IV. Sentence Correction — Error Bank by Category (10 marks)

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Syllabus: Each sentence has one clear structural flaw (grammar or punctuation). Rewrite it with only the needed correction, with no unnecessary alterations. No two sentences share the same problem, and 2–3 are always punctuation. Rewriting the whole sentence, or "improving" style, loses marks.

How to Attack Each Sentence (60 seconds)

1. Find the verb and its subject → check agreement and tense.
2. Scan the small words → articles, prepositions, conjunction pairs.
3. Check pronouns and comparatives → case (I/me), than any other, double comparatives.
4. Check structure → is there a main verb (fragment)? Who is doing the -ing action (dangling modifier)? Two sentences glued with a comma (run-on)?
5. Check punctuation → comma splice, apostrophe, colon after a verb, question mark on an indirect question.
6. Rewrite the full sentence with the single fix. Underline the change if time allows.

🧠 How to reason: a worked example

Sentence: Each of the students have submitted their assignments yesterday.

1. Find the subject. Strip the phrase of the students; the subject is Each, which is singular.
2. Check the verb. have submitted is plural, so agreement is broken → has. But wait:
3. Check the time word. yesterday is a finished past time, and the present perfect can never take a finished past time → submitted (simple past). The agreement problem disappears with it, because submitted has the same form for singular and plural.
4. Check the pronoun. their with each is accepted in modern English; the formal version is his or her. Don't change it, since it isn't the tested flaw.
5. Final answer: Each of the students submitted their assignment(s) yesterday.

Lesson: fix the root cause. Here the tense was the real error, and correcting it also removed the agreement issue.

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Marking logic: examiners award marks for the correct fix of the tested error. You lose marks for (a) missing the error, (b) introducing a new error, or (c) rewriting the sentence so heavily that the original structure disappears. If a sentence looks correct, reread it slowly with the checklist above before deciding.

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A. Tense

B. Subject–Verb Agreement

C. Articles

D. Prepositions

E. Pronouns

F. Adjectives, Comparatives & Word Form

G. Conjunctions, Parallelism & Structure

H. Punctuation (2–3 in every paper)

I. Modifiers, Fragments & Run-ons (the 2024 pattern)

J. Redundancy & Wordiness

K. Word Choice & Confusables

L. Verb Patterns

M. Pakistani-English Errors (very common in scripts)

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✅ "Already correct" traps: don't fix what isn't broken

Sometimes one sentence is (almost) correct, to test your confidence. Check these before "correcting":

• The patient died before the doctor came. ✅ Correct. before/after already show which came first, so the simple past is fine; the past perfect is optional.
• The jury are divided in their opinion. ✅ Correct: collective noun acting as individuals.
• Whom did you meet? ✅ Correct: whom is the object of meet.
• None of the answers is correct. ✅ (formal) and none … are ✅ (common): both are accepted.
• Everyone has done their best. ✅ Accepted in modern English.

Rule: if you truly find no error, rewrite it unchanged, or choose one of the other sentences instead (you only need 5 of 8).

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🧪 Timed drill 1 — 10 mixed sentences

1. Each of the players have signed the contract.
2. The Chairman along with the members were present.
3. She is working here since 2020.
4. He is an honest and a hardworking man. (same person)
5. The patient died before the doctor came. (correct? spot it)
6. He prefers coffee than tea.
7. I did not knew the answer.
8. The students books are on the table.
9. Pakistan's four provinces are, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
10. If I was you, I would apologise.

✅ Key: 1 has (subject each is singular) · 2 was (along with doesn't pluralise) · 3 has been working (since → perfect continuous) · 4 an honest and hardworking man (a second article implies two people) · 5 already correct: before shows the sequence, so the simple past is fine; don't "fix" what isn't broken · 6 prefers coffee to tea · 7 did not know (V1 after did) · 8 students' (plural possessive) · 9 remove the comma after are · 10 If I were you (unreal present → were)

🧪 Timed drill 2 — 20 sentences with reasoning

1. The committee have submitted its report.
2. Hardly the match had started when it began to rain.
3. He is one of those students who works hard.
4. Being a rainy day, the school was closed.
5. I have visited Murree last summer.
6. Neither the minister nor his advisers was available.
7. He is more stronger than his brother.
8. She told that she was busy.
9. He has been absent since two weeks.
10. The police is investigating the case.
11. Let him to go.
12. He did not came to the meeting.
13. My friend who is a doctor lives in Islamabad. (I have many friends)
14. The book is lying at the table.
15. He asked me whether I will attend.
16. Every boy and girl were given a prize.
17. Despite of the rain, the match continued.
18. He is capable to do this work.
19. The sceneries of Swat are beautiful.
20. I will call you after I will reach home.

✅ Key with reasoning

1. The committee has submitted its report. → its shows the committee is treated as one unit, so the verb must be singular to match.
2. Hardly had the match started when it began to rain. → negative adverb at the front → inversion.
3. He is one of those students who work hard. → who refers to students (plural), not one.
4. It being a rainy day, the school was closed. / As it was a rainy day… → the school wasn't "being a rainy day" (dangling participle).
5. I visited Murree last summer. → last summer is finished past time.
6. Neither the minister nor his advisers were available. → the verb agrees with the nearer subject (advisers).
7. He is stronger than his brother. → double comparative.
8. She said that she was busy. / She told me that… → tell needs a person object.
9. He has been absent for two weeks. → a period of time takes for.
10. The police are investigating the case. → police is always plural.
11. Let him go. → let + bare infinitive.
12. He did not come to the meeting. → V1 after did.
13. My friend who is a doctor lives in Islamabad. → already correct: with many friends, the clause identifies which one (defining), so no commas. (With only one friend you'd add commas.)
14. The book is lying on the table. → on for surfaces.
15. He asked me whether I would attend. → backshift after the past asked.
16. Every boy and girl was given a prize. → every … and every is treated as singular.
17. Despite the rain / In spite of the rain, the match continued. → never despite of.
18. He is capable of doing this work. → capable of + gerund (able to + infinitive).
19. The scenery of Swat is beautiful. → scenery is uncountable.
20. I will call you after I reach home. → a time clause takes the present for future meaning.

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📜 CSS Past Papers 2020–2026 — Correction Solved (all 8 per year)

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Pattern: 2014 = attempt 4 of 7. 2015–2026 = 8 given, attempt 5 (2 marks each). 2014–2019 = classic single-clause errors (word choice, prepositions, parallelism, double negatives, dangling modifiers). 2020–2023 = classic errors (prepositions, tense, agreement, articles). 2024 switched to sentence-structure errors: dangling/misplaced modifiers, fragments, run-ons. 2025 used long, multi-error sentences (agreement + tense + wordiness together). 2026 mixed both. Pick the five you can fix completely; a half-fixed sentence scores nothing. In your answer book, write only the corrected sentence.

CSS 2014 (attempt 4 of 7)

1. Each piece of furniture in this display is on sale for half price. — furniture is uncountable; each needs a countable unit (piece of).
2. He is misusing his father's money. — abuse mistreats a person/substance, not money; misuse fits, and the possessive is more natural.
3. The duties of the new secretary are to answer the telephone, to type letters and to keep the books. — parallelism: all three duties must share the same infinitive form.
4. The new models are not only less expensive but also more efficient. — not only…but also sits directly before the parallel items.
5. Already correct — a subjunctive should after requirement is standard; skip this one.
6. No sooner had we left the shop than it began to rain. — fixed pair no sooner…than + inversion.
7. The population of Karachi is greater than that of any other city in Pakistan. — you can't compare a population to a city; need that of.

CSS 2015

1. Has either of you seen my pen? — either is singular, so the auxiliary agrees with it.
2. On attempting to restore the picture to its original condition, the restorer discovered an almost irreparable change. — dangling modifier: the picture didn't attempt the restoration.
3. The child is the prettier of the two. — comparative (not superlative) with exactly two.
4. I was annoyed at arriving late, and his rather insolent manner also put me out of temper. — missing preposition; also can't join two clauses on its own.
5. He is anxious not only to acquire knowledge but also to display it. — parallel structure after not only…but also.
6. If he were here now, we should have no difficulty. — unreal present condition → subjunctive were.
7. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we shall have to leave early. — environments is the wrong word.
8. People have disagreed and still do disagree on this matter. — have needs its own full verb; it can't share disagree with do.

CSS 2016

1. We were staying at my sister's Cape Cod vacation home. — proper noun wrongly split and possessive-ized.
2. She recommended that I take a few days off from work. — recommend takes a that-clause, not an indirect object.
3. I tried to explain the problem to him, but he had difficulty understanding me. — explain never takes a person directly.
4. "I'll do the grocery shopping for you**,** Grandma," Lucy said. — missing comma before the vocative; capitalise Grandma used as a name.
5. Already correct — a plain Oxford-comma list; skip this one.
6. I don't know why you didn't go. If I had been you, I should have gone. — third conditional (past unreal) needs the past perfect, not were.
7. Kevin says he stopped travelling internationally because of his family. — stop doing (discontinue) is the intended sense, not stop to do (pause in order to).
8. "Don't run!" Mr. Salman shouted. — missing quotation marks around direct speech.

CSS 2017

1. In the accident, one of my arms was broken and my legs were bruised. — the second clause needs its own plural verb.
2. The people who had been raising slogans against the government for many hours wanted an increase in their salaries. — remove the redundant they; add an.
3. You have been working very hard for the last two years, haven't you? — correct tag-question form.
4. John could hardly do better than to have caught a bass of such dimensions. — double negative (hardly…no).
5. Already correct (or add commas: I, who have no chance to meet him, would rather…) — non-defining clause; commonly the no-change trap.
6. He comes there not only for swimming but also for coaching new swimmers. — not only must sit before the first parallel item.
7. When he visited the fair last time, he bought no fewer than twenty school bags. — fewer for countable items.
8. Ten cattle were grazing in the field. — cattle is already plural; never takes -s.

CSS 2018

1. Already correct — skip this one.
2. They left, in a motor car, the hotel where they had been staying. — here should be where; reposition the modifier.
3. I cannot by any means allow you to do so. — double negative (cannot…no).
4. Already correct — skip this one.
5. Going up the hill, we saw an old temple. — dangling modifier: the temple wasn't going up the hill.
6. One day the bird did not perform certain tricks which he had taught it to his satisfaction. — garbled verb; the trainer taught the tricks.
7. I was impressed rather by the manner of the orator than by his matter. — misplaced rather.
8. What awful weather! — weather is uncountable, so no an.

CSS 2019

1. He enjoyed himself during the holidays. — enjoy is transitive and needs an object; use the reflexive.
2. Already correct (their is accepted for his) — commonly the no-change trap.
3. He is misusing his father's money. — same fix as CSS 2014.
4. I regret the delay. — regret is transitive; drop at.
5. I could not help laughing. — cannot help + gerund, not but + bare infinitive.
6. I always have been and always shall be your friend. — have needs its own full verb, not shared with shall be.
7. I was out walking in the garden when I saw the new moon. — misplaced phrase; it describes where the walker was.
8. He cried as if he were mad. — unreal comparison after as if → subjunctive were.

CSS 2020

1. I beat/defeated him in the race. — you win a race, but you beat a person.
2. He said that I was playing chess. — sequence of tense after a past reporting verb.
3. Unless you try, you will never succeed. — unless already means "if not".
4. He wrote in ink. — in ink, with a pen.
5. What country does he belong to? / To which country does he belong? — question word order.
6. When he reaches manhood, he will visit England. — reach and visit take no preposition.
7. The new session commences on February 1st, 2020. — on for dates; commence from is wrong.
8. Please send this letter to my address.

CSS 2021

1. They were lying in the sun. — spelling: lie → lying.
2. He will not come unless he is asked. — without is not a conjunction.
3. John as well as Harry bears witness to it. — the verb agrees with the first subject.
4. The crew were now on board, and they soon busied themselves in preparing to meet the coming storm. — a collective noun acting as individuals ("they") → plural.
5. Could I have a piece of cake, please? — missing article and noun.
6. Is there a sports club nearby?
7. The coat is too big. — the intended sense is excess; quite doesn't express it.
8. It's only a short journey by train. — travel is uncountable.

CSS 2022

1. I had to walk two miles to school every morning when I was a child. (or used to walk)
2. After the storm, we had to pick up some fallen branches.
3. The guitar is the most popular instrument among teenage boys, but not among girls.
4. You are not well, and I hope you feel better soon. — hope for likely outcomes; wish for unreal ones.
5. The grass is not looking green now because it has not rained since last month.
6. The cold air made me shiver a little while I was waiting for him. — while for an ongoing action.
7. I offered my seat to an older woman, who just smiled at me.
8. She packed her bags, carried them downstairs and put them on the back seat of her car.

CSS 2023

1. His knowledge of languages and international relations aids him in his work. — the subject is knowledge.
2. The ambassador, with his family and staff, invites you to a reception… — with doesn't make the subject plural.
3. This year, he will sit for the CSS examination.
4. The Chief Executive will let us know whether he can attend the meeting. — or not is redundant.
5. When he came back from vacation, Aslam and I planned to look for another apartment. — tense consistency + subject pronoun.
6. If any of you makes a noise, you will be punished. — the pronoun must refer back to "you".
7. He came to me to enquire what the salary attached to the appointment was. — indirect question: statement order + backshift.
8. I am so tired that I cannot look up words and idioms in my English book. — too…to / so…that.

CSS 2024 — sentence-structure year

1. Chewing slowly, I found the pepperoni pizza delicious. — dangling modifier (the pizza wasn't chewing).
2. Kicking and screaming, the toddler was dragged out of the grocery store by his exasperated father. — dangling modifier.
3. A young girl was sitting in the corner, holding a red balloon. — fragment (no main verb).
4. Whom do you like more? — already correct in formal English (whom = object of like). Examiners may want a completed comparison: Which of the two do you like more? Skip this one in the exam.
5. He ordered a high-protein meal from the restaurant. — misplaced modifier (the restaurant wasn't high in protein).
6. My favourite pizza topping is mushrooms**;** they are really tasty. I also like pizza with olives. — run-on.
7. The group asked to hear the report that Shirley and I prepared. — subject of prepared.
8. I managed to finish the painting. — manage + to-infinitive.

CSS 2025 — long multi-error sentences

1. Having been perpetuated for centuries**,** the systemic inequalities and discriminatory policies of the government, which have been institutionalised, are a form of structural violence that affects marginalised communities.
2. We cleaned the whole kitchen while our parents were out for dinner.
3. If I'm stressed out about something, I tend to have trouble falling asleep.
4. If I am in Lahore, I will contact you. — no will in an if-clause; contact takes no to.
5. Cultural globalisation — a phenomenon driven by technological advancement and economic integration — is a threat to local cultures. — remove the redundant it is and the.
6. …being studied by researchers, who have found that it has both positive and negative effects.
7. The experimental novel — which blends elements of poetry and prose — is a challenge to traditional notions of storytelling and narrative structure, but it will be widely accepted once it is recognised as a masterpiece. — the future perfect made the time logic impossible.
8. The honour killings perpetrated by society are exacting a deadly toll on vulnerable individuals and are further exacerbating oppressive norms. — having been perpetuate is ungrammatical; which wrongly referred to individuals.

CSS 2026

1. The fact that I almost drowned makes me very careful about water safety whenever I go swimming.
2. The amount they receive in wages is greater than it was twenty years ago. — complete the comparison.
3. Playing a game regularly is better than always reading books. — parallelism (gerund with gerund).
4. It is one of the best speeches that have ever been made in the General Assembly. — that refers to speeches (plural); have was missing.
5. Ever since they had heard about the burglaries in the neighbourhood**,** they kept the lights on all the time and closed all the doors and windows very carefully.
6. When Susan realised that all her bottles of nail polish had dried out, she decided to keep them for decoration.
7. It was late at night, and a boy was riding his bike along the path when suddenly he stopped in shock because his headlamp was not working anymore.
8. The girl told the conductor that she had lost her train ticket and did not know how she would get home.