Correcting a public notice before it is pasted at Gate 2
A junior assistant has drafted a public notice for token distribution at a depot. The draft reads: (i) "Neither the depot manager nor the weighment clerks was present when the token holders reached the gate." (ii) "Having verified the stock position, the godown was locked by the supervisor." (iii) "There are less tokens available today than yesterday, so applicants should not wait outside the gate." (iv) "Each of the applicants are requested to bring their original documents." The manager wants the notice corrected before it is pasted at Gate 2, and also wants a two-line Hindi version of the opening line, "Token distribution will begin at 9 a.m. at Gate 2", because most applicants read Hindi. The notice goes out in the name of the Area Manager, and the office style sheet requires formal, impersonal wording throughout.
1. Correct the agreement errors in sentences (i) and (iv) and state the rule applied in each case.
Read the worked answer
(i) Neither the depot manager nor the weighment clerks was present… In a 'neither … nor' construction the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it. The nearer subject is 'clerks' (plural), so the verb must be plural: "Neither the depot manager nor the weighment clerks were present when the token holders reached the gate."
(iv) Each of the applicants are requested… The grammatical subject is 'each', which is singular; 'of the applicants' is a prepositional phrase and does not control the verb. Correct: "Each of the applicants is requested to bring his or her original documents." If 'his or her' reads awkwardly in a public notice, rewrite the whole sentence: "Applicants are requested to bring their original documents."
Pattern to remember: agreement is decided by the head of the subject, not by the nearest noun in a prepositional phrase - but 'neither/nor' and 'either/or' are the deliberate exception, where proximity decides. A quick model sentence for each: Neither the clerks nor the manager was available; Each of the godowns has a weighbridge.
2. Sentence (ii) is grammatically malformed rather than merely clumsy. Identify the fault, show the test that exposes it, and give two corrected versions.
Read the worked answer
The fault is a dangling participle. 'Having verified the stock position' is a participial phrase, and the doer of the verifying must be the subject of the main clause. In the draft the main clause is passive - 'the godown was locked' - so the sentence literally says the godown verified the stock and then locked itself.
The test: ask 'who verified?' The answer must be the subject of the main clause. If it is not, the modifier is dangling.
Correction 1 (keep the active doer): "Having verified the stock position, the supervisor locked the godown."
Correction 2 (keep the passive main clause, expand the modifier): "After the stock position had been verified, the godown was locked by the supervisor."
Preferred for a notice: a fully impersonal form avoids the issue altogether - "The godown was locked after verification of the stock position." Note that the same trap appears in Hindi drafting with participial clauses such as 'जाँच करने के बाद' unless the doer is named in the main clause.
3. Fix sentence (iii) on word choice and tone, and give the Hindi version of the opening line in formal register.
Read the worked answer
Word choice. 'Tokens' are countable, so the correct comparative is fewer, not 'less': "Fewer tokens are available today than yesterday." 'Less' belongs with uncountable quantities - less wheat, less time, less space. Since the notice concerns countable tokens, 'less' is an error of the kind readers notice immediately.
Tone. 'Applicants should not wait outside the gate' is instructional but flat, and it does not say what to do instead. In the impersonal official register: "Fewer tokens are available today than yesterday. Applicants are requested to remain in the queue and not to wait outside the gate."
Hindi version (formal): "टोकन वितरण प्रातः 9 बजे गेट 2 पर प्रारंभ होगा।" A supporting line, if needed: "आवेदकों से अनुरोध है कि वे अपने मूल दस्तावेज़ साथ लाएँ।" Note the register markers - 'प्रातः' rather than a colloquial time word, and 'अनुरोध है' for 'are requested' - which match the English impersonal style sheet.