The delegation, (A) / comprising senior diplomats, (B) / submitted their report (C) / to the Foreign Secretary. (D)

• A. The delegation,
• B. comprising senior diplomats,
• C. submitted their report (Answer)
• D. No error

COLLECTIVE NOUN PRONOUN TRAP: 'Delegation' acting as a unit takes singular pronoun 'its', not 'their'. 'Their' implies the members acted independently. Correct: 'submitted its report'. The parenthetical phrase 'comprising senior diplomats' misleads students toward 'their'.

Between you and I, (A) / the new policy (B) / will severely impact (C) / small business owners. (D)

• A. Between you and I, (Answer)
• B. the new policy
• C. will severely impact
• D. No error

HYPERCORRECTION TRAP: After a preposition ('between'), objective case is required. 'Between you and me' is correct, not 'between you and I'. 'I' is a subject pronoun; 'me' is the object. This is one of the most common hypercorrection errors in formal writing.

Everyone in the department (A) / must submit their (B) / individual performance report (C) / by Friday evening. (D)

• A. Everyone in the department
• B. must submit their (Answer)
• C. individual performance report
• D. No error

INDEFINITE PRONOUN TRAP: 'Everyone' is singular and traditionally takes singular pronoun 'his or her'. Formal exams penalise 'their' with singular indefinite pronouns. Correct: 'must submit his or her individual performance report'. 'Their' is informal usage.

The report, (A) / which my colleagues and me (B) / prepared over three months, (C) / was highly praised. (D)

• A. The report,
• B. which my colleagues and me (Answer)
• C. prepared over three months,
• D. No error

SUBJECT PRONOUN IN RELATIVE CLAUSE: The relative clause 'which my colleagues and ___ prepared' needs a subject pronoun. 'Me prepared' is wrong; 'I prepared' is correct. Test: remove 'my colleagues and' — 'me prepared' is clearly wrong. Correct: 'my colleagues and I'.

It was (A) / him who (B) / first proposed (C) / the merger between the two companies. (D)

• A. It was
• B. him who (Answer)
• C. first proposed
• D. No error

CLEFT SENTENCE PRONOUN TRAP: In 'It was ___ who...' constructions, the pronoun must be subjective because 'who' introduces a relative clause where the pronoun is the subject. Correct: 'It was he who first proposed'. Many students use 'him' as it sounds natural in speech.

She is one of those candidates (A) / who always give (B) / their best performance (C) / under pressure. (D)

• A. She is one of those candidates
• B. who always give
• C. their best performance
• D. No error (Answer)

CLEAN SENTENCE: This is error-free. 'One of those...who' takes a plural verb because 'who' refers to 'candidates' (plural). 'Give' and 'their' are both correctly plural. Examiners include error-free sentences to penalise over-correction.

The managing director, (A) / together with his two deputies, (B) / announced his resignation (C) / during the board meeting. (D)

• A. The managing director,
• B. together with his two deputies,
• C. announced his resignation
• D. No error (Answer)

CLEAN SENTENCE TRAP: No error here. 'Together with' is parenthetical; the subject is 'managing director' (singular), so 'announced his resignation' is correct. Students often change 'his' to 'their', making an incorrect 'correction'.

Neither of the two solutions (A) / proposed by the research team (B) / seem adequate (C) / to address the core problem. (D)

• A. Neither of the two solutions
• B. proposed by the research team
• C. seem adequate (Answer)
• D. No error

'Neither' is singular and takes a singular verb. Correct: 'seems adequate'. The intervening phrase 'proposed by the research team' increases the distance between 'neither' and its verb, causing students to see 'solutions' and write 'seem'.

The teachers warned (A) / the students that (B) / copying each other's answers (C) / would result in disqualification. (D)

• A. The teachers warned
• B. the students that
• C. copying each other's answers
• D. No error (Answer)

CLEAN SENTENCE: This is entirely correct. 'Each other' is used for two or more people, 'one another' for three or more in prescriptive grammar — but both are now acceptable. The warning construction is grammatically sound. No error.

Both the candidates (A) / who appeared for the interview (B) / was found suitable (C) / for the managerial position. (D)

• A. Both the candidates
• B. who appeared for the interview
• C. was found suitable (Answer)
• D. No error

'Both' always implies plurality and takes a plural verb. Correct: 'were found suitable'. The long relative clause 'who appeared for the interview' creates distance between 'Both the candidates' and the verb, causing students to lose track of the subject.