Home » Verbal Ability » Spotting Errors

English grammar error-spotting (pronoun reference and parallel structure in result clause): Read the sentence split into four labeled parts (A–D) and choose the single part that contains the grammatical or idiomatic error; select ‘‘No error’’ only if the entire sentence is correct. Focus on clear antecedent for pronouns and balanced ‘‘such … that’’ construction: ‘‘Salim and Antony are such good friends / that one won't go to the pictures. / without his coming too. / No error.’

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: without his coming too.

Explanation:


Given data

  • A: ‘‘Salim and Antony are such good friends’’
  • B: ‘‘that one won't go to the pictures.’’
  • C: ‘‘without his coming too.’’
  • D: ‘‘No error.’’


Concept / Approach
After the correlative ‘‘such … that …’’, the result clause should be clear and idiomatic. The pronouns ‘‘one’’ and ‘‘his’’ create unclear reference; with two named persons, standard English prefers ‘‘the other’’/‘‘each other’’ for reciprocity.


Step-by-step analysis
Step 1: Keep the cause clause (A) intact.Step 2: In B, ‘‘go to the pictures’’ (BrE) is acceptable.Step 3: In C, replace ambiguous ‘‘his’’ with a precise reciprocal phrase.


Correction
‘‘… that one won’t go to the pictures without the other coming too.’’ or ‘‘… that neither will go to the pictures without the other.’’


Verification
Now the pronoun refers unambiguously to the other friend, matching the intended meaning.


Common pitfalls

  • Using ‘‘one … his’’ when two specific people are mentioned.
  • Breaking the result clause across punctuation in a way that obscures meaning.


Final Answer
without his coming too.

← Previous Question Next Question→

More Questions from Spotting Errors

Discussion & Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Join Discussion