English: 40 Advanced Grammar Errors — Dangling Modifiers, Parallelism, Redundancy

Beyond basic grammar, Kerala PSC graduate-level exams test advanced error patterns that many candidates miss. This note covers 40 advanced errors grouped by type, with wrong/correct pairs and explanations.

Category 1: Dangling Modifiers (Errors 1-8)

A dangling modifier is a phrase that does not logically modify any word in the sentence.

#	Wrong	Correct	Rule
1	Walking along the road, the trees looked beautiful.	Walking along the road, I found the trees beautiful.	The modifier “Walking along the road” must modify the subject (a person, not trees)
2	Being a rainy day, I stayed home.	It being a rainy day, I stayed home. / Since it was a rainy day, I stayed home.	”Being a rainy day” cannot modify “I”
3	After finishing the exam, the paper was submitted.	After finishing the exam, she submitted the paper.	Who finished? Must be the subject
4	Driving to work, the accident blocked the highway.	Driving to work, I saw that the accident blocked the highway.	The accident wasn’t driving
5	Having studied hard, the exam was easy.	Having studied hard, she found the exam easy.	The exam didn’t study hard
6	Born in 1990, the school admitted him in 1996.	Born in 1990, he was admitted to the school in 1996.	The school wasn’t born in 1990
7	Exhausted from the journey, the bed looked inviting.	Exhausted from the journey, she found the bed inviting.	The bed wasn’t exhausted
8	While reading the newspaper, the doorbell rang.	While I was reading the newspaper, the doorbell rang.	The doorbell wasn’t reading

Rule: The opening participial phrase MUST modify the grammatical subject of the main clause.

Category 2: Misplaced Modifiers (Errors 9-16)

A misplaced modifier is correctly constructed but placed next to the wrong word.

#	Wrong	Correct	Explanation
9	He almost solved all the problems.	He solved almost all the problems.	”Almost” modifies “all,” not “solved”
10	She only drinks water in the morning.	She drinks only water in the morning.	”Only” modifies “water,” not “drinks”
11	The teacher told the students that cheating was wrong frequently.	The teacher frequently told the students that cheating was wrong.	”Frequently” modifies “told,” not “wrong”
12	I saw a man on the hill with a telescope.	Using a telescope, I saw a man on the hill.	Ambiguous — who has the telescope?
13	They served food to the guests on paper plates.	They served food on paper plates to the guests.	Guests are not on paper plates
14	He nearly walked ten kilometers.	He walked nearly ten kilometers.	”Nearly” modifies “ten,” not “walked”
15	The man was arrested for stealing a car by the police.	The man was arrested by the police for stealing a car.	Police arrested, not stole
16	She agreed to marry him on the phone.	On the phone, she agreed to marry him.	Marriage isn’t happening on the phone

Rule: Place the modifier as close as possible to the word it modifies.

Category 3: Faulty Parallelism (Errors 17-24)

Parallel structure requires that items in a list or comparison use the same grammatical form.

#	Wrong	Correct	Rule
17	He likes swimming, jogging, and to cycle.	He likes swimming, jogging, and cycling.	All gerunds OR all infinitives
18	She is intelligent, hardworking, and has ambition.	She is intelligent, hardworking, and ambitious.	All adjectives
19	The teacher told us to study hard and that we should not waste time.	The teacher told us to study hard and not to waste time.	Both infinitive clauses
20	He not only passed the exam but also he topped the class.	He not only passed the exam but also topped the class.	Parallel structure after correlatives
21	Either you must work hard or face failure.	You must either work hard or face failure.	”Either…or” must precede parallel elements
22	She enjoys reading books, writing poems, and to paint.	She enjoys reading books, writing poems, and painting.	Consistent gerunds
23	The plan was creative, practical, and cost little.	The plan was creative, practical, and inexpensive.	All adjectives
24	Neither the teacher was satisfied nor the students.	Neither the teacher nor the students were satisfied.	Correct placement of correlatives

Rule: Items joined by “and,” “or,” “but,” “not only…but also,” “either…or,” “neither…nor” must be in the same grammatical form.

Category 4: Redundancy/Tautology (Errors 25-32)

Using unnecessary words that repeat the same meaning.

#	Redundant (Wrong)	Correct	Redundancy
25	Return back the book.	Return the book.	”Return” already means “go back”
26	Repeat again what you said.	Repeat what you said.	”Repeat” means “say again”
27	The reason is because he is ill.	The reason is that he is ill.	”Reason” and “because” = same idea
28	He entered into the room.	He entered the room.	”Enter” means “go into”
29	She is more prettier than her sister.	She is prettier than her sister.	”More” + “-er” = double comparative
30	This is the most unique painting.	This is a unique painting.	”Unique” = one of a kind (no degrees)
31	Free gift with every purchase.	Gift with every purchase.	Gifts are always free
32	Past experience shows that…	Experience shows that…	Experience is always from the past

More Common Redundancies (PSC favorites):

Redundant	Correct
Revert back	Revert
Cooperate together	Cooperate
Absolutely essential	Essential
Advance planning	Planning
Basic fundamentals	Fundamentals
Close proximity	Proximity
Consensus of opinion	Consensus
Each and every	Each / Every
End result	Result
Fellow colleague	Colleague
Final outcome	Outcome
First priority	Priority
Joint collaboration	Collaboration
Null and void	Void / Null
Autobiography of his life	Autobiography

Category 5: Miscellaneous Advanced Errors (Errors 33-40)

#	Wrong	Correct	Error Type
33	One should mind their own business.	One should mind one’s own business.	Pronoun consistency (one…one’s)
34	Each of the students have submitted their assignment.	Each of the students has submitted his/her assignment.	”Each” = singular
35	The furniture are very expensive.	The furniture is very expensive.	Uncountable noun = singular verb
36	He is one of the students who has passed.	He is one of the students who have passed.	”Who” refers to “students” (plural)
37	No sooner did he arrive but it started raining.	No sooner did he arrive than it started raining.	”No sooner…than” (NOT but)
38	He is elder than me by two years.	He is older than me by two years. / He is my elder brother.	”Elder” = not used with “than”; use “older than”
39	I prefer tea than coffee.	I prefer tea to coffee.	”Prefer” takes “to” (NOT than)
40	Unless you do not study, you will fail.	Unless you study, you will fail.	”Unless” already means “if not” — double negative

Common Correlative Conjunctions (Must Be Parallel)

Pair	Rule	Example
Either…or	Same structure after each	Either study hard or drop the course.
Neither…nor	Same structure after each	He is neither intelligent nor hardworking.
Not only…but also	Same structure after each	She not only sings but also dances.
Both…and	Same structure after each	He is both a singer and a dancer.
Whether…or	Same structure after each	Whether you stay or leave, I will proceed.
No sooner…than	Use “than” NOT “but/when”	No sooner did he come than it rained.
Hardly/Scarcely…when	Use “when” NOT “than”	Hardly had I reached when it rained.

Quick Reference: “Than” vs “To” vs “From”

Expression	Preposition	Example
Prefer X ___ Y	to	I prefer tea to coffee
Superior/Inferior/Senior/Junior ___	to	He is senior to me
Different ___	from	This is different from that
Compared ___ (similar things)	with	Compared with last year
Compared ___ (dissimilar things)	to	Life is compared to a journey
Taller/Better/More ___	than	He is taller than me

PSC Exam Tips

Tip	Detail
Scan for “only,” “almost,” “merely,” “just”	These are frequently misplaced
Check opening phrases (participles)	Must logically modify the subject
Look for lists of 3+ items	Check parallelism
Watch for double comparatives	”More better,” “most fastest” are always wrong
”Unless” never takes “not”	Unless = if not (already negative)
“Hardly/Scarcely” take “when”	NOT “than"
"No sooner” takes “than”	NOT “when” or “but”

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Memory Aid: DAMP errors — Dangling modifiers, Ambiguous reference, Misplaced modifiers, Parallelism faults. Check every sentence opening for the first word connecting to the right subject.