In this error-spotting sentence, identify the part that contains a grammatical error, if any: Are not your father and your elder brother out of town?

Introduction / Context:
Error-spotting questions are designed to check your grasp of sentence structure, subject–verb agreement, word order, and standard usage in English. The sentence here is: “Are not your father (1)/ and your elder brother (2)/ out of town? (3)/ No Error (4)”. You must decide which numbered part contains a grammatical mistake, or whether the sentence is already correct.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Part (1): “Are not your father”
• Part (2): “and your elder brother”
• Part (3): “out of town?”
• Part (4): “No Error”
• The whole sentence is a yes/no question about two people (father and elder brother) being away from town.

Concept / Approach:
To analyse this sentence, you should verify three main points: subject–verb agreement, word order in questions, and overall meaning. The compound subject “your father and your elder brother” refers to two persons, so the verb must be plural: “are”. In formal English, especially in older or more literary styles, it is acceptable to place “not” after the auxiliary in questions, resulting in a structure like “Are not your father and your elder brother out of town?”. Modern conversational English usually prefers the contracted form “Aren’t your father and your elder brother out of town?”, but the form used in the sentence is grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the subject. The phrase “your father and your elder brother” refers to two individuals, making the subject plural. Step 2: Check the verb. The auxiliary “are” correctly agrees with the plural subject. Step 3: Examine word order. In a question, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject: “Are … your father and your elder brother … ?” This is exactly what we see here. Step 4: Consider the position of “not”. The pattern “Are not your father … ?” is formal but acceptable. It is structurally similar to “Is not your brother at home?” Step 5: Parts (2) and (3) simply add more information (“and your elder brother”, “out of town?”) and do not contain any grammatical errors. Step 6: Since none of the three numbered parts contain a clear grammatical error, the correct choice is “No Error”.

Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine rephrasing the sentence in a more common conversational style: “Aren’t your father and your elder brother out of town?” This variant uses the contraction “aren’t” but has the same subject–verb agreement and overall structure. Because the original sentence can be expanded as “Are not your father and your elder brother out of town?”, it is grammatically equivalent. The difference is only in register (formal vs informal), not in correctness.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option 1: “Are not your father” — correct verb form for a plural subject that will be completed by “and your elder brother”. Option 2: “and your elder brother” — correctly joins the second subject with “and”, maintaining the plural subject. Option 3: “out of town?” — correct idiomatic expression to indicate that someone is away from their usual place of residence. Therefore, none of these parts need correction.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes over-correct sentences when they encounter a slightly old-fashioned but correct structure. They may wrongly think that “Are not your father … ?” must be changed to “Isn’t your father … ?”, forgetting that there are two subjects joined by “and”. Another common mistake is to assume that only modern contracted forms are grammatically acceptable. In exams, you should focus on actual grammar rules rather than stylistic preferences.

Final Answer:
There is No Error in the sentence, so the correct option is part (4).