Consider the sentence divided into four labelled parts: A) Former prime minister ruled himself out / B) as an alternative rightwing candidate for his party colleague / C) whose campaign has been thrown into chaos / D) by a fake jobs scandal. Which pair of parts contains clear errors in standard written English?

Introduction / Context:
This question asks you to identify which labelled segments of a longer sentence contain grammatical or usage errors. Unlike simpler error spotting questions that highlight only one wrong segment, this item expects you to judge which pair of segments needs correction. You must scan each part carefully and distinguish between minor stylistic choices and clear errors according to standard written English.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The full sentence reads: "Former prime minister ruled himself out as an alternative rightwing candidate for his party colleague whose campaign has been thrown into chaos by a fake jobs scandal." - The parts are: A) Former prime minister ruled himself out, B) as an alternative rightwing candidate for his party colleague, C) whose campaign has been thrown into chaos, D) by a fake jobs scandal. - We assume the intended meaning is a news style statement about a former prime minister declining to be an alternative candidate to a colleague involved in a scandal.

Concept / Approach:
When checking such a sentence, you should look for core grammatical issues: missing articles, incorrect prepositions and awkward or unidiomatic combinations. In segment A, the main subject phrase lacks the definite article the, which is required before a singular countable noun phrase like former prime minister when referring to a specific known person. In segment D, the phrase fake jobs scandal is awkward in standard usage; a more natural expression would be fake job scandal or jobs scam. Segments B and C read smoothly and follow common newspaper style. Therefore, parts A and D together contain the most obvious errors.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine part A: "Former prime minister ruled himself out". In standard English, we would write "The former prime minister ruled himself out". Without the article the, the noun phrase sounds incomplete. Step 2: Because we are talking about a specific prime minister known to the reader, the definite article is necessary. This makes part A erroneous. Step 3: Consider part B: "as an alternative rightwing candidate for his party colleague". The overall structure is acceptable. News articles often use rightwing without a hyphen, and the preposition for can be used in this context, meaning "as a candidate instead of his colleague". Step 4: Look at part C: "whose campaign has been thrown into chaos". This is a standard relative clause with correct tense and structure. There is no grammatical error here. Step 5: Inspect part D: "by a fake jobs scandal". The phrase jobs scandal is awkward because the scandal is about fake jobs, not that the scandal itself is fake. A clearer phrasing would be "by a fake job scandal" or "by a jobs scam". As written, the wording is confusing and unidiomatic. Step 6: Because part D uses this unclear expression, it is the second segment that should be regarded as incorrect for formal English. Step 7: Combining these observations, we see that parts A and D are the parts that most clearly require correction.

Verification / Alternative check:
Try rewriting the sentence with minimal corrections: "The former prime minister ruled himself out as an alternative right wing candidate for his party colleague, whose campaign has been thrown into chaos by a jobs scandal involving fake appointments." In this version, the article the in front of former prime minister and the revised phrase at the end significantly improve clarity and correctness. Note that parts corresponding to B and C did not need structural changes, which reinforces that they were acceptable in the original form.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
A and C: Part C is grammatically fine, so this pair misidentifies an error where none exists. B and D: Part B can be justified as acceptable journalistic style, so grouping it with D does not capture the main problems. C and B: Neither C nor B presents as strong an error as A or D, so this option fails to target the most significant issues.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes mark segments that feel slightly awkward instead of focusing on real grammatical errors. It is important to separate style preferences from rules. Newspaper language often uses compressed structures that may seem abrupt but are not wrong. Look first for missing articles, faulty verb forms or obvious misuse of words. When questions ask for pairs of erroneous parts, ensure that both listed segments truly require correction before choosing that option.

Final Answer:
The segments that clearly contain errors are parts A and D.