In the following sentence, identify the part that contains an error: “It seemed as if every man in the country was back them.”

Introduction / Context:
Error spotting questions present a sentence divided into labelled parts and ask you to find the fragment containing a grammatical or idiomatic mistake. Here the sentence tries to say that it looked as though everyone in the country was supporting “them” (a group already known from context). We must locate the incorrect phrase and mentally correct it, while also understanding why the other parts are acceptable.

Given Data / Assumptions:
The sentence is divided as follows:
- Part (1): It seemed as if
- Part (2): every man in the
- Part (3): country was back them.
- Part (4): No Error.
We assume that the intended meaning is “It seemed as if every man in the country was backing them.”

Concept / Approach:
The phrase “to back someone” means “to support someone”. In the present sentence, the word “back” has been used incorrectly without the necessary -ing form and without a suitable preposition. The correct expression would be “was backing them” (continuous tense) or “was behind them” (idiom). We therefore examine part (3), where the phrase “was back them” is clearly wrong in standard English.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Check part (1): “It seemed as if”. This is a perfectly correct introductory phrase for a sentence expressing appearance. Step 2: Check part (2): “every man in the”. The phrase “every man in the country” is idiomatic and grammatically sound. Step 3: Check part (3): “country was back them.” Here the word order and form are wrong. “Was back them” does not make sense in English, because “back” is not used directly before a pronoun in this way. Step 4: Recognise the intended expression: “was backing them” or “was behind them” meaning that everyone supported them. Step 5: Since part (3) is the only segment containing this mistake, it is the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Rewriting the sentence in correct form: “It seemed as if every man in the country was backing them.” Parts (1) and (2) remain unchanged; only part (3) is replaced by “country was backing them”. This confirms that part (3) originally had the error and that the other parts were fine.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- Part (1): “It seemed as if” is a standard structure introducing a clause of appearance or impression.
- Part (2): “every man in the” correctly leads into “country”. There is no article or agreement error.
- Part (4): “No Error” is incorrect to select because we have clearly identified a mistake in part (3).

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners overlook subtle verb forms and might feel that “was back them” is acceptable because they are thinking of phrases like “back them up”. However, to use “back” as a verb in this sense, we need an -ing form after “was” to show the continuous aspect: “was backing them”. Paying close attention to verb patterns and idioms like “to back someone” greatly improves accuracy in such questions.

Final Answer:
The error is in part (3), where “was back them” should read “was backing them”.