Grammar Expert Challenge: Find the Extra Word!
In each sentence, one word is grammatically incorrect or redundant. Click on it to omit it. You have 30 minutes!
1.Thecommitteewilldiscussaboutthemattertomorrow.
Rule: The verb 'discuss' is a transitive verb that does not require a preposition. It directly takes an object.
Correct: The committee will discuss the matter tomorrow.
2.Hereturnedbackfromhistripyesterday.
Rule: 'Re' in 'returned' already means back. The word 'back' is redundant and should be omitted.
Correct: He returned from his trip yesterday.
3.Myelderbrother,heisasuccessfullawyer.
Rule: The subject 'My elder brother' is already stated, so the pronoun 'he' is a redundant repetition of the subject.
Correct: My elder brother is a successful lawyer.
4.Supposeifyoumissthelastbus,whatwillyoudo?
Rule: 'Suppose' and 'if' both introduce a condition. Using both together is redundant. One should be omitted.
Correct: Suppose you miss the last bus, what will you do?
5.Heismorestrongerthanhisbrother.
Rule: This is a double comparative. 'Stronger' is already the comparative form of 'strong'. The word 'more' is unnecessary.
Correct: He is stronger than his brother.
6.Despiteofhishardwork,hedidnotsucceed.
Rule: 'Despite' is a preposition and is not followed by 'of'. The phrase 'in spite of' means the same thing and does use 'of'.
Correct: Despite his hard work, he did not succeed.
7.Thepatientiscomparativelymorestabletoday.
Rule: 'Comparatively' itself implies comparison. It should be used with the positive degree of an adjective (e.g., 'comparatively stable'), not the comparative degree ('more stable').
Correct: The patient is comparatively stable today.
8.Sheisoneofthemostprettiestactressesintheindustry.
Rule: This is a double superlative. 'Most' is used with adjectives that do not form a superlative with '-est'. Since 'prettiest' is already a superlative, 'most' is redundant.
Correct: She is one of the prettiest actresses in the industry.
9.Thereasonwhyhefailedisbecausehedidnotstudy.
Rule: The phrase 'The reason why... is...' should be followed by 'that', not 'because'. The word 'because' is redundant with 'The reason why'.
Correct: The reason why he failed is that he did not study.
10.Inmyopinion,Ithinkthisisthebestoption.
Rule: The phrase 'In my opinion' already establishes the speaker's viewpoint. 'I think' is a redundant repetition of this idea.
Correct: In my opinion, this is the best option.
11.Thetwotwinshaveidenticalfeatures.
Rule: The word 'twins' implies two people. Therefore, the adjective 'two' is redundant.
Correct: The twins have identical features.
12.Couldyoupleaserepeatagainwhatyoujustsaid?
Rule: 'Re' in 'repeat' means again. The adverb 'again' is redundant.
Correct: Could you please repeat what you just said?
13.Thecompanywillrevertbacktoyoushortly.
Rule: 'Revert' means to return or go back to a previous state. 'Back' is redundant.
Correct: The company will revert to you shortly.
14.Theconsensusofopinionwasthatweshouldpostponethemeeting.
Rule: 'Consensus' means a general agreement of opinion. The phrase 'of opinion' is redundant.
Correct: The consensus was that we should postpone the meeting.
15.Duringthecourseofthewar,manypeoplesuffered.
Rule: The phrase 'during the course of' is often verbose. 'During' alone conveys the same meaning and is more concise.
Correct: During the war, many people suffered.
16.Thepoliceinvestigatedintothematterthoroughly.
Rule: The verb 'investigated' is transitive and does not need a preposition. It takes a direct object ('the matter').
Correct: The police investigated the matter thoroughly.
17.Wereceivedanunexpectedsurpriseonhisarrival.
Rule: A 'surprise' is by its nature unexpected. The adjective 'unexpected' is redundant.
Correct: We received a surprise on his arrival.
18.Theentirewholecitywasdecoratedforthefestival.
Rule: 'Entire' and 'whole' are synonyms. Using both together is redundant.
Correct: The entire city was decorated for the festival.
19.Thefinaloutcomeofthematchwasadraw.
Rule: An 'outcome' is the final result. The word 'final' is redundant.
Correct: The outcome of the match was a draw.
20.HeiscurrentlyworkingasateachernowinDelhi.
Rule: 'Currently' and 'now' are synonyms indicating the present time. One of them is redundant.
Correct: He is currently working as a teacher in Delhi.
21.Thisisanewinnovationinthefieldofscience.
Rule: An 'innovation' is a new method, idea, or product. The adjective 'new' is redundant.
Correct: This is an innovation in the field of science.
22.Heemphasizedontheneedfordiscipline.
Rule: The verb 'emphasize' is transitive and does not require a preposition. It directly takes an object ('the need').
Correct: He emphasized the need for discipline.
23.Iwilltrytofinishtheworkatthemostearliestopportunity.
Rule: This is a double superlative. 'Earliest' is already the superlative form of 'early'. 'Most' is unnecessary.
Correct: I will try to finish the work at the earliest opportunity.
24.Thisbookcomprisesoftenchapters.
Rule: In the active voice, the verb 'comprise' means 'to consist of' and is not followed by a preposition. The passive form, however, is 'is comprised of'.
Correct: This book comprises ten chapters.
25.Heisoneofmymostbestfriends.
Rule: 'Best' is already a superlative adjective. It cannot be modified by 'most'. This is a double superlative.
Correct: He is one of my best friends.
26.Let'smeetataround5p.m.intheevening.
Rule: '5 p.m.' already specifies that the time is in the evening. The phrase 'in the evening' is redundant.
Correct: Let's meet at around 5 p.m.
27.Themainprotagonistofthestoryisayoungboy.
Rule: A 'protagonist' is the main character. The adjective 'main' is redundant.
Correct: The protagonist of the story is a young boy.
28.Wewillprovideyouwithafreegiftwitheverypurchase.
Rule: A 'gift' is by definition free. The adjective 'free' is redundant.
Correct: We will provide you with a gift with every purchase.
29.Thetwocompaniesmergedtogethertoformanewentity.
Rule: The verb 'merged' means to combine or join together. The adverb 'together' is redundant.
Correct: The two companies merged to form a new entity.
30.Heisconsideredasoneofthegreatestwriters.
Rule: After the verb 'considered', the word 'as' is superfluous and should be omitted.
Correct: He is considered one of the greatest writers.
31.TheannualAGMwillbeheldinnextweek.
Rule: Prepositions like 'in', 'on', or 'at' are generally not used before time expressions like 'next week', 'last month', 'tomorrow', etc.
Correct: The annual AGM will be held next week.
32.Let'snottodiscussthismatternow.
Rule: The verb structure 'Let's' (Let us) is followed by a bare infinitive (the verb without 'to'). The word 'to' is grammatically incorrect and must be omitted.
Correct: Let's not discuss this matter now.
33.Heorderedfortwocupsofcoffee.
Rule: The verb 'ordered' is transitive and does not require a preposition when it means to request something.
Correct: He ordered two cups of coffee.
34.Hecouldnotbeabletoattendthemeeting.
Rule: The modal 'could' and the phrase 'be able to' both express ability. It is redundant to use them together. Omit 'be' or 'able' to fix the sentence.
Correct: He could not attend the meeting.
35.Theareaislackinginofgoodrestaurants.
Rule: The phrase 'lacking in' means not having enough of something. Following it with another preposition 'of' is grammatically incorrect.
Correct: The area is lacking in good restaurants.
36.Hedidnothingelsethantocomplain.
Rule: The correct idiom is 'nothing else but', not 'nothing else than'.
Correct: He did nothing else but complain.
37.ThepairoftrousersthatIboughttheyareinthecupboard.
Rule: The subject of the verb 'are' is the relative pronoun 'that', whose antecedent is 'pair'. So the verb should be 'is'. Let's rephrase. The subject is 'The pair'. The verb should be 'is'. The pronoun 'they' is redundant. Omit 'are'. No, that doesn't work. Omit 'they'.
37.ThepairoftrousersIbought,itisinthecupboard.
Rule: The subject of the sentence is 'The pair of trousers I bought'. The pronoun 'it' is a redundant repetition of this subject.
Correct: The pair of trousers I bought is in the cupboard.
38.Itwasablundermistaketoignorehisadvice.
Rule: A 'blunder' is a stupid or careless mistake. 'Mistake' is redundant.
Correct: It was a blunder to ignore his advice.
39.Thetwobrothersneverfightwithoneeachanother.
Rule: The reciprocal pronoun for two people is 'each other'. For more than two, it's 'one another'. The word 'each' is an incorrect addition.
Correct: The two brothers never fight with one another.
40.Thetrainarrivedattheplatformonthetime.
Rule: The correct idiom is 'on time', which means punctually. The article 'the' is not used in this expression.
Correct: The train arrived at the platform on time.
41.Heawaitedfortheresultsanxiously.
Rule: The verb 'await' is transitive and means 'to wait for'. It does not take a preposition.
Correct: He awaited the results anxiously.
42.Icanrunmorefasterthanhim.
Rule: This is a double comparative. 'Faster' is already the comparative form of 'fast'. The word 'more' is redundant.
Correct: I can run faster than him.
43.Thesuddenunexpectednoisestartledeveryone.
Rule: 'Sudden' and 'unexpected' are very close in meaning. In most contexts, one is sufficient and using both is redundant.
Correct: The sudden noise startled everyone.
44.SheismycousinsisterfromMumbai.
Rule: In standard English, the word 'cousin' is used for both males and females. The words 'sister' or 'brother' are not added.
Correct: She is my cousin from Mumbai.
45.Themanageraskedmethatwhatmynamewas.
Rule: In indirect questions, the Wh-word (what, where, why) itself acts as the conjunction. The word 'that' is not used. Omit 'that'. No, that changes the sentence structure too much. The question is to omit ONE word. Let's make a better sentence.
45.Themanagerwantedtoknowwhatwasthematter.
Rule: In an indirect question, the word order should be that of a statement (subject + verb), not a question. The sentence should be 'what the matter was'. To fix this by omitting one word is impossible. This format is hard. Let me create a better sentence.
45.Unlessyoudonotworkhard,youwillnotfail.
Rule: 'Unless' already means 'if... not'. Using another 'not' creates a double negative and reverses the intended meaning. The first 'not' should be omitted. This quiz format requires clicking a word, so I have to be clever. Omit the second 'not'.
45.Unlessyouworkhard,youwillnotsucceed.
Rule: 'Unless you work hard' means 'If you do not work hard'. The logical conclusion should be 'you will fail', not 'you will not succeed'. The sentence is logically flawed. Let's make a grammatically redundant sentence.
45.Unlessyoudonotapologize,youwillbepunished.
Rule: The word 'Unless' is a negative conditional, meaning 'If... not'. Using another negative 'not' in the same clause is a common error of double negation.
Correct: Unless you apologize, you will be punished.
46.Wemustseizethepresentdayopportunity.
Rule: 'Present' and 'day' are redundant in this common phrase. The correct idiom is 'present opportunity'.
Correct: We must seize the present opportunity.
47.Thepricewasexorbitantlyveryhigh.
Rule: 'Exorbitantly' means 'excessively high'. It already contains the idea of 'very'. The adverb 'very' is redundant.
Correct: The price was exorbitantly high.
48.Helackstheabilitytocanspeakinpublic.
Rule: 'Ability' and 'can' both express capability. It is redundant to use them together. The sentence should be 'lacks the ability to speak' or 'cannot speak'.
Correct: He lacks the ability to speak in public.
49.Shewasbornintheyearof2005.
Rule: The standard way to state a birth year is 'born in 2005'. The phrase 'the year of' is grammatically correct but verbose and usually omitted for conciseness.
Correct: She was born in the year 2005.
50.Theentryisrestrictedforauthorizedpersonnelonly.
Rule: The adverb 'only' modifies 'authorized personnel', making the word 'authorized' somewhat redundant. A better sentence is 'restricted to authorized personnel' or 'for personnel only'. The word 'authorized' is the most redundant in this common sign phrasing.
50.Theentryisforauthorizedpersonnelonlyalone.
Rule: 'Only' and 'alone' are synonyms in this context. It is redundant to use both to mean exclusively for authorized personnel.
Correct: The entry is for authorized personnel only.
Score: 0
Attempts: 0/50
Time Left: 30:00
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