Select the sentence that contains a spelling error.

Correct — D. Scan for spelling one word at a time rather than reading for sense.

Option (d) writes believes where the sentence needs the plural noun beliefs: 'There are many beliefs about ancient artefacts'.

Belief is one of the -f nouns that simply adds -s, like chief and chiefs. It does not change to -ves. 'Believes' is a real string, but it is the present-tense form of the verb believe, and a verb cannot follow 'many'.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Fermented apple juice is touted to have many health benefits though most are — Fermented, touted and benefits are all standard. The line breaks off short in the source, but every word option (a) actually prints is spelt correctly.
• (b)
  It is important for scientists to acknowledge their humanity and the implications of — Acknowledge keeps its silent d. Option (b) spells acknowledge, humanity and implications correctly and offers no misspelling to find.
• (c)
  Intriguing as it is, the house was never sold because it was thought to be haunted. — Intriguing and haunted are both right. Option (c) is the one option printed as a complete sentence, and it carries no spelling fault anywhere in it.

'Find the sentence with a spelling error' rewards a word-by-word scan. Reading for meaning will not flag the fault, because a misspelling that lands on another real word still reads smoothly.

That is what happens here, and the mechanism is worth keeping. The -f to -ves rule is real but limited: leaf becomes leaves, knife becomes knives, wolf becomes wolves.

Apply that rule to belief and you get exactly believes — which is the string the paper prints. Belief does not take it. It adds a plain -s, as chief, roof and proof do.

Key facts

• The plural of belief is beliefs, formed by adding -s and keeping the f.
• Chief, roof and proof also take a plain -s in the plural.
• Leaf, knife, wolf and life are among the -f nouns that change to -ves.
• Believes is the third-person singular form of the verb believe, not a plural noun.

Common traps

• Reading for meaning and sliding past 'believes' because it is a real English word.
• Assuming the longest or most technical-sounding option must be the one hiding the error.
• Applying the leaf-to-leaves rule to belief, which produces the very misspelling the paper prints.

No directly related past PYQ was found.