Golden Rules for Spotting Errors – Part 2 by Mr. Veeraraghavan Retd. RBI Officer

Golden Rules for Spotting Errors – Part 2

by Mr. Veeraraghavan Retd. RBI Officer 

Rule 1:

Adjectives ending in –ior are followed by `to’ not than.

He is senior to me.

Similarly when prefer is used for comparison it is followed by `to’.

Rule 2:

Some adjectives – unique, ideal, perfect, extreme, complete, universal, infinite,

perpetual, chief, entire, round, impossible etc are not used in comparative form.

Rule 3:

Positive degree form of adjective should be used when there is no comparison, comparative degree when comparing two things and superlative degree when comparing more than two things. The article `the’ is always used before a superlative adjective.

Rule 4:

Double comparative and double superlatives should not be used together.

E.g. He is more wiser than his brother –wrong.

He is wiser than his brother. — Right

Rule 5:

Commonly confused adjectives – beautiful/handsome, less/fewer, last/latest, older/elder, little/a little, further/farther and latter/late.

Rule 6:

When comparative degree is used in superlative sense, it is followed by `any other’.

E.g. Ram is taller than any other student in the class.

Rule 7:

One must be followed by one’s.

One must do one’s duty to one’s country.

But when one means one in number the pronoun is third person singular.

One of the students has not brought his book.

Rule 8:

Everyone or everybody must be followed by his.

Everyone should love his country.

Rule 9:

Verbs like enjoy, avail, adapt, pride, resign, apply, acquit, assert, absent are

followed by reflexive pronouns.

Rule 10:

Verbs keep, conceal, qualify, spread, rest and stay are never used with reflexive pronouns.

E.g. I stayed myself away from the class (wrong)

I stayed away from the class (right)

He qualified in the test. (right)