SSC Stenographer 2024 PYQ — Question 27

SSC Stenographer - 10/12/2024 (4:30 PM to 6:30 PM) • English • Q27

The following sentence has been divided into four segments. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error.
Since 1988, / the people of Rajasthan / have been searching / for 25-year-old man.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

Explanation

The correct answer is option 3 i.e. 'for 25-year-old man.'

The error in this sentence is related to the use of an article before a singular, countable noun.

In English, when we refer to a specific or unidentified singular countable noun, we must use an article like 'a' or 'an' before it. Here, '25-year-old man' is a singular noun phrase, so it should be 'a 25-year-old man', not just '25-year-old man'.

Let’s look at each segment:

'the people of Rajasthan' – This is grammatically correct. It refers to a group of people from a specific region. 

'Since 1988,' – This is correct and sets the timeframe for a continuing action, which is appropriately followed by present perfect continuous tense. 

'for 25-year-old man.' –  This is incorrect because it lacks the article 'a' before '25-year-old man'.

'have been searching' – This is the correct present perfect continuous tense used to describe an action that started in the past and is still continuing.