Read the sentence given below to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The corresponding letter of that part is the answer. If the sentence is error-free then, choose “No error” as the answer. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)

The number of (A)/candidates who apply (B)/ for job vacancies are (C)/increasing year by year. (D)

Correct option is C

Given sentence

The number of (A) / candidates who apply (B) / for job vacancies are (C) / increasing year by year. (D)

Sentence Structure (Overall)

·       Subject: The number

·       Prepositional phrase (modifier): of candidates who apply for job vacancies

·       Verb: are (incorrect)

·       Complement: increasing year by year

The true grammatical subject of the sentence is “The number”, not candidates.

Part-wise Analysis

Part (A): “The number of”

Grammatical rule

·       The phrase “the number of” is treated as singular.

·       It refers to a count, not to the individuals themselves.

Status

·       Grammatically correct.

Example

·       The number of students in the class is rising.

Part (B): “candidates who apply”

Grammatical rule

·       “Who apply” correctly agrees with candidates (plural noun).

·       Relative clause usage is correct.

Status

·       Grammatically correct.

Example

·       Employees who work hard deserve rewards.

Part (C): “are”

Grammatical rule violated

·       When the subject is “the number of + plural noun”, the verb must be singular.

·       Therefore, the verb should be “is”, not “are”.

Why incorrect

·       The verb has been incorrectly made to agree with candidates instead of the actual subject number.

Correct form

·       is

Example

·       Incorrect: The number of applicants are high.

·       Correct: The number of applicants is high.

Part (D): “increasing year by year”

Grammatical rule

·       Present continuous tense is correctly used to show an ongoing trend.

Status

·       Grammatically correct.

Example

·       Pollution levels are increasing every year.

Corrected Sentence

The number of candidates who apply for job vacancies is increasing year by year.

Key Rule to Remember (Exam Tip)

·       The number of + plural noun → singular verb

·       A number of + plural noun → plural verb

Examples:

·       The number of books is limited.

·       A number of books are missing.

Final Answer

C

The error lies in Part (C) due to incorrect subject–verb agreement.