Editing, omission and concord
Class 9 English · Grammar · 30 questions with answers
Editing questions are not a test of grammar theory - they are pattern recognition. Four or five error types recur in almost every paper: articles, prepositions, subject-verb agreement, tense slips and wrong forms of a word. A child who knows the list scans for them; a child who does not reads the sentence hoping something sounds wrong.
- Recognises the recurring error types rather than reasoning each sentence out
- Corrects subject-verb agreement where the subject is separated from the verb
- Chooses the right article and preposition by pattern
- Spots a missing word in an omission exercise
Exercise 1 of 3 · 10 questions
Correct the verb. Say what the subject actually is.
Write the answer · Warm-up
Here’s one done for you
'The list of items are on the desk' should be 'is', because the subject is 'the list' and not 'items'. This is the single commonest concord error in the paper and it always works the same way: a phrase beginning with 'of' comes between the subject and the verb, and the child agrees the verb with the nearest noun. Cover the 'of' phrase with a finger and the right verb becomes obvious.
- 1)The list of items are on the desk.
- 2)Each of the students have submitted the form.
- 3)Neither of the answers were correct.
- 4)The quality of the mangoes were poor.
- 5)Mathematics are my favourite subject.
- 6)The number of applicants have increased.
- 7)Bread and butter are my usual breakfast.
- 8)Ten kilometres are a long distance.
- 9)Every one of the players were tired.
- 10)The jury was divided in their opinion.
Answers
- 1) 'is'. The subject is 'the list', not 'items' - the phrase 'of items' only describes it.
- 2) 'has'. 'Each' is singular, however many students there are.
- 3) 'was'. 'Neither' is singular.
- 4) 'was'. The subject is 'the quality', not 'the mangoes'.
- 5) 'is'. Mathematics is a singular subject despite ending in -s.
- 6) has. The subject is 'the number', which is singular; 'of applicants' only describes it.
- 7) is. 'Bread and butter' is treated as a single item, so it takes a singular verb.
- 8) is. A measure of distance taken as one quantity is singular.
- 9) was. The subject is 'every one', which is singular however many players there are.
- 10) were. When a collective noun acts as separate individuals - here 'divided' - it takes a plural verb.
Exercise 2 of 3 · 10 questions
Each line has one incorrect word. Write the incorrect word and the correction.
Write the answer · Guided
Here’s one done for you
'She has been working here since five years' - the error is 'since', which should be 'for'. The rule is worth learning as a pair rather than separately: 'for' takes a length of time (for five years, for an hour), 'since' takes a starting point (since 2019, since Monday). This exact error appears in editing exercises more often than any other, and recognising it takes a second where reasoning it out takes thirty.
- 1)She has been working here since five years.
- 2)He is one of the best player in the team.
- 3)I am living in Bengaluru since 2019.
- 4)The teacher asked me that where I was going.
- 5)He did not came to school yesterday.
- 6)He has went to the market an hour ago.
- 7)She don't know the answer to this question.
- 8)The childrens were playing in the park.
- 9)I have completed the work since yesterday.
- 10)He is more taller than his brother.
Answers
- 1) since → for. 'For' is used with a length of time, 'since' with a point in time.
- 2) player → players. 'One of the' is always followed by a plural noun.
- 3) am living → have been living. An action continuing from a past point to now takes the present perfect continuous.
- 4) that → (delete). Reported questions do not take 'that' before the question word.
- 5) came → come. After 'did', the verb stays in its base form.
- 6) went → gone. With 'has' the past participle is needed, not the simple past.
- 7) don't → doesn't. A singular third-person subject takes 'does'.
- 8) childrens → children. 'Children' is already plural.
- 9) have → had, or 'since' → 'yesterday' alone. 'Since' needs a perfect continuous or a starting point, not a completed action.
- 10) more → removed. 'Taller' is already comparative, so 'more' is redundant.
Exercise 3 of 3 · 10 questions
A word has been omitted from each line. Write the missing word and the words on either side of it.
Write the answer · Practice
Here’s one done for you
'He was so tired that he could walk' is missing 'not', and it is the most interesting item here because nothing about the grammar is wrong - the sentence is simply illogical. Omission questions are usually missing one of four things: an article, a preposition, a negative, or a helping verb. Checking for those four in order is far faster than reading the sentence repeatedly and waiting for something to feel wrong.
- 1)The boy was standing corner of the street.
- 2)She is best singer in our class.
- 3)I have been waiting you since morning.
- 4)He was so tired that he could walk.
- 5)Please give me glass of water.
- 6)She is one the finest speakers I know.
- 7)He was accused stealing the money.
- 8)The book is lying the table.
- 9)They have been living here 2015.
- 10)I am fond playing chess.
Answers
- 1) standing at the corner - the preposition 'at' is missing.
- 2) is the best - the article 'the' is missing before a superlative.
- 3) waiting for you - the preposition 'for' is missing.
- 4) could not walk - the negative 'not' is missing; without it the sentence contradicts itself.
- 5) me a glass - the article 'a' is missing.
- 6) of - 'one of the finest speakers'.
- 7) of - 'accused of stealing'.
- 8) on - 'lying on the table'.
- 9) since - 'living here since 2015'.
- 10) of - 'fond of playing'.
While your child works
- Cover any 'of' phrase between the subject and the verb. The right verb becomes obvious immediately.
- 'For' takes a length of time, 'since' takes a starting point. This pair appears in editing exercises more than any other rule.
- For omission, check four things in order: article, preposition, negative, helping verb.