Identify the part containing a grammatical or structural error: The number of applicants have increased this year.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The error involves Subject-Verb Agreement. While the sentence mentions "applicants" (plural), the actual subject is the collective phrase "The number", which is grammatically singular. Hence singular verb should be used.
To make the sentence correct, replace “have increased” by “has increased”.
Correct sentence: The number of applicants has increased this year.