Failure is the stepping stone to success; however, successive failures are not successive stepping stones to success.
- (a)Failure is the stepping stone to success;
- (b)however, successive failures are not
- (c)successive stepping stones to success.
- (d)No error
Correct — D, No error. The sentence is sound throughout: the semicolon correctly separates two independent clauses, 'however' is properly used as a conjunctive adverb, and the plural 'successive failures are not … stepping stones' agrees in number. Nothing needs correcting.
- (a)Failure is the stepping stone to success; — Error-free — a correctly formed clause, and the semicolon properly closes it before the next independent clause.
- (b)however, successive failures are not — Error-free — 'however' correctly links the two ideas as a conjunctive adverb.
- (c)successive stepping stones to success. — Error-free — the plural 'stepping stones' agrees with the plural subject 'failures'.
This is an error-spotting item where a correctly built sentence using a semicolon plus 'however' is designed to look suspicious — the intended answer is 'No error'.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Spot the error: (a) He worked hard; / (b) however, he could not / (c) clear the examination. / (d) No error
- (a)He worked hard;
- (b)however, he could not
- (c)clear the examination.
- (d)No error
Answer(d) No error — the semicolon and 'however' correctly join two independent clauses.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the correct punctuation: 'She was tired ___ however, she kept working.'
- (a),
- (b);
- (c):
- (d)-
Answer(b) ; — a semicolon is needed before 'however' when it links two independent clauses.