Find the part of the sentence that contains an error;
She sang (1) / so beautifully (2) / that everyone (3) / were amazed(4).
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
Correct Answer
were amazed. (4)
Explanation
The error lies in part 4 of the sentence due to a violation of the Subject-Verb Agreement rule.
The subject in the second clause of the sentence is the indefinite pronoun everyone. In English grammar, indefinite pronouns ending in -one, -body, or -thing (such as everyone, everybody, everything, someone, somebody, nothing) are structurally treated as singular subjects.
Because the subject "everyone" is singular, it must be paired with a singular verb. The plural past-tense verb were is incorrect and must be replaced by the singular past-tense verb was. The corrected sentence should read: "She sang so beautifully that everyone was amazed."
The other parts of the sentence are grammatically flawless:
Part 1 uses the correct past tense form of the verb sing, which is sang.
Part 2 correctly uses the adverb beautifully to modify the verb sang, linked accurately with the intensive modifier so.
Part 3 utilizes the standard conjunction that to connect the result clause.
Therefore, Option 4 is the correct choice containing the error.
Key Points
To spot subject-verb agreement errors quickly in competitive exams, look out for common indefinite pronouns.
Pronouns that always take a singular verb include: everyone, anyone, someone, no one, everybody, anybody, somebody, and nobody.
An example of this rule in action is: "Everyone is here," not "Everyone are here."