed event.
• (d)
  No error — There is an error — the preposition 'at' — so 'No error' does not apply.

Preposition of place — cities and countries take 'in' (arrive in Cairo), while 'at' marks a small or precise point (arrive at the gate).

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which sentence uses the preposition correctly?

  • (a)She arrived at London on Monday.
  • (b)She arrived in London on Monday.
  • (c)She arrived to London on Monday.
  • (d)She arrived on London on Monday.
  Answer(b) — cities take 'in', so 'arrived in London'.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Fill in the blanks: 'The train arrives ______ the platform at noon, and we reach ______ Delhi by night.'

  • (a)in / at
  • (b)at / in
  • (c)at / at
  • (d)in / in
  Answer(b) at / in — a platform is a specific point ('at'); a city takes 'in'.