English grammar error-spotting (third conditional form—‘‘would have’’ + ‘‘if’’-clause with past perfect): Identify the single erroneous segment: ‘‘He fell from a running train / and would have died / if the villagers did not get him admitted in the nearby hospital immediately. / No error.’

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: if the villagers did not get him admitted in the nearby hospital immediately.

Explanation:

Given data

  • Main clause: ‘‘… would have died’’ → counterfactual past result.
  • If-clause: uses simple past ‘‘did not’’ + awkward verb choice/preposition.

Concept/ApproachIn a third conditional, pair ‘‘would have + past participle’’ with an if-clause in the past perfect: ‘‘if … had not …’’ Also prefer ‘‘admitted to hospital’’ for the preposition.

Step-by-step correctionUse past perfect in the condition: ‘‘if the villagers had not got/gotten him admitted …’’Preposition: ‘‘admitted to the nearby hospital’’.

Common pitfalls

  • Mixing ‘‘would have’’ with ‘‘if + did’’.
  • Using ‘‘in hospital’’ vs ‘‘to hospital’’—both can be correct in different senses; here ‘‘admitted to’’ fits best.

Final Answerif the villagers did not get him admitted in the nearby hospital immediately.

More Questions from Spotting Errors

Discussion & Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Join Discussion