In the sentence "The prince and princess made their way through the cheering crowd.", identify the part that contains an error, if any.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: No error

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Error spotting questions require careful examination of each segment of a sentence. In this case, the sentence describes two royal persons moving through a crowd. We have to check for subject–verb agreement, pronoun usage, and prepositional phrases to see whether any part contains a grammatical mistake.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Sentence: The prince and princess made their way through the cheering crowd.
  • Segments:
    • Part A: "The prince and princess"
    • Part B: "made their way"
    • Part C: "through the cheering crowd."
    • Part D: "No error"
  • We must decide whether any of Parts A, B, or C has an error, or whether the sentence is fully correct.


Concept / Approach:
First, check subject–verb agreement. "The prince and princess" is a compound subject joined by "and," which is plural, so it correctly takes the plural verb "made." Next, examine pronoun agreement: since there are two people, the pronoun "their" is appropriate as the plural possessive pronoun. Finally, inspect the prepositional phrase "through the cheering crowd," which is grammatically correct and idiomatic to describe movement within a group of people.


Step-by-Step Solution:

Step 1: Analyse Part A: "The prince and princess." This correctly names two individuals and forms a plural subject. Step 2: Analyse Part B: "made their way." The verb "made" is plural past tense and agrees with the plural subject. The expression "make one's way" is idiomatic and correctly adapted to the plural "their." Step 3: Analyse Part C: "through the cheering crowd." This prepositional phrase correctly describes how they moved, and "cheering crowd" is a natural collocation. Step 4: Since no grammatical or idiomatic error appears in any of the segments, the correct choice is "No error."


Verification / Alternative check:
Try to rephrase the sentence while preserving meaning: "The prince and princess walked through the cheering crowd," or "The prince and princess moved through the cheering crowd." Both alternative versions confirm that the original structure is correct and fluent. There is no issue with tense, number, or pronoun agreement, and the preposition "through" is the right choice for describing movement inside a crowd.


Why Other Options Are Wrong (as error choices):

Option A: "The prince and princess" is correctly formed and does not require an article between the two nouns. Option B: "made their way" is a well known idiomatic phrase meaning "proceeded" or "moved along," and the pronoun "their" agrees in number with the compound subject. Option C: "through the cheering crowd." is grammatically sound and contextually appropriate. Option E: "The entire sentence is correct as written." is essentially another way of saying "No error," but the standard exam key uses the labelled "No error" option.


Common Pitfalls:
Sometimes candidates suspect an error simply because the sentence seems too easy or because they overthink the structure. Another common confusion arises with pronouns when two singular nouns are joined by "and"; remember that "prince and princess" together require plural verbs and plural pronouns like "they" or "their." Recognising standard idioms such as "make one's way" also helps to avoid false alarms.


Final Answer:
The sentence is grammatically correct, so the right choice is No error.

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