Error Spotting Rules for Bank Exams: The Short Answer
Error spotting questions split a sentence into 4 or 5 parts and ask which part has a grammatical mistake (or "No error"). Nearly every error in IBPS and SBI papers comes from eight areas: subject-verb agreement, tense, pronouns, articles, prepositions, adjectives and comparison, conjunctions, and redundancy or parallel structure. Learn the rules below, read each part against the subject and the tense of the sentence, and you will clear most questions in under 30 seconds.
Key takeaway for bank exams: IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk and the PO prelims usually carry about 5 error-spotting or sentence-correction questions in English, and mains papers add harder versions with idioms and phrasal verbs. Check the subject first, the verb second, then pronouns and prepositions. "No error" is a real option, but it is rarely right more than once per set.
All example sentences in this note are original. For the SSC-style approach to the same rules, see our sentence improvement rules for SSC CGL.
What Is Error Spotting in Bank Exams? (Question Types)
| Pattern | What you do | Common in |
|---|---|---|
| Classic error spotting | Pick the part (A–D) with the error, or E for no error | IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk, RRB |
| Error in highlighted words | Pick which bold word is used wrongly | SBI PO, IBPS PO |
| Sentence correction | Replace the bold part with the right option | IBPS PO, SBI PO |
| Two-statement check | Say which of two sentences is correct | IBPS PO mains, SBI PO mains |
The rules are the same in every pattern.
Subject-Verb Agreement Rules (Most Asked Error Spotting Rules)
Around a third of bank error-spotting questions test agreement. Learn these rules first.
| # | Rule | Wrong → Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The verb agrees with the real subject, not the noun just before it | The list of items are ready. → The list of items is ready. |
| 2 | "Along with, as well as, together with, besides, with" do not change the subject | The manager, along with his staff, are here. → is here. |
| 3 | "Each, every, either, neither" take a singular verb | Every student have a laptop. → has a laptop. |
| 4 | "Either…or / neither…nor": verb agrees with the nearer subject | Neither the clerk nor the officers was present. → were present. |
| 5 | "One of + plural noun" takes a singular verb | One of the branches are closed. → is closed. |
| 6 | "One of those who" takes a plural verb in the relative clause | He is one of those who works late. → work late. |
| 7 | "A number of" is plural; "the number of" is singular | The number of loans have risen. → has risen. |
| 8 | Collective nouns take a singular verb when acting as one unit | The committee have given its report. → has given its report. |
| 9 | Amounts of money, time and distance as one unit take a singular verb | Ten lakh rupees are a big amount. → is a big amount. |
| 10 | "Many a" takes a singular noun and singular verb | Many a borrower have defaulted. → has defaulted. |
| 11 | Nouns like news, mathematics, economics take a singular verb | The news are good. → is good. |
| 12 | Nouns like scissors, trousers, spectacles take a plural verb (unless "a pair of") | My spectacles is broken. → are broken. |
Tense Rules for Error Spotting
| # | Rule | Wrong → Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Use the past tense in the second clause after a past tense in the main clause (except universal truths) | She said that she is tired. → was tired. |
| 14 | Universal truths stay in the present | The teacher said that the earth moved round the sun. → moves |
| 15 | "Since" with a point of time, "for" with a period, both with perfect tenses | I am living here since 2020. → I have been living here since 2020. |
| 16 | No future tense in time/condition clauses (when, if, unless, as soon as) | If it will rain, the match will be cancelled. → If it rains |
| 17 | "Hardly / scarcely … when"; "no sooner … than" | No sooner had he left when it rained. → than it rained. |
| 18 | Do not use simple past with "already, just, yet" in British usage; use present perfect | He already finished the work. → He has already finished |
| 19 | Past perfect for the earlier of two past actions | The train left before we reached. → The train had left before we reached. |
| 20 | "It is time / It is high time" + past tense | It is high time we start saving. → we started saving. |
Pronoun Rules for Error Spotting
| # | Rule | Wrong → Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Object case after prepositions | This is between you and I. → between you and me. |
| 22 | Subject case before a verb in comparisons | She is taller than me (am). → taller than I (am). |
| 23 | "Each other" for two, "one another" for more than two (traditional exam rule) | The two sisters love one another. → each other. |
| 24 | "One" is followed by "one's" | One should do his duty. → one's duty. |
| 25 | Order of pronouns: 2nd, 3rd, 1st person (you, he and I) for good things | I and you will lead the team. → You and I will lead the team. |
| 26 | "Who" for subject, "whom" for object | The officer who we met was kind. → whom we met |
| 27 | Reflexive verbs need a reflexive pronoun: avail, absent, enjoy, pride | He availed of the offer. → He availed himself of the offer. |
Article Rules (A, An, The) for Error Spotting
| # | Rule | Wrong → Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | "A" before a consonant sound, "an" before a vowel sound | He is a honest man. → an honest man. / She joined an university. → a university. |
| 29 | "The" before unique things, superlatives, rivers, oceans, mountain ranges, newspapers | Ganga is a holy river. → The Ganga is a holy river. |
| 30 | No article before names of languages, meals (in general), games, and abstract nouns used generally | She speaks the English well. → speaks English well. |
Preposition Rules for Error Spotting
| # | Rule | Wrong → Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Fixed prepositions: comply with, abide by, insist on, prefer to, superior/inferior to, senior/junior to | He is senior than me. → senior to me. |
| 32 | No preposition after: discuss, enter, reach, resemble, attack, order | We discussed about the plan. → We discussed the plan. |
| 33 | "Prevent / prohibit from", "deter from", "refrain from" | The law prohibits people to smoke here. → prohibits people from smoking here. |
| 34 | "Look forward to" + V-ing | I look forward to meet you. → to meeting you. |
Adjective, Adverb and Comparison Rules
| # | Rule | Wrong → Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | No double comparatives or superlatives | This is more better. → This is better. |
| 36 | "Fewer" with countable nouns, "less" with uncountable nouns | Less customers came today. → Fewer customers came today. |
| 37 | Compare like with like | The salary of a clerk is lower than a manager. → than that of a manager. |
| 38 | Use adverbs to describe verbs | She speaks English fluent. → fluently. |
Conjunction, Parallelism and Redundancy Rules
| # | Rule | Wrong → Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | Correct pairs: not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor, both…and, though…yet, so…that | Although he worked hard, but he failed. → Although he worked hard, he failed. |
| 40 | Parallel structure: same grammatical form in a list | She likes reading, writing and to paint. → painting. |
| 41 | No redundancy: return back, repeat again, revert back, cousin brother, each and every one of them all | He will return back tomorrow. → return tomorrow. |
| 42 | "Lest" is followed by "should" (or a plain verb), never "not" | Walk fast lest you may not miss the bus. → lest you should miss the bus. |
How to Solve Error Spotting Questions Quickly (Step-by-Step Trick)
- Read the whole sentence once for meaning.
- Find the subject and check its verb. Ignore phrases like "along with", "of the items" between them.
- Check the tense line. Is the sentence in the past? Do all the verbs follow?
- Check pronouns for case (I/me, who/whom) and agreement (one/one's, each/his or her).
- Scan the small words: articles, prepositions and conjunction pairs.
- Look for extra words: redundancy and double comparatives.
- Only then choose "No error". If you found nothing after all six checks, it is likely the answer.
Common Traps in Bank Exam Error Spotting
- Distance between subject and verb. A long phrase in between makes the wrong verb look right.
- "As well as" and "along with": the verb follows the first subject.
- "Since" vs "for": since 2020, for six years.
- Fixed prepositions: prefer coffee to tea (not than).
- "Hardly … when" vs "no sooner … than": these pairs are fixed.
- Countable vs uncountable: information, advice, furniture, luggage and equipment have no plural form.
- Overusing "No error": bank sets rarely have more than one "No error" answer.
Quick Revision Table: Error Spotting Rules
| Area | Check |
|---|---|
| Subject-verb | Real subject; each/every singular; nearer subject in either/or |
| Tense | Past-past sequence; since/for; no "will" after if/when |
| Pronouns | Me after prepositions; one's after one; who vs whom |
| Articles | Sound decides a/an; "the" with superlatives and rivers |
| Prepositions | Senior to, prefer to, discuss (no "about"), look forward to + V-ing |
| Comparison | No double comparative; fewer vs less; "that of" for like-with-like |
| Conjunctions | although (no "but"); no sooner…than; lest…should |
| Redundancy | return back, repeat again, revert back |
Error Spotting Questions for Bank Exams (Practice Set with Answers)
Find the part with the error. Choose (E) if there is no error.
- The quality of the new branches (A) / opened by the bank (B) / in rural areas (C) / are very good. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (D). The subject is "quality" (singular): is very good.
- Neither the manager nor (A) / the cashiers was (B) / informed about (C) / the audit. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (B). Verb agrees with the nearer subject "cashiers": were.
- She has been working (A) / in this bank (B) / for 2019 (C) / as a clerk. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (C). Point of time → since 2019.
- If the RBI will raise (A) / the repo rate, (B) / home loans will (C) / become costlier. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (A). No "will" in an if-clause: If the RBI raises.
- No sooner did the (A) / customer enter the hall (B) / when the alarm (C) / started ringing. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (C). No sooner … than.
- The officer asked (A) / my brother and I (B) / to submit the (C) / documents today. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (B). Object case: my brother and me.
- The interest rate on (A) / savings accounts is (B) / lower than (C) / fixed deposits. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (D). Compare like with like: than that on fixed deposits.
- We discussed about (A) / the new loan scheme (B) / at the meeting (C) / held yesterday. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (A). "Discuss" takes no preposition: We discussed.
- Each of the trainees (A) / have to complete (B) / the course (C) / by Friday. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (B). "Each of" takes a singular verb: has to complete.
- Many a customer (A) / has complained (B) / about the long queue (C) / at the counter. (D) / No error (E) Answer: (E) No error. "Many a" + singular noun + singular verb is correct.
Want timed practice? Try the SBI PO and Clerk Error Spotting Mock Test and the Error Spotting Practice Set for SBI PO and IBPS (30 Questions).
Error Spotting FAQs
What are the most important error spotting rules for bank exams?
Subject-verb agreement, tense sequence, pronoun case, articles, fixed prepositions, comparison (fewer/less, like with like), conjunction pairs and redundancy. Subject-verb agreement alone covers a large share of questions.
How do you find errors in a sentence quickly?
Find the subject and check its verb first, then check the tense, pronouns, articles and prepositions, and finally look for extra words. Choose "No error" only after all these checks.
How many error spotting questions come in IBPS Clerk and SBI Clerk?
Usually around 5 questions of error spotting or sentence correction in the 30-question English section of the prelims, with harder versions in mains. The exact mix changes from year to year.
Is "No error" often the correct answer?
It can be correct, but a set of five rarely has more than one "No error" answer. If you choose it twice in one set, recheck both.
Is it "senior than" or "senior to"?
"Senior to". Latin comparatives such as senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior and prefer take "to", not "than".
Which verbs do not take a preposition after them?
Discuss, enter, reach, resemble, attack, order and request (as a verb) take a direct object: we discussed the plan, he entered the room, she reached Delhi.
Practice Next
- 15-question drill on these rules: IBPS PO Error Spotting Mock Test 01.
- Error spotting inside full English sections: IBPS PO English Sectional Mock Test 06, IBPS Clerk English Sectional Mock Test 09 and IBPS PO Mains English Sectional Mock Test 02.
- Mock tests: SBI PO Error Spotting Test 01, Error Spotting Practice Set 2 (Hard) for SBI PO and IBPS and IBPS Clerk English Language Sectional Mock Test 01.
- 15-question drill: SBI PO Error Spotting Mock Test 02.
- Related notes: word swap questions for bank exams, sentence improvement rules for SSC CGL, active and passive voice rules for SSC CGL and phrasal verbs for SSC CGL, plus cloze test tricks for bank exams, fillers for bank exams, plus sentence completion questions for bank exams, plus phrase replacement questions for bank exams.
- Exam details: SBI Clerk 2026 notification.
- Browse all study notes.