Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: A
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Error spotting questions test your ability to notice small but important grammar mistakes in sentences. Here the sentence is divided into parts, and you must decide which part contains an error, mainly in the use of prepositions. The sentence describes a person's negative feeling about another person's success.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Full sentence: He is jealous for my success and wants to destroy me.
- Part A: He is jealous for
- Part B: my success
- Part C: and wants to destroy me
- Part D: No error
Concept / Approach:
In English, the correct preposition with "jealous" when we talk about someone being jealous regarding another person's success, achievements, or possessions is "of", not "for". We say "jealous of someone" or "jealous of someone's success", not "jealous for someone's success", unless we mean we want success for them, which is unusual. The intended meaning here is that he envies my success, so the correct phrase is "jealous of my success".
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the phrase "jealous for my success" in parts A and B.
Step 2: Recall the standard collocation "jealous of".
Step 3: Rewrite the sentence correctly in your mind as "He is jealous of my success and wants to destroy me".
Step 4: Identify that the incorrect word "for" appears in part A, while parts B and C are fine.
Step 5: Select part A as the portion containing the error.
Verification / Alternative check:
You can check usage examples: "She is jealous of her sister's achievements", "They are jealous of his promotion". Grammar references consistently list "jealous of" as the correct pattern. This strongly supports the conclusion that the error is in part A where the wrong preposition "for" has been used.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Part B, "my success", is grammatically correct and matches the context. Part C, "and wants to destroy me", correctly uses a coordinating conjunction and verb phrase. Part D, "No error", is wrong because we have identified a definite mistake in part A. Option E, stating that there is no error in any part, also cannot be correct for the same reason.
Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes overuse "for" with emotional adjectives, such as "happy for" or "sad for", and carry this habit to "jealous for". To avoid this, remember typical combinations: "jealous of", "envious of", "afraid of". Practice with fixed preposition patterns will help you handle similar questions in exams.
Final Answer:
The error is in part A, because the phrase should be "jealous of my success", not "jealous for my success".
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