Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: The extent to which the minister’s statement came under criticism (1)/ reflects not merely public dissatisfaction (2)/ but also that the media has (3)/ increasingly begun scrutinising political rhetoric. (4)
- (a)(1)
- (b)(2)
- (c)(3)
- (d)(4)
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The trigger is the pair not merely ... but also. The words after each half must be the same kind of unit.
After not merely comes a noun phrase: public dissatisfaction. After but also comes a clause: that the media has increasingly begun. A noun phrase and a clause do not match.
Part (2) sets the pattern and part (3) breaks it. Repair: 'but also the media's growing scrutiny of political rhetoric' → option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)(1) — The extent to which the statement came under criticism is a sound subject. Its head, extent, is singular, so the verb reflects agrees with it.
- (b)(2) — reflects not merely public dissatisfaction is correct: a singular verb for the extent, with not merely placed right before its noun phrase. It sets the pattern that part (3) fails to follow.
- (d)(4) — increasingly begun scrutinising is sound: has begun is the present perfect, begin can take an -ing form, and the adverb increasingly may sit between has and begun.
Concept
Correlative conjunctions come in pairs: not only or not merely ... but also, either ... or, neither ... nor, both ... and. Each half must be followed by the same grammatical unit.
Noun phrase with noun phrase: not merely public dissatisfaction but also media scrutiny.
Clause with clause: not merely that the public is angry but also that the media has changed.
In spot-the-error, look for the half that breaks the pattern the first half set. Here that is part (3).
The repair could also come from the other side, 'not merely that the public is dissatisfied but also that the media has...', which rewrites part (2). The key marks part (3), where the second half breaks the pattern.
'The media has' is not the fault: current dictionaries accept the media with a singular or a plural verb. Even a strict plural reading would point to part (3).
Key facts
- After not only or not merely, and after but also, use the same grammatical unit.
- A noun phrase and a that-clause do not pair: not merely X but also that Y is unbalanced.
- Balanced: reflects not merely public dissatisfaction but also the media's growing scrutiny.
Study next
Common traps
- Blaming 'the media has' for its singular verb, which lands on part (3) for the wrong reason.
- Passing part (3) because a that-clause is grammatical after reflects, without checking what it is paired with.
Correlative placement is tested at 14 Sep 2025, 16:00, English Q.11: 'does not only reflect legal opportunism' is keyed as the error in part (2), because not only must stand before the verb to match 'but also undermines'.
16 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.12 tests agreement instead: 'Not only the minister but also the bureaucrats has been accused', keyed at part (2).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.