In the following error spotting question, one part of the sentence may contain a grammatical mistake. Identify the part with the error or choose "No Error": "As Benjamin ran / next the street, he wondered / what he should buy. / No Error."

Introduction / Context:
Error spotting questions assess your ability to detect and correct incorrect or awkward usage in a sentence. This particular sentence describes Benjamin running and thinking about what he should buy. The error lies in the use of a preposition, which makes the phrase grammatically wrong and unidiomatic. Your task is to locate the problematic segment and understand what the correct preposition or phrase should be.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence divided into parts:
  • (1) As Benjamin ran
  • (2) next the street, he wondered
  • (3) what he should buy.
  • (4) No Error
• The intended idea is that Benjamin is running along a street.
• The phrase "next the street" is unusual and seems incomplete.
• Standard English has specific prepositions and phrases to describe movement in relation to a street.

Concept / Approach:
The preposition "next" is normally followed by "to" when we want to express proximity: "next to the street," meaning beside the street. To describe movement along the length of a street, we use prepositions like "along" or "down," as in "ran along the street." The fragment "next the street" without "to" is ungrammatical and does not match normal usage. Therefore, the error must be in part 2, and the phrase should be replaced with "down the street" or "along the street."

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read each part of the sentence and check if it sounds natural in standard English. Step 2: "As Benjamin ran" (part 1) is correct and needs no change. Step 3: "next the street" (part 2) clearly sounds wrong; it is missing "to" or the correct directional preposition. Step 4: Recognise that the best idiomatic phrasing would be "ran along the street" or "ran down the street." Step 5: Conclude that part 2 contains the grammatical error.

Verification / Alternative check:
Try rewriting the sentence correctly: "As Benjamin ran down the street, he wondered what he should buy." Now the sentence sounds natural and accurate. None of the other segments show any error: Benjamin is the correct subject; "ran" is the proper verb; and "he wondered what he should buy" is a correct reported clause expressing his thoughts. Therefore, the only problematic fragment is the prepositional phrase in part 2.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• 1: "As Benjamin ran" has correct tense and structure.
• 3: "what he should buy" is grammatically correct and correctly introduced by "wondered."
• 4 (No Error): Cannot be chosen because there is clearly an issue with part 2.

Common Pitfalls:
Many learners get confused with prepositions involving movement: "in the street," "on the street," "along the street," and "down the street" can all be correct depending on context. However, "next the street" is never used by itself. Another common mistake is to overlook small words like prepositions, assuming that longer phrases must contain the error. In error spotting questions, always pay close attention to short words, especially prepositions and articles, because they are a frequent source of subtle mistakes.

Final Answer:
The error is in part 2; the sentence should read: As Benjamin ran along the street, he wondered what he should buy.