Error spotting asks you to read a sentence divided into labelled parts — typically A, B, C, D — and identify which part contains a grammatical mistake. Sometimes one option is "No Error." The mistake is almost never about style or word choice preference; it is a rule violation: the wrong verb form, a redundant preposition, a misused word, or a broken agreement between subject and verb.
Think of each sentence as a machine with four components. Three components fit perfectly; one has been swapped with an incompatible part. Your job is to run a diagnostic — not read the sentence as a whole for meaning, but interrogate each component against a specific checklist.
Here is the core analogy. An RBI examiner writing an error-spotting question works from a list of well-known grammar traps: "Each/Every takes singular verb," "Despite never takes of," "Discuss takes no preposition," "Effect vs Affect." They pick one trap, build a plausible sentence around it, and plant the error in one segment. Once you internalize that list of traps, you stop reading the sentence and start scanning for trap signatures. That shift — from reader to trap-scanner — is what separates 90th-percentile performance from average performance on this question type.
The traps cluster into roughly five categories:
RBI Grade B sentences tend to use banking, policy, and formal administrative language — which is a cue. When you see words like "board," "committee," "panel," "staff," "the government," pause immediately and diagnose subject-verb agreement before reading further.
This is the highest-frequency error category in RBI Grade B papers.
Indefinite pronouns — always singular: "Each," "every," "either," "neither," "anyone," "everyone," "nobody," "somebody" — all take singular verbs. The trap is a prepositional phrase that comes between the subject and verb and contains a plural noun, pulling your eye toward the plural.
Each of the candidates was required to submit...
The verb agrees with "Each," not with "candidates." The segment "of the candidates" is a modifier, not the subject. Cover it mentally: "Each ... was required" — clean and singular.
Collective nouns — context-dependent: "Board," "committee," "team," "jury," "government," "family," "staff" can take either singular or plural verbs depending on whether they act as a unit or as individuals. In formal Indian English (which the RBI exam follows), collective nouns acting as a unit take singular verbs. "The board has decided" is correct; "the board have decided" is the error.
In British English, collective nouns commonly take plural verbs — but RBI Grade B follows the more formal, unified-body interpretation for these institutional terms. Don't second-guess this.
Compound subjects with "or / nor":
When two subjects are joined by "or" or "nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. Neither the manager nor the employees were informed — verb agrees with "employees" (plural). Neither the employees nor the manager was informed — verb agrees with "manager" (singular).
This category produces clean, unambiguous errors that are easy to confirm once you know the list.
| Incorrect | Correct | |---|---| | Discuss about | Discuss | | Despite of | Despite / In spite of | | Cope up with | Cope with | | Reach to | Reach | | Return back | Return | | Comprise of | Comprise | | Revert back | Revert | | Mention about | Mention |
The verb "discuss" is transitive — it takes an object directly. "Discussed about the proposal" treats "discuss" as intransitive, which is wrong. Similarly, "despite" is itself a preposition; adding "of" creates a double preposition.
Look — the moment you see "despite" in a sentence, your first check is: does "of" follow it? If yes, the error is found. You don't need to read further.
These are vocabulary-level errors dressed up in grammar clothing.
Effect vs. Affect:
The trap: "will effect significant changes" sounds plausible because "effect a change" is a legitimate formal phrase — but "effect significant changes" means "bring about significant changes," which is actually correct. However, if the sentence means "influence changes," the verb should be "affect." Read the context. The RBI PYQ in this set targets the affect/effect substitution in a banking context.
Due to vs. Because:
"Due to" must be followed by a noun or noun phrase. The delay was due to heavy traffic — correct. Due to the fact that — wrong; "that" introduces a clause, not a noun phrase. Replace with "because" or "since."
"Each of the candidates... their application forms" — the pronoun "their" refers back to "each," which is singular. Technically, "their" should be "his or her." In modern usage this is debated, but exam questions that test this will mark "their" as an error with singular antecedents. Know when the examiner is targeting this.
When a sentence uses a reported clause or subordinate clause, tenses must follow the sequence-of-tenses rule. Mixing present simple in the reporting verb with simple past in the reported clause is an error the examiners favour.
When you see a subject-verb pair separated by a long prepositional phrase, mentally cover the phrase and test subject + verb directly. "Each of the candidates were" → cover "of the candidates" → "Each were" — immediately wrong. Standard method: reading full phrase, re-parsing: ~30 seconds. Cover-the-middle technique: ~8 seconds.
These two phrases are grammatically interchangeable but structurally different. "Despite" = preposition, never followed by "of". "In spite of" = three-word preposition, always has "of". Use the pattern: if you see "despite of," the error is confirmed in under 3 seconds — no further analysis needed. Standard method of checking all four segments: ~20-25 seconds. Twin-check pattern: ~3 seconds on finding "despite of."
Memorize this club: Discuss, Mention, Describe, Reach, Resemble, Comprise, Accompany, Emphasize, Request, Suggest. These verbs take objects directly — no preposition needed. When you spot any of them followed by "about," "to," "of," or "with," that segment is the error. Checking preposition necessity with grammar reasoning: ~15 seconds. Club-membership check: ~4 seconds.
With "or / nor" compound subjects, write out: [Subject 1] or [Subject 2] + Verb. Circle Subject 2. The verb agrees with Subject 2. Neither the director nor the analysts was briefed — circle "analysts" (plural) → verb should be "were." Tracing full logic: ~20 seconds. Circle-the-last method: ~6 seconds.
Replace "due to" with "caused by." If the replacement works grammatically, "due to" is being used correctly. The postponement was caused by heavy traffic — works. The meeting was postponed caused by the fact that... — does not work → "due to the fact that" is wrong; use "because." Substitution test: ~5 seconds versus full clause-vs-noun analysis: ~15 seconds.
When you receive an error-spotting question in the exam hall, run this sequence:
Step 1 — Identify the subject and verb first (5 seconds). Locate what the sentence is about and the main verb. Immediately check: does number agree?
Step 2 — Check for high-frequency preposition traps (3 seconds). Scan for: "despite of," "discussed about," "comprise of," "cope up with," "return back." If spotted, that is your answer.
Step 3 — Check for confusable word pairs (3 seconds). Scan for "effect/affect," "principal/principle," "than/then," "fewer/less," "who/whom." One will be out of place.
Step 4 — Check pronoun-antecedent agreement (3 seconds). What does the pronoun refer back to? Singular antecedent + plural pronoun = error.
Step 5 — If still unsure, eliminate. Read each segment as a standalone unit. The one that feels awkward on its own is usually the error. Never spend more than 90 seconds on a single error-spotting question — bank it as your best guess and move on.
Why this question: Tests the most common and most mishandled error in RBI papers — indefinite pronoun subject-verb agreement with a plural modifier creating a false pull.
Solving path: Identify the subject: "Each." Cover the phrase "of the candidates." Test: "Each were required" — singular subject, plural verb. Error confirmed in segment B. Correction: "was required." Time: 10 seconds.
Why this question: Collective noun agreement is a standard RBI trap. Banking and institutional language always uses collective nouns, making this category disproportionately common.
Solving path: Subject is "board" — collective noun acting as a unified decision-making body. In this formal context, it takes a singular verb. "Have decided" is plural. Correction: "has decided." Segment B contains the error. Time: 8 seconds.
Why this question: "Despite of" is one of the cleanest traps — zero ambiguity, zero debate, always wrong. Recognizing it means you answer before finishing the sentence.
Solving path: Segment A opens with "Despite of." Apply the twin-check: "Despite" never takes "of." Error confirmed in segment A. Correction: "Despite the heavy rainfall" or "In spite of the heavy rainfall." Time: 3 seconds.
Why this question: The "discuss about" trap tests whether you know that "discuss" is a transitive verb requiring no preposition. This error appears naturally in spoken Indian English, making it easy to miss on a quick read.
Solving path: Segment B contains "discussed about the proposal." Verify: "discuss" belongs to the No-Preposition Club — it takes a direct object. Remove "about." Correction: "discussed the proposal." Time: 6 seconds.
Why this question: Subject-verb agreement where the true subject is separated from the verb by multiple words — a deliberate misdirection in banking-context sentences.
Solving path: The clause is "the company's profits has increased." Subject = "profits" (plural). Verb = "has" (singular). Mismatch. Correction: "have increased." Error in segment C. Time: 8 seconds.
Agreeing with the nearest noun instead of the true subject. "A series of meetings were held" feels natural — but "series" is the subject, not "meetings." "A series was held" is correct. Train yourself to find the head noun, not the closest noun.
Treating "due to" and "because of" as interchangeable. They are not. "Due to" modifies a noun (the delay was due to rain). "Because of" modifies a verb phrase (she left because of the rain). Using "due to" after an action verb is the error: "He failed due to laziness" is technically incorrect in strict grammar; "He failed because of laziness" is right.
Missing the "effect" as a verb trap. "Effect a change" is correct formal English — it means "to bring about a change." Do not automatically flag "effect" as wrong every time you see it used as a verb. Read whether the meaning is "influence" (affect) or "bring about" (effect).
Assuming collective nouns always take plural verbs. In British English, they often do. RBI Grade B uses formal standard English where collective nouns acting as unified bodies take singular verbs. Don't let your British-English reading experience override this.
Ignoring the "No Error" option. Some segments are genuinely correct. Candidates who expect every question to have an error will force-fit an error where none exists. If you run all five diagnostic steps and find nothing, choose "No Error" with confidence.
Spending time on word choice rather than grammar rules. "Wordy" does not equal "wrong" in error spotting. "Due to the fact that" is wrong not because it is wordy but because it misuses "due to" before a clause. Keep your focus on rule violations, not style preferences.