The Bank of Baroda Office Assistant Examination, like many other competitive banking recruitment tests, features an English Language section. Within this section, Sentence Correction questions stand out as a critical component, designed to assess a candidate’s grasp of grammatical rules, idiomatic expressions, vocabulary, and logical reasoning. This detailed essay will explore the significance of Sentence Correction, delve into common error types, outline effective strategies for tackling these questions, and provide comprehensive preparation tips to ensure success in the BOB Office Assistant Exam 2025.
Sentence Correction for BOB Office Assistant Exam 2025
Sentence Correction questions in the Bank of Baroda Office Assistant Recruitment 2025 exam are more than just a test of English; they are a test for a candidate’s attention to detail, logical reasoning, and communication aptitude, qualities highly demanded in the banking domain. The inclusion of Sentence Correction questions in banking exams like the BOB Office Assistant is highly strategic.
Common Error Types in Sentence Correction
To effectively tackle Sentence Correction questions, candidates must be intimately familiar with the most frequently tested error categories. These are the usual suspects that examiners use to differentiate between candidates:
Subject-Verb Agreement: This is perhaps the most common error. It occurs when the verb in a sentence does not match its subject in number (singular or plural). For example, “The team of players are practising” is incorrect; it should be “The team of players is practising” because “team” is a singular subject. Pay close attention to collective nouns, indefinite pronouns (e.g., each, every, none), and phrases that come between the subject and the verb.
Tenses: Incorrect tense usage or an illogical sequence of tenses can distort the meaning of a sentence. Candidates must understand when to use simple past, present perfect, past perfect, future tense, etc., to accurately convey the timing of actions. For instance, “He had gone to the market before I arrived” correctly shows a past action completed before another past action.
Pronoun Errors:
- Agreement: Pronouns must agree with their antecedents (the nouns they refer to) in number (singular/plural) and gender. “Each student must bring their own book” is incorrect; it should be “Each student must bring his or her own book” or “All students must bring their own books.”
- Case: Using the correct pronoun case (subjective: I, he, she, we, they; objective: me, him, her, us, them; possessive: my, his, her, our, their) is vital. “Between you and I” is incorrect; it should be “Between you and me.”
- Ambiguity: A pronoun should clearly refer to a specific noun. If it’s unclear, the sentence is ambiguous.
Parallelism: This error occurs when elements in a list, comparison, or series are not in the same grammatical form. For example, “She likes to swim, running, and to cycle” is incorrect. It should be “She likes swimming, running, and cycling” or “She likes to swim, to run, and to cycle.” Parallel structure ensures clarity and readability.
Modifiers (Misplaced or Dangling): Modifiers are words or phrases that describe or clarify other parts of the sentence.
- Misplaced modifiers are placed in a way that they seem to modify the wrong word. “He saw a dog with a telescope” suggests the dog has a telescope. It should be “He saw a dog through a telescope.”
- Dangling modifiers do not clearly modify any word in the sentence. “Running down the street, the bus suddenly stopped.” (Who was running? Not the bus!) It should be “While I was running down the street, the bus suddenly stopped.”
Redundancy/Verbosity: Using unnecessary words or phrases that repeat information or add no value makes a sentence clunky and inefficient. “The final outcome was positive” is redundant because “outcome” implies finality. “The outcome was positive” is sufficient. Similarly, “He repeated again the instructions” is redundant.
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: English is rich in idioms (phrases whose meaning isn’t obvious from individual words) and phrasal verbs (verb + preposition/adverb). Incorrect usage of these can change the meaning or sound awkward. For example, “He agrees to me” is wrong; it should be “He agrees with me.”
Conjunctions: Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses. Incorrect use of coordinating (e.g., and, but, or) or subordinating (e.g., although, because, while) conjunctions can create illogical relationships between parts of a sentence. Correlative conjunctions (e.g., either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also) must also be used correctly and in parallel.
Comparison Errors: Comparisons must be logical and complete. Ensure you are comparing like with like. “The climate of Delhi is hotter than Mumbai” is incorrect. It should be “The climate of Delhi is hotter than that of Mumbai” or “The climate of Delhi is hotter than Mumbai’s.”
Voice (Active/Passive): While both active and passive voices are grammatically correct, the active voice (subject performs the action) is generally preferred for clarity and conciseness in most contexts. “The ball was hit by the boy” (passive) is less direct than “The boy hit the ball” (active).
Sentence Correction Questions for BOB Office Assistant Exam 2025
Directions (01-05): Read each of the following sentences to find out if there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number (A, B, C or D) of this part is your answer. If there is no error in the statement, then mark option (e) as your answer choice.
Q01. Siddaramaiah, who was present during the (A)/ search operation said he was not (B)/ camping at the resort and (C)/ had come to the place to having dinner. (D)/
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q02. High-speed mobile phone Internet service has been stopped. (A)/ Train services have also been suspended. (B)/There was thin traffic on the roads. (C)/Markets, banks and petrol pumps was closed in the morning. (D)/
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q03. During his visits to the bank, he says, (A)/security personnel used to prevent him from(B)/ even talking to the manager, as he used (C)/ to request him for more time to repay the loan.(D)/
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q04. Mr. Prabakaran, who secured the 101st rank in the (A)/ UPSC civil services examination, have been (B)/ facing financial problems for many years, but never missed (C)/ an opportunity to invest in books in pursuit of his goals. (D)/
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q05. The veteran politician has sought to channel public anger (A)/ against the recent imposition of a goods (B)/ and services tax, portraying the levy as an penalty to recover (C)/ the losses on account of the missing funds.(D)/
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Directions (06-10): Each of the following questions, a sentence has been given which is divided into four parts. An error might be present in one of these parts, which is to be chosen as the answer to the question.
Q06. Despite being warned (A)/about the consequences of (B)/not submitting the report on time (C)/he still hand in yesterday’s report late (D). / No error (E)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q07. My parents don’t allow me (A)/to go out with my friends (B)/because they thought that (C)/I’m not responsible enough (D). / No error (E)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q08. The company’s new product (A)/was launch (B)/with much fanfare and excitement (C)/at last week’s trade show (D). / No error (E)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q09. The team of scientists (A)/is conducting research (B)/on a new drug (C)/that have the potential to cure cancer (D). / No error (E)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q10. The team captain (A)/as well as his teammates (B)/are excited about (C)/the upcoming tournament (D). / No error (E)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No error
Directions (11-15): Read each of the following sentences to find out if there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number (A, B, C or D) of this part is your answer. If there is no error in the statement, then mark option (e) as your answer choice.
Q11. Neither Merina nor (A)/ his husband were aware (B)/ of any laws regarding (C)/the sale of house (D)/No Error (E)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q12. The decision to appoint an external (A)/ auditor for the company is the mandate (B)/ of the board of members (C)/superior than the board of other players. (D)/ No Error (E)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q13. You are among one of those (A)/luckiest woman who (B)/attained name and fame not by (C)/hard work but by chance (D).
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q14. The majority of their (A)/income goes to rent (B)/and leaves them with hardly no (C)/money to buy nutritious food. (D)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Q15. She would not have (A) /done all this (B) /if she had not been (C)/instigated by her husband (D).
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) No Error
Answers | |||||||||
1 | d | 2 | d | 3 | e | 4 | b | 5 | c |
6 | d | 7 | c | 8 | b | 9 | d | 10 | c |
11 | b | 12 | d | 13 | b | 14 | c | 15 | e |