In the sentence "whole northern states in India are reeling under the devastating of the drought", the sentence has been divided into four labelled parts: (1) whole northern states in / (2) India are reeling under the / (3) devastating / (4) of the drought. Which part contains the grammatical error?

Introduction / Context:
Error spotting questions present a sentence broken into labelled parts. One part will contain a clear grammatical or usage error, while the others are acceptable in standard English. Your task is to identify the faulty segment. Here the sentence describes northern states in India suffering from drought, and you must locate the part that is grammatically incorrect or incomplete.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The full sentence is: "whole northern states in India are reeling under the devastating of the drought". - It is divided into four parts for checking: (1) whole northern states in, (2) India are reeling under the, (3) devastating, (4) of the drought. - We assume the intended meaning is that all northern states are badly affected by the devastating effects of a drought.

Concept / Approach:
A natural way to express this idea is "the northern states in India are reeling under the devastating effects of the drought". Notice that the word devastating is an adjective and normally needs a noun such as effect or effects. In the given sentence, part (3) contains devastating without any following noun within that segment, and part (4) begins with of the drought. This structure makes devastating stand awkwardly without its proper object, which is a clear grammatical problem. The other parts, while slightly informal, are acceptable or can be adjusted more easily.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine part (1): "whole northern states in". Although it would be more natural to say "the northern states in" or "the whole of the northern states in", this phrase can be adjusted within normal usage. The main grammar issue is not concentrated here. Step 2: Look at part (2): "India are reeling under the". This part fits normally before a noun phrase like "devastating effects of the drought", so by itself it is not incorrect. Step 3: Consider part (3): "devastating". This word is an adjective that should modify a noun such as effect, impact or consequences. Standing alone, it does not form a complete noun phrase. Step 4: Part (4): "of the drought" is a prepositional phrase that would usually follow a noun as in "effects of the drought". The preposition of correctly links a noun to the drought phrase. Step 5: The ungrammatical construction arises because devastating is not followed by a noun of which it is an adjective. So the error is located in part (3). Step 6: A corrected version would combine parts (3) and (4) as "devastating effects of the drought", adding the missing noun after devastating.

Verification / Alternative check:
Try reading the sentence by mentally inserting the missing noun: "whole northern states in India are reeling under the devastating effects of the drought". Now the structure is smooth and standard. You can see that only the absence of effects or a similar noun was creating the problem. Since that missing element relates to devastating, the label where the error lies must be the one containing devastating alone.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Part 1: Slightly clumsy but not strictly ungrammatical; it can be interpreted as a shortened form of a fuller phrase. Part 2: Correctly begins the clause "India are reeling under the..." and needs only a noun phrase after the article the. Part 4: Correct prepositional phrase that becomes fully correct once attached to a suitable noun such as effects.

Common Pitfalls:
Students may focus on surface awkwardness, such as the phrase whole northern states, and mark part (1). However, many exam setters place the true grammatical error where a key word is missing or misused. It is important to think about which words need partners, such as adjectives requiring nouns or verbs requiring objects. Checking each part for completeness rather than mere style is a reliable approach in error spotting questions.

Final Answer:
The grammatical error lies in part (3), where the adjective "devastating" is left without the required noun, such as "effects".