In this error spotting question, read the sentence and identify the part that contains an error. The sentence is: "The ruling party stood for implementation of the bill and was ready to stake their political existence."

Introduction / Context:
This question focuses on correct pronoun usage and agreement with a collective noun. The sentence describes a ruling party that strongly supports a bill and is even willing to risk its political future for it. Your task is to find the segment that contains a grammatical error in terms of pronoun reference.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence: "The ruling party stood for implementation of the bill and was ready to stake their political existence."
• Segments:
  • A: The ruling party stood
  • B: For implementation of the bill
  • C: And was ready to
  • D: Stake their political existence
• Option E: No error.
• "The ruling party" is treated as a singular collective noun in this sentence.

Concept / Approach:
In standard exam English, collective nouns like "party", "team", or "government" are often treated as singular when we refer to them as a single unit. In that case, the pronoun used to refer back to them should also be singular, such as "its", not "their". The verb in the sentence, "was", is singular, confirming that the party is being viewed as one unit. Therefore, the pronoun "their" in segment D is inconsistent and should be "its".

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note that the subject "The ruling party" is followed by the singular verb "was". This tells us that the party is being treated as a single unit. Step 2: Examine segment D: "stake their political existence". The pronoun "their" refers back to "The ruling party". Step 3: For a singular collective noun used in this way, the correct pronoun is "its", not "their". Step 4: The corrected segment should read "stake its political existence". Step 5: The other segments A, B, and C have correct grammar and do not require changes.

Verification / Alternative check:
Rewrite the sentence with the corrected pronoun: "The ruling party stood for implementation of the bill and was ready to stake its political existence." This is now fully consistent in number, with the singular subject "party", singular verb "was", and singular pronoun "its". If the writer wanted to emphasise individual members of the party, the sentence would need different wording and probably a plural verb, for example "The members of the ruling party were ready to stake their political existence." Since that is not the case, segment D clearly contains the error.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Segment A "The ruling party stood" correctly uses simple past tense.

Segment B "for implementation of the bill" is a correct prepositional phrase describing what the party supported.

Segment C "and was ready to" correctly joins the two actions of the same singular subject.

Choosing "No error" would ignore the mismatch between singular "was" and plural "their".

Common Pitfalls:
In everyday speech, people often use "they" and "their" for organisations, which can influence exam takers. However, standard written English, especially in competitive exams, usually sticks to strict agreement. When you see a collective noun with a singular verb, you should automatically look for a singular pronoun like "its". Being aware of this pattern will help you quickly identify similar errors in other questions.

Final Answer:
The error is in segment D, which should read "stake its political existence", so option D is correct.