ELSA Error Identification & Correction 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Select the sentence with correct parallel structure.
- She likes hiking, to swim, and cooking.
- She likes hiking, swimming, and cooking. (Correct answer)
- She likes to hike, swimming, and to cook.
- She likes hike, swim, and cook.
Correct answer: She likes hiking, swimming, and cooking.
Parallel structure requires that items in a series use the same grammatical form—here, all gerunds (-ing forms).
Question 2: Identify the error: 'He completed the project quick and efficient.'
- 'completed' should be 'completes'
- 'quick' and 'efficient' should be 'quickly' and 'efficiently' (Correct answer)
- 'the' should be 'a'
- 'and' should be 'but'
Correct answer: 'quick' and 'efficient' should be 'quickly' and 'efficiently'
Adverbs, not adjectives, modify verbs; 'quick' and 'efficient' must become 'quickly' and 'efficiently.'
Question 3: Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?
- The dog barked loudly at the stranger.
- Covered in mud, the dog ran inside.
- She almost drove her children to school every day. (Correct answer)
- He carefully read the instructions.
Correct answer: She almost drove her children to school every day.
'Almost' is misplaced; the intended meaning is 'She drove her children to school almost every day.'
Question 4: Find the error in: 'If I was you, I would accept the offer.'
- 'was' should be 'were' (Correct answer)
- 'accept' should be 'accepted'
- 'would' should be 'will'
- 'If' should be 'Whether'
Correct answer: 'was' should be 'were'
The subjunctive mood requires 'were' (not 'was') for hypothetical or contrary-to-fact statements.
Question 5: Choose the correct revision: 'The report which I wrote yesterday it was approved by the director.'
- Remove 'which I wrote yesterday'
- Remove 'it' (Correct answer)
- Change 'which' to 'that'
- Change 'was approved' to 'approved'
Correct answer: Remove 'it'
The pronoun 'it' is redundant because 'The report' already serves as the subject of the clause.
Question 6: Identify the punctuation error: 'Its important to proofread you're work carefully.'
- 'Its' should be 'It's' and 'you're' should be 'your' (Correct answer)
- 'Its' is correct but 'you're' should be 'your'
- 'It's' is correct but 'your' should be 'you're'
- No errors exist in the sentence
Correct answer: 'Its' should be 'It's' and 'you're' should be 'your'
'It's' is the contraction of 'it is,' and 'your' is the possessive pronoun needed before 'work.'
Question 7: Which word is used incorrectly? 'The principle reason for the delay was the storm.'
- 'reason' should be 'cause'
- 'principle' should be 'principal' (Correct answer)
- 'delay' should be 'delaying'
- 'was' should be 'were'
Correct answer: 'principle' should be 'principal'
'Principal' means 'main' or 'primary' as an adjective, while 'principle' is a noun meaning a rule or belief.
ELSA Error Identification & Correction 3
Select the sentence with correct parallel structure.