In this error spotting question, identify the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error: The man is the most tallest of the group.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: the most tallest

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Error spotting items often target incorrect comparative and superlative structures in English. The given sentence is The man is the most tallest of the group. Here, the phrase the most tallest sounds suspicious, because tallest already appears to be a superlative form. To answer correctly, we must recall how comparative and superlative adjectives are formed and whether we can combine most with a word that already ends with est.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Complete sentence: The man is the most tallest of the group.
  • The sentence is broken into parts: The man is, the most tallest, of the group, and No Error.
  • The adjective in question is tall, modified here as tallest.
  • We must identify which segment breaks the rules of forming comparatives and superlatives.


Concept / Approach:
In English, one syllable adjectives like tall form the comparative by adding er (taller) and the superlative by adding est (tallest). We do not normally combine these suffixes with more or most, because that would repeat the comparative or superlative marker. Therefore, saying most tallest is incorrect and redundant. The correct superlative is simply tallest. Our approach is to locate this redundancy and mark that phrase as the erroneous segment in the sentence.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the adjective in the sentence: tall, used in the form tallest. Step 2: Recall that for tall, the comparative is taller and the superlative is tallest, formed by adding er and est. Step 3: Notice that the phrase the most tallest repeats the superlative idea by using both most and the est ending. Step 4: Recognise that we must either say the tallest or the most tall, but not the most tallest. Step 5: Check the other segments: The man is and of the group, which are grammatically correct. Step 6: Conclude that the error lies in the segment labelled the most tallest.


Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify this by comparing with other one syllable adjectives: big becomes bigger and biggest, not more big or most biggest; small becomes smaller and smallest, not more small or most smallest. In the same way, tall becomes taller and tallest. If we want to use more or most, we usually do it with longer adjectives such as beautiful, where we say more beautiful and most beautiful. The phrase most tallest thus incorrectly mixes the two systems. Standard grammar references and exam guides all treat this as an error, confirming that the correct form here is the tallest and that the segment the most tallest is wrong.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The man is: This part is correct and serves as the subject and verb of the sentence.
of the group: This phrase correctly indicates the group within which the comparison is made.
No Error: Selecting this would incorrectly suggest that the sentence is fully grammatical, which it is not.
the most tallest: This segment is wrong because tallest is already a superlative form and should not be preceded by most.


Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes believe that adding most makes any adjective sound more formal or strong, so they add it even when the adjective already ends with est. This leads to incorrect forms like most fastest or most cleverest. Another pitfall is treating all adjectives the same, without remembering that one syllable adjectives usually take er and est, while longer adjectives use more and most. To avoid such errors, it is helpful to practise common comparative and superlative forms and to remember not to double mark the comparison.


Final Answer:
The grammatically wrong part of the sentence is the most tallest, because the correct phrase should be the tallest of the group.

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