Spotting Errors Practice Questions for SBI PO
Directions (1 – 10): Read the sentence to find out whether there
is any error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The
number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5).
Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.
1. When the
government (1)/ was responsible for setting interest rates, there was (2)/ a
political business cycle wherein the incumbent (3)/ government seeks to
influence the economic cycle to coincide with elections.(4)/ No error (5)
2. Once the election is won, the
government (1)/ can increase interest rates to reduce (2)/ inflation
and if it causes a recession, there (3)/ is still time for the economy to
recover for the next election.(4)/ No error (5)
3. There is the risk that
President Trump or his cabinet will (1)/ interfere in the work of the Federal
Reserve by arguing for (2)/ or against specific policy actions and it is easy
to envision cases in which (3)/ the executive would blame the independent
monetary policymakers when things go wrong.(4)/ No error (5)
4. The more aggressively the
Trump Administration implement (1)/ the President-elect’s immigration and trade
plans, the greater the (2)/ risk of an uptick in inflation resulting in policy
rate increases and a (3)/ dispute over whether the Fed is actively thwarting
the Administration’s growth and employment-oriented policies.(4)/ No error (5)
5. There are persistent proposals
to restore a gold standard (1)/ but this is a very bad idea as it will not
promise any macroeconomic and (2)/ financial stability. As stated by many
advisors, a gold standard (3)/ would be a major source of instability and prove
unsustainably.(4)/ No error (5)
6. Keeping inflation low and
stable requires a credible policy commitment to the price stability (1)/ that
will, from time to time, be highly unpopular; when inflation rises, the central
bank must (2)/ promptly raise interest rates. And, should deflation threaten
and the policy rate hit the (3)/ zero bound, the central bank must respond by
using its balance sheet flexibility.(4)/ No error (5)
7. For a central bank to serve as
the lender of last resort, as leading central banks did in the recent
crisis,(1)/ it must have some degree of independence and in particular, they
must delay disclosure about the recipients (2)/ of its funds: otherwise, banks
worried about being seen as fragile will not borrow, (3)/ perpetuating the
financial system’s liquidity shortfall and the panic.(4)/ No error (5)
8. Recent experience shows that
all these actions can (1)/ trigger popular discontent and for legislatures,
maintaining (2)/ such unpopular commitments is difficult when the benefits (3)/
only arise on a horizon longer than an electoral cycle. (4)/ No error (5)
9. Between 1997-2007, the Central
Bank did a reasonable good job (1)/ in keeping inflation low, enabling a long
period (2)/ of economic expansion. From 2007-2011, the Bank struggled (3)/ with
the combination of credit crunch, deep recession and cost push inflation.(4)/
No error (5)
10. Before an election, the
government tries to (1)/ cut interest rates and bust economic cycles (2)
wherein it is better to take (3)/ monetary policy out of government’s
hands.(4)/ No error (5)
Answers:
1. D) The error lies in part 4 of the sentence as the verb 'seeks' is in
present tense and needs to be replaced with tense in past tense as the sentence
is in past tense. The verb should be 'sought' here instead of 'seek'. The
sentence should read as:'..government
sought to influence..'
2. D) The error lies in part 4 of the sentence as the
preposition 'for' is incorrect as here it seem to convey purpose. It must be
understood that an economy need to recover 'for' an election. However it can be
recovered before or after the election. The correct preposition should be
'before' to signify that the recovery must be done before the election takes
place. The sentence should read as:'...for the economy to recover before the
next election'.
3. D) The error lies in part 4 of the sentence where the
article 'the' before the word 'independent monetary policy makers' is
incorrect. These policy makers are general and not anyone specific so the
article' the' is incorrect here. The sentence should read as:'..blame
independent monetary policymakers..'
4. A) The error lies in part 1 of the sentence where the
verb 'implement' is wrong and needs to be replaced with 'implements' as the
noun is singular 'Trump administration'. Thus verb in plural form is incorrect.
The sentence should read as:'..Trump administration implements the
President-elect's..'
5. D) The error lies in part 4 of the sentence as the
adverb 'unsustainably' is incorrect and needs to be replaced with the adjective
'unsustainable' to make the subject correct. The sentence should read as:'..source
of instability and prove unsustainable.'
6. A) The error lies in part 1 of the sentence as the
article 'the' before the word 'price' is incorrect.Price stability is not
something specific so the article is not required. The sentence should read
as:'..commitment to price stability..'
7. B) The error lies in part 2 of the sentence where the
pronoun 'they' is incorrect and needs to be replaced with 'it' as the subject
here is 'a central bank' that is one bank and not banks. The sentence should
read as:'..in particular, it must delay
disclosure..'
8. D) The error lies in part 4 of the sentence where the
preposition 'on' is wrong and needs to be replaced with 'over' to convey the
correct meaning. 'Over' means 'extending directly upwards from'. The sentence
should read as:'..only arise over a
horizon..'
9. A) The error lies in part 1 of the sentence as the
adjective 'reasonable' is wrong here and needs to be replaced with the adverb
'reasonably' to make the sentence correct. It should read as:'.. did a reasonably good job in..'
10. C) Here the error lies in part 3 where an incorrect
conjunction is used. The use of 'wherein' is incorrect and the correct
conjunction should be used to show reason or result. Thus the correct
conjunction is therefore. Thus, the correct sentence is '...cycles therefore
it is better to take..'
