Chapter 5 of 518% of exam
Spotting Usage Errors
Error-correction tasks at C2 focus on subtle points: inverted conditionals, agreement with tricky nouns, relative-pronoun case, and modifier placement.
Conditionals and Agreement
Inverted third conditionals need 'would have + past participle' in the main clause ('Had I known, I would have told you'). In formal usage 'data' takes a plural verb ('data suggest'), and adjectives, not adverbs, follow linking verbs.
Relative Pronouns and Modifiers
Use 'whom' when the relative pronoun is the object ('the candidate whom the panel selected') and 'who' when it is the subject. An introductory participle phrase must attach to the noun that immediately follows it, or the modifier dangles.