CDS General English Spotting The Errors Articles Study Material

CDS General English Spotting The Errors Articles Study Material : The “Combined Defence Service Services”  Examination is conducted twice a year by the Unoin Public Service Commission (UPSC) to induct in the Indian Defence Forces; Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Airforce. And General English Exam is consist of high weightage of number, so start practice with sectionwise theory and its practice sets which are given below.

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“ARTICLES” and its definition, types and its example with theory and its practice sets with solution

Articles are the members of the determiners family. ‘A, An and The’ are articles. Articles are used before nouns.

• e.g. – My brother is a businessman.
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Here, ‘a’ is an article which is used before the noun (businessman) and ‘an’ is an article which is used before the noun ‘apple’.

Indefinite Articles 

• Indefinite article ‘A’ is used before the words starting with the consonants.
• Indefinite articles ‘An’ is used with the words starting with the vowel sound. (a,e,i,o,u)

e.g. – An umbrella is kept there.

• A European lives in our colony.
• Meerut has a university.
• An honest and hardworking person always succeeds in life.
• An hour is left.
• An hour is left.
• An MA, An SP, An LLB

Use of Indefinite Articles which are helpful to solve the practice set of the Article

• Before a common noun in singular to suggest the sense of one.
• e.g. – Twelve inches make a foot.
• There is a fan in the room.
• A man is standing on the road.
• Before a common noun in singular to suggest the vague sense of a certain or any.
• e.g. – A book is kept there.
• To make a common noun of a proper noun. In this case, both definite and/or indefinite article can be used according to the case.
• e. g. – Ajay is a Sherlok Holmes of our class.
• Samundragupta was the Napoleon of India.
• In the sense of each, every or per.
• e.g. – The doctor advised the patient to take the medicine twice a day.
• He studies for two hours a day.
• In exclamations before singular countable nouns.
• e. g. – What a shot!
• What a beautiful girl!

“Definite Article” 

Use of Definite Article ‘The’

• When we speak of a particular person or thing or one already referred to.
• e.g. –the book is kept there.
• The CD of that movie is available in the market.
• The book you mentioned is available in the store.
• The pleasant weather is inviting us outside.
• Before the names of physical features in Geography
• e.g. – The Himalayas, The Gangas, The Indian Ocean, etc.
• However, if the reference is to a Single Island or a Single Mountain, ‘the’ is not used.
• e.g. – The Kanchenjunga is the highest peak of the Himalayas in India.
• Kanchenjunga is the highest peak of the Himalayas in India.
• The North Andaman is a part of the Andaman group of islands.
• North Andaman is a part of the Andaman group of islands.
• Before common nouns which are names of things unique or of their kind.
• e.g. – The Sun, The Moon, The Earth, The Sky.
• Before the names of countries which show federation.
• e.g. The United States of America, The mythological books, newspapers, magazines, journals, etc.

            Exception The Netherlands, The Hague

• Before the names of religious and mythological books, newspapers, magazine, journals, etc.
• e.g. – The Bible, The India Today, The Times of India, etc.
• Before Superlatives.
• e.g. – I am the best.
• He is the cleverest.
• As an adverb with a comparative.
• e.g.- The more, the merrier.
• The sooner, the better.
• The higher you go, the colder it is.
• Before terms denoting Nationality, Community and Castes.
• e.g.- The Australians, The Indians, The Hindus etc
• Before historic events.
• e.g. – The 1^st Battle of Panipat, The Revolt of 1857, The Quit India Movement, The Gulf War, etc.
• Before musical instruments.
• e.g.- I can play the flute very well.
• Ustad Amjad Ali Khan plays the sarod.
• Before an adjective when it represents a class of a people.
• e.g. – The rich should help the poor.
• The old should be respected by the young.
• Before a unit of measurement.
• e.g. – Cloth is sold by the meter.
• Bananas are sold by the dozen.
• Before a common noun to five the force of superlative.
• e.g. – He is the man.
• This is the thing to do.
• Before the adjectives ‘same’ and ‘whole’ and after the adjectives ‘all’ and ‘both’.
• e.g. – He is the same person that I saw yesterday.
• The whole class performed splendidly.
• All the boys passed with flying colours.
• Both the friends were present there.
• Before a common noun to give it the meaning of an abstract noun.
• e.g.- The moralist in Gandhi revolted against injustice.
• The judge in him prevailed upon the father and he sentenced his son to death.
• Before various Cups and Trophies.
• e.g- Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup.
• Almost all countries participate in the Olympics.
• Before comparative degree in case of a choice.
• e.g. – He is the stronger of the two friends.

Omission of Articles

• Before proper nouns.
• e.g. – The New Delhi is the capital of India. (False)
• Before material noun and abstract noun used in general sense.
• e.g. – The building is made up of the brick and the stone. (False)
• The building is made up of brick and stone. (True)
• I have the love for you. (False)
• I have love for you. (True)
• The care of the old is necessary. (False)
• Care of the old is necessary. (True)
• However, if the material noun and abstract noun show some specific cases, article should be used.
• e.g. – The stone of Kota is of good quality.
• The love SI have for you is unconditional and infinite.
• Before a noun used in its widest sense.
• e.g. – The science is a subject based on facts. (False)
• Science is a subject based on facts. (True)
• The man is immortal. (False)
• Man is immortal. (True)
• The tiger is the national animal of India. (False)
• Tiger is the national animal of India. (True)
• Before the noun following ‘Kind of’.
• e.g. – What kind of a person you are? (False)
• What Kind of person you are? (True)
• What Kind of a book is it? (False)
• What kind of a book is it? (True)
• Before uncountable nouns.
• e.g. – He gave me advice.
• He passed on information to me.
• Before school, college, home, church, temple, sea, work, bed, table, hospital, market, prison, court. However, when their purpose is thought of rather than the actual building, ‘the’ is used.
• e.g. – I go to church every Sunday.
• I go to bed early these days.
• Before names of diseases.
• e.g. – AIDS can be prevented using safety measures.
• Cancer can be treated if detected early.
• Before regular meals except when preceded by an Adjective.
• e.g. – I usually take breakfast at 9 o’ clock.
• We should take dinner atleast two hours before the sleeping time to avoid indigestion.
• They gave us a sumptuous lunch.
• Before modes of travel.
• e.g. – Uncle will come tomorrow.
• Father is working on a project.
• Before adjectives used as nouns signifying a language or colours.
• e.g. – He doesn’t know Hindi, but he knows English.
• I like red and blue.
• When two or more descriptive adjectives qualifying the same noun are connected by ‘and’, the Article is used before the first adjective only.
• e.g. It is a Hindi and English Dictionary. (Here, the dictionary is one).
• When two or more adjectives qualify different nouns expressed or understood, the Article is used before each adjective.
• e.g. – The inner and the outer wall were both strongly defended.
• He possesses a black dog and a white bitch.

“SPOTTING THE ERRORS” is designed to test the candidate and understanding of English and workman-like use of words. 

SET 5

ERRORS OF ARTICLES according to chapterwise theory and for practice of CDS

Directions (Q. Nos. 1-30) Which part of the given sentences has an error? In case, there is no error, choose option (d).

1. The road (a)/ to famous monument (b)/ passes through a forest. (c)/ No error (d)
2. Our Housing Society comprises of (a)/six blocks and (b)/ thirty three flats in and area of about thousand sq. metres. (c)/ No error (d)
3. Now that she is living in her own flat, (a)/ she cleans the windows (b)/ twice a week in the summer and once a week in the winter. (c) / No error (d)
4. With little imagination and enterprise, (a)/ the tournament could have been transformed (b)/ into a major attraction. (c)/ No error (d)
5. These display (a)/ the (b)/ remarkable variety. (c)/ No errors (d)
6. If you have faith in Almighty (a)/ everything will turn out (b)/ to be all right. (c)/ No error (d)
7. According to the Bibles (a)/ it is meek and humble (b)/ who shall inherit the Earth. (c)/ No error (d)
8. On my request (a)/ Lalit introduced me to his friend (b)/ who is singer and a scientist. (c)/ No error (d)
9. This town isn’t very well known (a)/ and there isn’t much to see (b)/ so a few tourists come here. (c)/ No error (d)
10. He took to (a)/ reading Times (b)/ for better knowledge of the facts. (c)/ No error (d)
11. The acceleration pace of life in our metropolitan city (a)/ has had the tremendous effect (b)/ on the culture and life-style of the people. (c)/ No error (d)
12. Both the civilians (a)/ and armymen (b)/ joined the First World War. (c)/ No error (d)
13. The school is a (a)/ within hundred yards (b)/ from my house. (c)/ No error (d)
14. The majority of the computer professionals recommends (a)/ that effective measures (b)/ should be taken against software piracy. (c)/ No error (d)
15. The famous Dr. Chandra (a)/ is only dentist (b)/ in our village. (c)/ No error (d)
16. This candidate lacks (a)/ an experience (b)/ otherwise he is will qualified. (c)/ No error (d)
17. The person I met (a)/ in the theatre (b)/ was the playwright himself. (c)/ No error (d)
18. The interviewer asked me (a)/ if I Knew that Kalidas was the greater (b)/ than any other poet. (c)/No error (d)
19. The reason we have not been able to pay income tax (a)/ is due to fact (b)/ that we did not receive pay on time. (c)/ No error (d)
20. Even now when I see the spot (a)/ I am reminded of an unique incident (b)/ that took place several years ago. (c)/ No error (d)
21. My father (a)/ was (b)/ an honest and God fearing man. (c)/ No error (d)
22. Gangotri has special significance (a)/ for the devout as it is considered as (b)/ the abode of King Bhagirathi who brought the Ganga down to Earth. (c)/ No error (d)
23. The recent study has indicated that there (a)/ is perceptible change in (b)/ the attitudes of the people. (c) / No error (d)
24. He was fascinated by insects (a)/ you will be able to (b)/ cross this hurdle. (c)/ No error (d)
25. With little patience (a)/ that I should see the movie (b)/ from beginning to the end. (c)/ No error (d)
26. My friends insisted (a)/ that I should see the movie (b)/ from beginning to the end. (c)/ No error (d)
27. Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society; (a)/ the optimist invents the aeroplane (b)/ the pessimist parachute. (c)/ No error (d)
28. A friend had (a)/ in need is (b)/ the friend indeed. (c) / No error (d)
29. Amitabh had (a)/ the cameo (b)/ in the movie. (c)/ No error (d)
30. The former cricketer (a)/ donated a huge amount (b)/ in charity. (c)/ No error (d)

EXPLANATIONS of errors of articles which is designed according to latest syllabus of CDS

1. (b) The Article ‘the’ should be used before ‘famous’ as the sentence refers to a particular thing i.e. ‘a famous monument’.
2. (c) Article ‘a’ is used before a common noun to suggest the sense of ‘one’. Therefore, ‘a’ would be used before ‘thousand sq. metres’ to suggest that it refers to one thousand square metres.
3. (c) The season e.g., summer, winter, etc are abstract nouns. So, articles are not used with them. So, we would remove ‘the’ before ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ and change them to ‘summers’ and ‘winters’.
4. (a) ‘Little’ means ‘none or negligible’. Thus, we should use article ‘a’ before ‘little’ as ‘a little’ means ‘some’.
5. (b) In the given sentence, ‘the’ used with ‘remarkable’ is incorrect. Instead of ‘the’ we should use the article ‘a’.
6. (a) In the given sentence, the article ‘the’ would come before ‘almighty’. This is done because ‘almighty’ in the given sentence refers to ‘God’.
7. (b) The given sentence implies to represent a class of people i.e., ‘the meek’ and ‘the humble’. Therefore, ‘the’ should be used before the adjectives ‘meek’ and ‘humble’.
8. (c) The article ‘a’ should precede the word ‘singer’.
9. (c) ‘A few’ means some and ‘few’ means ‘hardly any’. As per the sentence, ‘few’ should be used instead of ‘a few’.
10. (b) In the given sentence, ‘Times’ is the name of a newspaper. Therefore, it should be written as ‘the Times’.
11. (b) The sentence is incorrect as ‘the’ is used before the adjective ‘tremendous’. So, to correct the sentence we would use ‘a’ instead of ‘the’ before ‘tremendous’.
12. (b) As per the rule, ‘the’ should come before an adjective which represents a class of people. Therefore, we should add ‘the’ before ‘armymen’.
13. (b) In the given sentence, the article ‘a’ should come before ‘hundred yards’ to convey the meaning that the school is within one hundred yards from the house.
14. (a) The verb ‘recommends’ is used incorrectly. It should be replaced by ‘recommend’ to make the sentence grammatically correct.
15. (b) The sentence wants to emphasize the fact that Dr. Chandra is the only dentist in the village. So, we would use ‘the’ before the word ‘only’ to convey the desired meaning.
16. (b) As per the rule, articles are omitted before abstract nouns used in general sense. In the given sentence, ‘experience, is an abstract noun. So, it should not be preceded by ‘an’.
17. (d) The sentence is correct.
18. (b) ‘The’ should be removed before ‘greater’ to correct the sentence.
19. (b) ‘The’ should be added before the word ‘fact’.
20. (b) ‘An’ should be replaced by ‘a’ to make the sentence grammatically correct.
21. (d) No error.
22. (a) The article ‘a’ would come before ‘special’.
23. (b) The article ‘a’ would come before ‘perceptible’.
24. (c) The article ‘the’ would come before the word ‘greater’.
25. (a) As ‘little’ means negligible. So, we would add ‘a’ before ‘little’.
26. (c) Article ‘the’ would come before the word ‘beginning’.
27. (c) ‘The’ should be added before ‘parachute’.
28. (c) ‘A’ should come in place of ‘the’ to make the sentence correct.
29. (b) ‘The’ should be replaced by ‘a’ to convey the right meaning of the sentence.
30. (d) No error