Parts of the following sentence have been given as options. Select the option that contains an error.
John searched thoroughly but could not find his coat nowhere in the house.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. nowhere in the house.
Error concept: Use of double negatives in a sentence.
What is wrong: The phrase “could not... nowhere” is grammatically incorrect because it uses two negatives in the same clause, which cancel each other out and make the sentence incorrect in standard English.
Grammatical concept: In English grammar, using two negative words (like not and nowhere) together in the same clause is called a double negative, which should be avoided in formal or standard usage. Instead, we use only one negative to express the idea correctly.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: The sentence already has “could not”, so using “nowhere” adds another negative unnecessarily. The correct form should use “anywhere” instead.
How to correct: Replace “nowhere” with “anywhere.”
Correct phrase / correction: could not find his coat anywhere in the house.
Final sentence: John searched thoroughly but could not find his coat anywhere in the house.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.