Error spotting in English grammar: Being occupied with work, father had no time to see us. Identify which underlined part of the sentence contains a grammatical error, or choose the no error option if the sentence is correct.

Introduction / Context:
This question belongs to the very common error spotting type in English grammar. You are given a complete sentence which has been divided into parts labelled A, B, C, and an additional option for no error. Your task is to identify which specific part contains a grammatical or usage error. Here, the sentence reads, Being occupied with work, father had no time to see us. At first glance, the sentence seems almost correct, but a closer look shows a small yet important error in the use of a noun without an article or possessive determiner. Such questions test your understanding of how English treats family relation nouns like father, mother, uncle, and so on.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The sentence is: Being occupied with work, father had no time to see us.
• Part A is Being occupied with.
• Part B is work, father had no.
• Part C is time to see us.
• Part D corresponds to the idea that there is no error in the sentence.
• We assume standard exam level British or Indian English usage rules.

Concept / Approach:
In English, common nouns that refer to family members, such as father, mother, brother, and sister, generally need a determiner when used in a sentence, especially when we refer to a particular person. The determiner is often a possessive such as my, your, or our. Without such a determiner, the sentence sounds incomplete or unnatural. The phrase Being occupied with work is a correct participial phrase, and time to see us is also grammatically sound. The main issue lies where the noun father appears without my, your, his, or any article, even though we are talking about a specific person in a family context.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine part A, Being occupied with. This is a correct participial phrase introducing the reason for the main clause. There is no error in this part. Step 2: Examine part B, work, father had no. The word work is correctly used after occupied with. However, the noun father appears without a determiner such as my father. Step 3: Standard English usage requires us to say my father, our father, or the father when referring to a specific person. Without my, the phrase sounds incomplete. Step 4: Examine part C, time to see us. This is grammatically correct and clearly expresses that he had no time available to meet us. Step 5: Since part B contains the missing determiner, that is where the error lies. The corrected sentence would be, Being occupied with work, my father had no time to see us. Step 6: Therefore, the error is in part B, and the correct option is B.

Verification / Alternative Check:
To verify, try saying the sentence aloud in natural English. Native speakers and proficient users almost always say my father or our father. In grammar books and exam answer keys, examples consistently use a possessive determiner with family relation nouns when they refer to specific individuals. If we compare similar sentences, such as Being tired, my mother went to bed early, we can see that the possessive determiner my is required. Rewriting the original sentence as Being occupied with work, my father had no time to see us makes the structure sound natural, confirming that the missing determiner in part B is the real error.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Part A, Being occupied with, is correct because the phrase forms a proper participial clause which shows the cause of the main action.
Part C, time to see us, is grammatically correct and clearly expresses the idea that there was no available time to meet us.
Part D, the no error option, is wrong, because we have identified that part B contains a definite grammatical problem, so the sentence is not error free.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to focus only on verb forms and ignore determiners and articles. Many learners read quickly and feel that the sentence makes sense, so they choose the no error option. Another pitfall is assuming that in family contexts, using father or mother alone is always acceptable. While this may happen in informal speech in some languages, standard written English prefers my father, my mother, or similar forms. When attempting error spotting questions, it is important to check every small word, including articles and possessive determiners, since exams often hide errors in these tiny details.

Final Answer:
The error lies in the missing determiner before father, so the incorrect part is in segment B. The correct answer is B.