English grammar error-spotting (correlative pair ‘‘scarcely … when …’’ and sequence of tenses): Read the sentence split into four labeled parts (A–D) and choose the single part that contains the grammatical/idiomatic error; select ‘‘No error’’ only if the sentence is fully correct: ‘‘Scarcely had / I arrived than / the train left. / No error.’

Given data

• A: ‘‘Scarcely had’’ (introduces past perfect inversion)
• B: ‘‘I arrived than’’
• C: ‘‘the train left.’’
• D: ‘‘No error.’’

Concept / ApproachThe correlative pair is scarcely/hardly … when (not ‘‘than’’). We use past perfect for the earlier action and past simple for the following action in narrative sequencing—common in competitive-exam error spotting.

Step-by-step correctionReplace ‘‘than’’ with ‘‘when’’ → ‘‘Scarcely had I arrived when the train left.’’Tense pairing already fits: ‘‘had arrived’’ (earlier) → ‘‘left’’ (later).

Common pitfalls

• Using ‘‘than’’ after ‘‘hardly/scarcely’’ due to confusion with comparatives.
• Changing tenses unnecessarily; here the error is the connector, not the tenses.

Final AnswerI arrived than