"Find the Error"
"She has went to the library every day this week."
→ What is a verb tense / past participle error? ("went" should be "gone" — "has gone" requires the past participle, not the simple past)
"I need to buy: milk, eggs, and bread."
→ Remove the colon. (A colon after a verb is incorrect — the list flows naturally from "buy" without it)
Me and my colleague presented the findings at the conference."
→ What is a pronoun case error? ("Me" cannot be a subject — it should be "My colleague and I presented…")
"The students' homeworks were collected at the end of class."
→ Change "homeworks" to "homework." ("Homework" is an uncountable noun in English and has no plural form.)
What is Indiana's state nickname?
A. The Prairie State
B. The Hoosier State
C. The Buckeye State
D. The Bluegrass State
B. The Hoosier State
"The data shows that students who read more performs better on tests."
→ What is a subject-verb agreement error? (The subject is "students," not "data" — the verb should be "perform")
"The professor, who's lecture I missed, emailed me the notes."
→ Change "who's" to "whose." ("Who's" = "who is"; the sentence needs the possessive "whose")
"The number of errors in the report are surprisingly high."
→ What is a subject-verb agreement error? (The subject is "the number," which is singular — "is" is correct. Compare: "a number of errors are" — that one takes a plural verb.)
"If I would have studied harder, I would have passed the exam."
→ Change "would have studied" to "had studied." (In a past counterfactual conditional, the if-clause requires the past perfect — "If I had studied harder…")
2. What major annual race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
A. Daytona 500
B. Indy 300
C. Indianapolis 500
D. Brickyard Grand Prix
C. Indianapolis 500
"Running through the park, the trees looked beautiful in the autumn light."
→ What is a dangling modifier? (The participial phrase "running through the park" has no logical subject — the trees aren't running)
"Despite arriving late, the meeting had already ended by the time she got there."
→ Rewrite to fix the dangling modifier, e.g., "Despite arriving late, she found that the meeting had already ended." (The original implies the meeting arrived late)
"She was exhausted; but she kept working until midnight."
→ What is a punctuation error with a semicolon? (A semicolon should not be used before a coordinating conjunction like "but" — use a comma instead, or drop the conjunction and keep the semicolon.)
"Each of the students have to submit their own proposal."
→ Change "have" to "has." ("Each" is always singular, regardless of what follows — "Each of the students has…")
Indianapolis became Indiana's capital city in what decade?
A. 1790s
B. 1820s
C. 1850s
D. 1900s
b. 1820s
"The committee have reached their decision and will announce it tomorrow."
→ What is a tricky subject-verb agreement issue with a collective noun? (In American English, collective nouns like "committee" take singular verbs and pronouns — "has reached its decision")
"He is one of those managers who always micromanage their team."
→ Keep "micromanage" as is — the sentence is correct. ("Who" refers to "managers" (plural), so the plural verb "micromanage" is right. This is a common over-correction trap.)
"The report was completed by my team and I in under two hours."
→ What is a pronoun case error? (The pronoun is the object of the preposition "by," so it requires "me" — "by my team and me." Students often hypercorrect by using "I" when they feel it sounds more formal.)
"The policy effects everyone in the department."
→ Change "effects" to "affects." (As a verb, "affect" means to influence; "effect" as a verb — meaning to bring about — is rarely used and would require "effects a change," not "effects everyone.")
Which Great Lake borders Indiana?
A. Lake Erie
B. Lake Huron
C. Lake Superior
D. Lake Michigan
D. Lake Michigan
"Between you and I, this policy makes very little sense."
→ What is a pronoun case error? (Prepositions like "between" require object pronouns — "between you and me" — despite the fact that "between you and I" is extremely common in spoken English)
"Neither the students nor the teacher were prepared for the fire drill."
→ Change "were" to "was." (With neither/nor, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it — "the teacher" is singular, so "was" is correct)
"Irregardless of the outcome, we should document our process carefully."
→ What is a nonstandard word choice / double negative error? ("Irregardless" is nonstandard — "regardless" is the correct form. The ir- prefix and -less suffix both negate the root, making it a double negative, though this is widely debated. "Regardless" is always the safe choice.)
"Between the three candidates, she is the most qualified."
→ Change "between" to "among." (Traditionally, "between" is used for two things and "among" for three or more.)
Which famous sports venue in Indiana has the largest seating capacity of any sports venue in the world?
A. Lucas Oil Stadium
B. Gainbridge Fieldhouse
C. Indianapolis Motor Speedway
D. Memorial Stadium
C. Indianapolis Motor Speedway