A bird in hand (a) / is better than (b) / two in the bush. (c)
- (a)(a)
- (b)(b)
- (c)(c)
- (d)No error
Correct — A, 'A bird in hand'. The proverb has a fixed shape — 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' — and the article before 'hand' is part of it. Dropping it replaces the picture of a bird physically held in the hand with the separate phrase 'in hand', which means 'in reserve' or 'under control', as in 'cash in hand'.
- (b)is better than — Not the segment named — 'is better than' is a grammatical comparison, and it reads as a plain rewording of the proverb's 'is worth'.
- (c)two in the bush. — Error-free — this is the proverb's own wording, with 'two' standing for 'two birds'.
- (d)No error — There is an error — the set phrase requires 'in the hand' — so 'No error' is not the answer.
An error-spotting item built on a fixed proverb. Proverbs are learnt whole, so altering an article inside one counts as an error even when the words still parse.
The proverb advises that a certain small gain beats a larger uncertain one. Segments (a) and (b) both depart from the canonical 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush', but only (a) breaks a rule of form by losing an article from a set phrase, while 'is better than' merely paraphrases 'is worth' in correct English. That is why the answer names segment (a).
- The standard English form is 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'.
- Its sense is that a sure small gain is preferable to an uncertain bigger one.
- 'In hand' on its own is a different phrase meaning available or under control.
- Reading past the missing article because the line still sounds familiar.
- Marking 'No error' because the sense of the proverb survives.
Asked as an error-spotting item — name the segment that contains the error, or mark 'No error'.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Complete the proverb: A bird in the hand is worth ___.
- (a)two in the bush
- (b)two in the tree
- (c)many in the sky
- (d)a nest in the bush
Answer(a) two in the bush — the fixed wording contrasts one certain bird with two uncertain ones.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Spot the error: (a) Make hay / (b) while sun shines / (c) or you will regret it. / (d) No error
- (a)(a)
- (b)(b)
- (c)(c)
- (d)No error
Answer(b) while sun shines — the proverb runs 'while the sun shines'; the article is part of the set phrase.