Identify the part of the sentence which contains an error. Many of our staff /…

2020

Identify the part of the sentence which contains an error.

Many of our staff / find it difficult to / follow her as she / don't speak clearly.

Answer: A. don't speak clearlyConcept: A negative auxiliary must agree in person and number with its subject: plural subjects (and "I"/"you") take "don't", while a singular third-person…

  1. A.

    don't speak clearly

  2. B.

    find it difficult to

  3. C.

    Many of our staff

  4. D.

    follow her as she

Attempted by 6 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A

Concept: A negative auxiliary must agree in person and number with its subject: plural subjects (and "I"/"you") take "don't", while a singular third-person subject (he/she/it, or a singular noun) always takes "doesn't", never "don't".

Application: The clause "as she don't speak clearly" has the singular third-person subject "she". Since "she" is singular, the auxiliary must be "doesn't", not "don't" — the phrase should read "doesn't speak clearly".

Cross-check: None of the other segments show an agreement, tense, or reference problem:

  • "Many of our staff" — "many of" gives the collective noun "staff" a plural sense, so a plural verb correctly follows.

  • "find it difficult to" — this verb phrase correctly agrees with that plural subject and is idiomatically standard.

  • "follow her as she" — the pronoun "she" clearly and correctly refers back to "her", the person already named in the clause.

Result: the error is the mismatched auxiliary — it should read "doesn't speak clearly", not "don't speak clearly".

Explore the full course: Iocl Engineers Officer Grade A Paper 1

Loading lesson…