In the following sentence error spotting question, identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error: There was a comparison between you and he.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Error spotting questions assess a candidate's knowledge of grammar, usage, and idiomatic expressions. In this sentence, There was a comparison between you and he, the structure seems almost correct, but one part violates standard English rules regarding pronoun case after prepositions. The task is to identify which segment, marked A, B, C, or D, contains the error according to formal written English used in exams and official communication.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Full sentence: There was a (A)/ comparison between (B)/ you and he (C)/ no error (D).
  • Part A: There was a.
  • Part B: comparison between.
  • Part C: you and he.
  • Part D: no error.
  • We assume normal rules for pronoun case after the preposition between.


Concept / Approach:
In English, pronouns that follow prepositions such as between, to, for, and with are normally in the objective case, for example, between you and me, between him and her. In the phrase between you and he, he is in the subjective case and should be replaced by the objective form him. The rest of the sentence is grammatically acceptable. Therefore, the error lies in part C, where the pronoun form is incorrect for its position after a preposition.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine part A: There was a. This is a correct beginning for an existential statement introducing something that existed. Step 2: Examine part B: comparison between. This phrase is correct and sets up a comparison between two entities. Step 3: Examine part C: you and he. Here, both pronouns follow the preposition between and should be in the objective case. Step 4: Recognise that you is used identically in subject and object positions, so it is acceptable, but he is a subject form and should be him in object position. Step 5: Replace he with him to get the correct phrase between you and him. Step 6: Conclude that the error is in part C.


Verification / Alternative check:
Compare with common correct patterns: between you and me, between him and her, between us and them. All these use object pronouns after between. If we say between I and he, it is clearly wrong and unnatural. By the same logic, between you and he is incorrect. The corrected sentence There was a comparison between you and him sounds natural and matches standard usage found in grammars and style guides. No other part of the sentence shows any tense, agreement, or word order issues.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Part A, There was a, is correct because it introduces the existence of something, namely a comparison. Part B, comparison between, is a standard collocation expressing that two or more things are being compared. Part D, no error, is wrong because we have identified a definite pronoun case error in part C. Therefore, only part C can be marked as the segment with the grammatical mistake.


Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes overcorrect and think that subject forms such as I or he must always be used in formal contexts, leading them to choose between you and I or between you and he. This is a misunderstanding. Case must match function in the sentence, and objects of prepositions require object forms like me, him, and them. A good way to practise is to remove one pronoun and test it: There was a comparison between he sounds wrong, while There was a comparison between him is clearly correct.


Final Answer:
The error is in part C, where you and he should be corrected to you and him.

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