Spotting Errors
~15 min read
- What: Spotting Errors gives a sentence split into three underlined parts labelled (a), (b), (c). You pick the part with a grammatical error — or (d) if the sentence is correct as it stands.
- Why it matters: Spotting Errors is the single largest English block in NDA. Most papers carry 5–10 items; the 2015–2017 papers often carried 10. Marks-per-paper range: 12.5 to 25.
- Key habit: Spotting Errors is not a vocabulary block — it is a grammar-checklist block. Twelve categories cover ~95% of NDA's errors. Run a fast checklist on every sentence; do not just "read for feel".
Spotting Errors is the most frequently-tested block in NDA English. Across the 16 papers from 2015 to 2024 we extracted, every paper carried a Spotting Errors block — usually as the opening section. If your grammar is solid, this section can score you 8–10 marks net (after negative marking) with confidence; if shaky, it can drain 6–8 marks.
The good news: NDA's error pool is finite and predictable. We mapped every error in the extracted PYQs and found that twelve categories cover the vast majority. Learn the checklist, drill it on PYQs, and the block becomes scoring-reliable rather than scoring-anxiety.
This page lays out the format, the twelve error categories, the 5-pass scan method, and worked PYQ examples. Pair it with Sentence Improvement (which tests the same grammar errors in a substitution format) and Parts of Speech (foundation grammar).
What Spotting Errors Tests in NDA
NDA Spotting Errors — Question Format
- Item type: One sentence split into three underlined parts labelled (a), (b), (c). The whole sentence has at most one error.
- Instruction: "Read each sentence to find out whether there is an error in any underlined part." (d) = No error.
- Number: Usually 5 in recent papers; 10 in 2015–2017. Always the first block.
- Difficulty: Roughly 1 trivial + 2–3 standard grammar errors + 1 trap (a sentence that feels wrong but is actually correct → answer (d) No error).
Exam Pattern & Weightage
| Year / Paper | No. of Items | Error Mix |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-I / 2015-II | 10 each | Preposition, tense, S-V agreement, conditional |
| 2016-I / 2016-II | 10 each | Preposition heavy + pronoun reference |
| 2017-I / 2017-II | 5–10 | Tense, modal, article, redundancy |
| 2018-I/II | 5 | Compact block; mixed types |
| 2019-I/II | 5 | Continued stable pattern |
| 2020-I | 5 | (2020-II not held) |
| 2021-I/II | 5 | Article, preposition, tense most common |
| 2022-I/II | 5 | S-V agreement, idiomatic use |
| 2023-I/II | 5 | Mixed types, ~1 "No error" trap per block |
| 2024-I/II | 5 | Continued stable pattern |
Allocate ~3 minutes for a 5-item block, ~5 minutes for a 10-item block. Spotting Errors rewards speed-with-system over speed-without — slow candidates score okay, but those who run the 5-pass scan score best in the time budget.
The 5-Pass Scan Method
"Reading naturally" misses errors that sound right (especially the No Error trap). Instead, run five fast passes over each sentence:
- Pass 1 — Subject-Verb Agreement. Locate the main verb and its subject. Singular subject → singular verb. The principal as well as the teachers are coming ← wrong (subject is "principal", singular).
- Pass 2 — Tense. Are all verbs in compatible tenses? When the dentist came in, my tooth was stopped aching ← wrong (mixed tense; should be "had stopped aching").
- Pass 3 — Prepositions. Check every preposition; English has fixed pairings. Awaiting for his arrival ← wrong (await takes no preposition; "waiting for" needs wait).
- Pass 4 — Articles & Determiners. A/an/the placement. He went to hospital (BrE OK as patient) vs He went to the hospital (visiting). Countability: furnitures ← wrong, furniture is uncountable.
- Pass 5 — Idiom & Construction. Fixed constructions that NDA loves to bend: No sooner ... than (not "when"), Hardly ... when, Scarcely ... when, Lest ... should, Both ... and, Either ... or.
Why the 5-Pass Beats "Reading Naturally"
- Pass-based scanning catches the "feels-right-but-isn't" errors that natural reading misses.
- Speed comes with practice. The first hundred sentences take ~1 minute each. By the thousandth, all five passes happen in ~15 seconds.
- If all five passes find nothing, the answer is (d) No error — confidently mark it. Don't add a sixth pass looking for invisible errors.
Twelve Error Categories NDA Tests
Each category includes the rule, a typical NDA stem, and the correction.
Category 1 — Subject-Verb Agreement
Rule: The verb agrees with its subject, not with any noun phrase between them.
Wrong: "The quality of the apples were excellent." (subject = quality, singular)
Right: "The quality of the apples was excellent."
Special cases: Either / Neither / Each / Every + singular noun → singular verb. None can be singular or plural depending on sense.
Category 2 — Tense Consistency
Rule: Within a sentence, tenses must be consistent unless the meaning requires a shift.
Wrong (NDA 2015-I): "When the dentist came in, my tooth was stopped aching out of fear." (mixed passive + active; "was stopped" is past simple passive, doesn't fit with "aching".)
Right: "When the dentist came in, my tooth stopped aching" or "had stopped aching".
Category 3 — Preposition
Rule: Verb-preposition pairings are fixed and must be memorised.
Wrong (NDA 2015-I): "The students were awaiting for the arrival of the chief guest." (await takes no preposition)
Right: "awaiting the arrival" or "waiting for the arrival".
Other fixed pairings: differ from (a thing) / differ with (a person); compare to (similarity) / compare with (analysis); insist on; composed of; consists of; capable of; different from.
Category 4 — Articles (a / an / the)
Rule: "An" before vowel sound (an honour, an MP); "a" before consonant sound (a university, a one-eyed man). The for specific reference; no article before some institutions (school, college, hospital) when used in their primary function.
Wrong: "He is studying in the university." (general study, no article)
Right: "He is studying at university."
Category 5 — Pronouns & Reference
Rule: A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and person, and the antecedent must be unambiguous.
Wrong: "Every student must complete their assignment." (BrE strict: "his" or "his/her"; modern English allows "their", but NDA still tests the strict rule.)
Common NDA pronoun targets: each / every → singular pronoun; everyone / anyone / nobody → singular pronoun in strict grammar.
Category 6 — Adjective vs Adverb
Rule: Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Wrong: "She sings beautiful." (modifying the verb "sings" → needs adverb)
Right: "She sings beautifully."
NDA trap: Good (adj) vs well (adv). "He plays good" ← wrong. "He plays well" ← right.
Category 7 — Conjunctions & Fixed Pairs
Rule: Certain conjunctions come in fixed pairs. Substituting a partner is wrong.
Wrong (NDA 2015-I): "No sooner did I open the door when the rain rushed in." (No sooner ... than, not when)
Right: "No sooner did I open the door than the rain rushed in."
Other fixed pairs: Hardly ... when; Scarcely ... when/before; Lest ... should; Both ... and; Either ... or; Neither ... nor; Not only ... but also.
Category 8 — Redundancy
Rule: A word whose meaning is already carried by another word is redundant.
Wrong (NDA 2015-I): "After opening the door we entered into the room next to the kitchen." ("entered" already means "go into"; "entered into" is wrong unless metaphorical, as in "entered into an agreement")
Other classic redundancies: return back, repeat again, future plans, final outcome, past history, cooperate together, each and every (in formal English).
Category 9 — Question Tags
Rule: Question tag matches the main verb and reverses the polarity. Positive sentence → negative tag; negative → positive.
Wrong (NDA 2015-I): "You will come to my party tomorrow, isn't it?" ("Isn't it" is an Indianism)
Right: "You will come to my party tomorrow, won't you?" (match the auxiliary "will" → won't + you)
Category 10 — Conditionals
Rule: "If" clause and main clause must match by type. Type 2: If + past simple, would + base. Type 3: If + past perfect, would have + past participle.
Wrong: "If I would have known, I would have helped." (Type 3 needs "had known")
Right: "If I had known, I would have helped."
Category 11 — Modals
Rule: Modals (can, may, must, should, would, could, might) are followed by the base form of the verb. Some modal idioms carry fixed meanings.
Wrong (NDA 2015-I): "He couldn't but help shed tears..." (couldn't help but / couldn't but → "He couldn't help but shed tears" or "He couldn't but shed tears" — never both.)
Right: "He couldn't help but shed tears..." or "He couldn't but shed tears..."
Category 12 — Word Order
Rule: English follows Subject-Verb-Object order. Modifiers attach to what they describe; misplaced modifiers create ambiguity.
Wrong (NDA 2015-I): "Having read a number of stories about space travel, his dream now is about to visit the moon." (dangling modifier — "having read" should modify a person, not "his dream")
Right: "Having read ... he now dreams of visiting the moon."
Worked Examples from NDA PYQs
Worked Example 1 — Tense Mix (NDA 2015-I, Q7)
Stem: "When the dentist came in (a) / my tooth was stopped aching (b) / out of fear that I might lose my tooth. (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: Pass 1 (S-V): OK. Pass 2 (Tense): part (b) has "was stopped aching" — past simple passive + present participle, ungrammatical. Should be "stopped aching" or "had stopped aching".
Answer: (b).
Worked Example 2 — Preposition (NDA 2015-I, Q9)
Stem: "The students were (a) / awaiting for (b) / the arrival of the chief guest. (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: Pass 3 (Preposition): "await" is transitive and takes no preposition. "Awaiting for" is wrong — either "awaiting" alone or "waiting for".
Answer: (b).
Worked Example 3 — Fixed Conjunction (NDA 2015-I, Q5)
Stem: "No sooner did I open the door (a) / when the rain, heavy and stormy, rushed in (b) / making us shiver from head to foot. (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: Pass 5 (Fixed pairs): "No sooner ... than" is the fixed construction. "When" is wrong.
Answer: (b).
Worked Example 4 — Redundancy (NDA 2015-I, Q6)
Stem: "After opening the door (a) / we entered into the room (b) / next to the kitchen. (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: "Entered into" is redundant. "Entered" already means "went into".
Answer: (b).
Worked Example 5 — Question Tag (NDA 2015-I, Q10)
Stem: "You will come (a) / to my party tomorrow, (b) / isn't it? (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: "Isn't it" is an Indianism — the tag should match the auxiliary. "Will" → "won't you". So part (c) is wrong.
Answer: (c).
Worked Example 6 — Dangling Modifier (NDA 2015-I, Q11)
Stem: "Having read a number of stories (a) / about space travel (b) / his dream now is about to visit the moon. (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: "Having read" needs a person as subject of the main clause. The main subject is "his dream", which cannot read. Dangling modifier — part (c) is wrong.
Answer: (c).
Worked Example 7 — Misuse of "Unless" (NDA 2015-I, Q1)
Stem: "Unless you stop to make noise at once, (a) / I will have no option but to (b) / bring the matter to the attention of the police. (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: "Unless" already contains a negative ("if not"); "Unless you stop" means "If you don't stop". The infinitive "stop to make" means "stop in order to make" — which contradicts the intended meaning. Should be "stop making" (cease the act). Part (a) is wrong.
Answer: (a).
Worked Example 8 — Modal Idiom (NDA 2015-I, Q2)
Stem: "He couldn't but help (a) / shed tears at the plight of the villagers (b) / rendered homeless by a devastating cyclone. (c) / No error. (d)"
5-pass scan: "Couldn't but help" mixes two idioms: "couldn't help (doing)" and "couldn't but (do)". Pick one. Part (a) is wrong.
Answer: (a).
Across 16 papers we extracted, the most frequent error categories were: Preposition (22%), Tense (18%), Subject-Verb Agreement (15%), Fixed Conjunction Pairs (12%), Redundancy (9%), Article (8%). These six categories alone covered 84% of items. The remaining 16% spread across pronoun reference, adjective-adverb, conditional, modal, word order, and question tag.
Three Traps NDA Exploits
- The "sounds-right" trap. Indianisms (discuss about, isn't it, return back, cope up) sound right because Indian English speakers use them. NDA uses strict BrE; all four are wrong.
- The "no-error" trap. Roughly 1 in every 5–7 Spotting Errors items has (d) No error as the correct answer. Candidates who never trust (d) get these wrong. Trust your 5-pass scan: if it finds nothing, mark (d).
- The "obvious-error-distraction" trap. Part (b) looks suspicious because it has a complex phrase; the real error is in the innocuous-looking part (a) or (c). Always scan all three parts before deciding.
The "No Error" Decision Rule
The single hardest skill in Spotting Errors is correctly choosing (d) No error. Two-thirds of candidates over-pick errors that don't exist; the other third never trust (d) at all. Both are wrong.
The 30-Second Rule
- Run the 5-pass scan in ≤30 seconds.
- If two passes flag a possible error, dig deeper.
- If no pass flags anything in 30 seconds, mark (d) and move on.
- Do not "search for errors" beyond 30 seconds — that is when candidates manufacture errors that aren't there.
Memorise these as always-wrong in NDA: discuss about, order for / mention about / explain about, return back, cope up with, cousin brother / sister, schoolgoing children, marry with, request for, prefer X than Y (should be "to"), isn't it as universal tag.
Preparation Strategy
6-Week Spotting Errors Plan
- Week 1: Categories 1–4 (S-V, tense, preposition, article). 5 PYQ items per day.
- Week 2: Categories 5–8 (pronoun, adj/adv, conjunction pairs, redundancy).
- Week 3: Categories 9–12 (tags, conditionals, modals, word order). Full-block daily practice.
- Week 4: Mixed daily blocks of 10 items each. Track which category you miss most often and revisit.
- Week 5: Timed practice — 10 items in 5 minutes. Confidence with (d) No error must be built here.
- Week 6: Final revision. Indianism hit list + the six high-frequency categories.
Drill Spotting Errors with the 5-Pass Method
NDA-pattern Spotting Errors blocks with category-tagged explanations. Real PYQs plus close-pattern items.
Start Free Mock TestFrequently Asked Questions
How many Spotting Errors items come in NDA?
5 in most papers from 2018 onwards; 10 in 2015–2017. The block is almost always the first section of the paper.
When is the answer "(d) No error"?
Roughly 1 in every 5–7 items. Trust your 5-pass scan: if all five passes turn up nothing in 30 seconds, mark (d).
What are the most common error categories?
Preposition (22%), Tense (18%), Subject-Verb Agreement (15%), Fixed Conjunction Pairs (12%), Redundancy (9%), Article (8%). These six cover ~84% of NDA Spotting Errors items.
How long should I spend per item?
Target: ~30 seconds per item. A 5-item block in under 3 minutes; a 10-item block in under 5 minutes. Anything slower means your method is missing patterns.
Are Indianisms always wrong?
In NDA, yes — NDA tests British Standard English. Discuss about, return back, isn't it as a universal tag, cope up with are all wrong in NDA, regardless of how Indian speakers use them in daily life.
Which NDA English topics connect to Spotting Errors?
Sentence Improvement tests the same grammar errors in substitution format. Identifying Correct Sentences tests them in a four-option format. Parts of Speech and Prepositions are foundation grammar.