He began his discussion by pointing over that men and women had different biological functions.
- (a)He began his discussion by pointing over
- (b)that men and women
- (c)had different biological functions.
- (d)No error
Correct — A, 'He began his discussion by pointing over'. The phrasal verb needed is 'point out' (to draw attention to or state a fact), not 'point over', which is not standard English. Segment (a) holds the error; it should read 'by pointing out that men and women…'.
- (b)that men and women — A correct conjunction plus subject introducing the reported clause; not the error.
- (c)had different biological functions. — A correctly formed past-tense predicate; not the error.
- (d)No error — 'Pointing over' is a non-standard verb, so the sentence does contain an error.
Error-spotting item on the correct particle in the phrasal verb 'point out'.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Spot the error: 'The teacher (a) began the lesson / (b) by pointing over the mistakes / (c) in the essay. / (d) No error'
- (a)began the lesson
- (b)by pointing over the mistakes
- (c)in the essay.
- (d)No error
Answer(b) by pointing over the mistakes — it should be 'pointing out'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Fill in the blank: 'May I point ______ that the deadline has already passed?'
- (a)over
- (b)out
- (c)on
- (d)off
Answer(b) out — 'point out' means to draw attention to a fact.