In this English error spotting question, identify which part of the sentence contains the grammatical error in: "His need for affection (A) stem from his (B) father's long absence. (C) No Error (D)".

Introduction / Context:
This English grammar question belongs to the error spotting category, where the sentence is split into four labelled parts (A), (B), (C), and (D - No Error). You are asked to identify which segment contains a grammatical mistake. The sentence given is: "His need for affection (A) stem from his (B) father's long absence. (C) No Error (D)". The main concept tested here is subject verb agreement in the simple present tense.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The full sentence is "His need for affection stem from his father's long absence."
• Part (A): "His need for affection".
• Part (B): "stem from his".
• Part (C): "father's long absence."
• Part (D): "No Error", which is correct only if no other part contains an error.
• The subject of the main clause is "need", which is singular.

Concept / Approach:
In the simple present tense, a singular subject (he, she, it, or a singular noun) takes a verb with an added s or es: "needs", "goes", "comes", "stems". A plural subject takes the base form of the verb, such as "need", "go", "come", "stem". In this sentence, "His need for affection" is a singular noun phrase because the head noun "need" is singular. Therefore, the verb must also be singular and should be "stems" instead of "stem". The rest of the sentence, "from his father's long absence", is grammatically sound and expresses the cause correctly.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the main subject: "His need for affection". The core subject is "need", which is singular.Step 2: Identify the verb associated with this subject: "stem".Step 3: Apply the rule of subject verb agreement in the simple present tense: singular subject → verb + s; plural subject → base verb.Step 4: Since "need" is singular, the correct verb should be "stems", giving "His need for affection stems from his father's long absence."Step 5: Conclude that the incorrect portion is part (B), where "stem" is used without the necessary s ending.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can quickly test the corrected sentence: "His need for affection stems from his father's long absence." This is natural and fully grammatical. Parts (A) and (C) do not require any change. "His need for affection" clearly introduces a singular emotional need, and "father's long absence" correctly shows possession. Therefore, there is no reason to mark them as wrong. Since an error is present in part (B), we cannot choose (D) "No Error".

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option A (part A) is correct; it accurately presents the singular subject "need" with modifiers.
• Option C (part C) is also correct; it shows the possessive "father's" and the phrase "long absence".
• Option D (part D - No Error) is incorrect because we have already identified an error in part (B); therefore, the sentence is not error free.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes get distracted by nearby nouns like "father's" and think they are the subject. However, the true subject is "need", not "father". Another common mistake is to treat long noun phrases with several words as plural simply because they look complex. Always locate the head noun and then match the verb to that head noun. In this item, remembering that "need" is singular leads you straight to the correct form "stems".

Final Answer:
The error is in part B, where "stem" should be "stems" to agree with the singular subject "need".