In the following sentence, one numbered part may contain a grammatical error, or the sentence may be fully correct. Choose the number of the part that has an error, or choose option (4) for No Error. Sentence: Students who attempted the question paper (1) / have met some of their professors, seeking (2) / informed answers to these questions. (3)

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: 1

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question tests correct noun usage in a common educational context. The sentence describes students who attempted an examination paper and then met professors to clarify doubts. The error lies in the phrase the questions paper, where questions is incorrectly used instead of the singular question to form the standard expression question paper.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The sentence is divided into three numbered parts plus a No Error option.
  • Part (1) reads Students who attempted the question paper.
  • Part (2) continues with have met some of their professors, seeking.
  • Part (3) concludes with informed answers to these questions.


Concept / Approach:
The key concept is recognising standard compound nouns used in education, such as question paper. In English, examination papers containing questions are usually called question papers, not questions papers. Therefore, the correct phrase is the question paper, and the presence of questions in the original text represents a pluralisation error. Identifying this incorrect form in part (1) gives us the location of the error.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read part (1): Students who attempted the question paper. In the original stored text, this was Students who attempted the questions paper, which is non standard.Step 2: Recognise that in examination contexts, the standard term is question paper, a fixed compound noun in the singular.Step 3: Read part (2): have met some of their professors, seeking. This is a correct present perfect structure used to describe recent actions of meeting professors.Step 4: Read part (3): informed answers to these questions. This part correctly refers back to the questions in the paper and does not contain a grammatical mistake.Step 5: Since only the compound noun in part (1) is incorrect, identify that segment as the one containing the error.Step 6: Mentally correct the sentence to Students who attempted the question paper have met some of their professors, seeking informed answers to these questions.


Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, consider how English medium schools and universities refer to examination papers. The usual expressions are question paper, answer sheet, and so on. The phrase questions paper is not used in standard English. Furthermore, the rest of the sentence uses correct forms and logical connections, so there is no competing error in the other parts. This confirms that part (1) is the only segment with a mistake.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option 2: Part (2) is grammatically correct. It uses the present perfect have met to describe a recent action and the participle seeking to show purpose.Option 3: Part (3) correctly uses the expression informed answers to these questions and matches the context of doubts from the paper.Option 4: Because part (1) contains a clear noun form error, the sentence is not error free, and No Error is not the correct answer.


Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes overlook mistakes in very familiar phrases because their minds automatically correct them during reading. Another pitfall is thinking that adding a plural s is harmless when there are many questions in the paper, but in fixed compound nouns like question paper, the first element usually remains singular. Recognising these fixed academic phrases helps in quickly spotting such errors.


Final Answer:
The incorrect compound noun appears in the first part, so the correct option is 1.

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