The following sentence has been divided into four parts. Identify the part which contains a grammatical error. If there is no error in the sentence, then select 'No Error'. The whole family (A)/ would burst into (B)/ peals for laughter. (C)/ No Error (D)

Correct — D. Option (d) names part C, 'peals for laughter'. The fixed phrase is peals of laughter: a peal is a loud ringing or burst of sound, and what the sound is made of follows of, as in 'a peal of thunder' or 'a peal of bells'.

'The whole family would burst into peals of laughter' → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  B — Would burst into is grammatical. Would can mark a past habit or a conditional result, and burst into rightly takes a noun: burst into tears, into song, into laughter.
• (b)
  A — The whole family is a sound subject, and the modal would does not change form for agreement, so part A carries no error.
• (c)
  D — Part C has an error, for where the phrase needs of, so No Error cannot be the answer.

Some nouns of sound take of before what they are made of: a peal of laughter, a burst of applause, a clap of thunder, a roar of anger. The of-phrase names the content.

For would express purpose ('a bell for the school') and makes no sense after peals.

Burst into + noun means to start suddenly: burst into tears, burst into song. With an -ing form the verb is burst out: burst out laughing.

Key facts

• Peal means a loud ringing or a loud burst of sound: a peal of bells, peals of laughter.
• Burst into + noun means to begin suddenly: burst into tears, burst into laughter.
• Burst out takes an -ing form: burst out laughing, burst out crying.

Common traps

• Suspecting would in part B because there is no if-clause — would can simply mark a past habit
• Marking No Error because 'peals for laughter' reads smoothly at speed — the phrase is fixed as peals of laughter

No directly related past PYQ was found.