Bread, butter and (a) / jam common breakfast items (b) / that are consumed by many households. (c) / No error (d)
- (a)Bread, butter and
- (b)jam common breakfast items
- (c)that are consumed by many households.
- (d)No error
Correct — B, 'jam common breakfast items'. The sentence opens with a compound subject — bread, butter and jam — but segment (b) prints nothing between 'jam' and 'common', so the sentence never gets the verb that would say something about the three foods. The plural linking verb belongs exactly there, giving 'jam are common breakfast items'.
- (a)Bread, butter and — Error-free. 'Bread, butter and' opens a compound subject with correct punctuation before the last item.
- (c)that are consumed by many households. — Error-free. The relative clause 'that are consumed by many households' is well formed, and its plural verb matches the plural antecedent.
- (d)No error — There is an error — segment (b) is missing the verb the compound subject needs — so 'No error' is not the answer.
A compound subject joined by 'and' takes a plural verb, and that linking verb cannot simply be left out.
The segment appears in the booklet exactly as reproduced here, with nothing standing between 'jam' and 'common breakfast items'. That gap is the fault the item is testing. Read each segment aloud and check that the sentence actually has a main verb before you settle on 'No error'.
- Two or more subjects joined by 'and' take a plural verb.
- A linking verb is required even when the complement follows the subject directly.
- Reading the missing verb in by accident because the sentence sounds complete in the head.
- Choosing 'No error' when the fault is an omission rather than a wrong word.
Asked as a spotting-errors item — name the segment that contains the error, or mark 'No error'.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Spot the error. Rice, wheat and (a) / millet staple grains (b) / in many parts of India. (c) / No error (d)
- (a)Rice, wheat and
- (b)millet staple grains
- (c)in many parts of India.
- (d)No error
Answer(b) millet staple grains — the compound subject needs the plural verb, giving 'millet are staple grains'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Spot the error. My brother and (a) / my cousin is coming (b) / to the function tomorrow. (c) / No error (d)
- (a)My brother and
- (b)my cousin is coming
- (c)to the function tomorrow.
- (d)No error
Answer(b) my cousin is coming — a compound subject joined by 'and' takes the plural verb 'are coming'.