← Index: Error Spotting Mastery GuideChapter 23
Study Guide · Chapter 23
21. Idiomatic Exceptions: Constructions That Look Wrong But Are Not
Free study material · concepts, shortcuts & solved questions
Over-correction is a genuine scoring problem in error spotting — a candidate who has drilled the checklist hard enough sometimes starts flagging constructions that break a general pattern but are, in fact, standard, idiomatically fixed exceptions. The table below collects the most frequently over-flagged constructions, so you recognise them as safe rather than spending time doubting a correct sentence.
| Construction | Why it looks wrong | Why it is actually correct |
|---|---|---|
| "A most deserving candidate" | "Most" looks like a superlative needing "the" | Functions idiomatically as an intensifier meaning "very," not a true superlative |
| "It is I who am wrong" | "Who am" looks like a rare, unfamiliar pairing | "Who" agrees with "I," not with "it," in this fixed construction |
| "Had I known, I would have..." | No "if" is visible before the conditional clause | Inverted conditional without "if" is a standard formal alternative to "If I had known..." |
| "News is good today" | "News" ends in "-s" and looks plural | "News" is a fixed singular uncountable noun |
| "Mathematics is my favourite subject" | Ends in "-s," looks plural | Subject names ending in "-ics" (mathematics, physics, economics) are singular |
| "The police have arrived" | "Police" has no visible plural marker | "Police," like "cattle" and "people," is a fixed plural-only collective noun |
| "Scissors are on the table" | Refers to one object | Certain two-part tools/items (scissors, trousers, spectacles) are always grammatically plural |
| "Wages were paid on time" | "Wages" might be mistaken for uncountable | "Wages" is conventionally treated as plural in standard usage |
| "One of my best friends is visiting" | "One of my...friends" might tempt a plural verb | The true subject is "one," correctly singular here |
| "Better late than never" | No visible subject or verb | A fixed proverbial idiom, exempt from standard clause-construction rules |
| "Long time no see" | Breaks nearly every standard word-order rule | A fixed, fossilised idiomatic greeting, never corrected in formal grammar terms |
| "As it were" | "Were" after singular "it" looks like an agreement error | A fixed subjunctive idiom meaning "so to speak" |
| "Come what may" | Unusual inverted word order | A fixed idiomatic concessive expression |
| "Suffice it to say" | "Suffice" without "-s" after "it" looks wrong | A fixed subjunctive construction, not a standard present-tense verb |
| "If need be" | "Be" instead of "is" after "need" | A fixed subjunctive idiom meaning "if necessary" |
Page 1 of 1