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Error spotting (bank/SSC direction): Identify the erroneous part (A/B/C) in the sentence — mark D if there is no error — 'She is / no longer popular as she has / a friends / No error.'. Choose the segment that contains the grammatical mistake and consider number–article agreement and collocations.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: a friends

Explanation:


Given data

  • Sentence parts: (A) She is (B) no longer popular as she has (C) a friends (D) No error.


Concept/Approach: Number–article agreement
The article 'a' is singular and must modify a singular count noun; 'friends' is plural. Therefore, the phrase must be either 'a friend' (singular) or 'friends' without 'a', or a quantifier like 'few friends'/'many friends'.


Step-by-step diagnosis
1) Locate the noun phrase: 'a friends'.2) Check article–noun agreement: singular article + plural noun → incorrect.3) Correct forms include: 'a friend', 'no friends', 'few friends'.


Verification/Alternative
'She is no longer popular as she has few friends.' is idiomatic and grammatically correct.


Common pitfalls
Mixing singular articles with plural nouns; omitting needed quantifiers.


Final Answer
Part C 'a friends' is erroneous (number–article disagreement).

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