Sentence Correction (Vakya Shuddhi) — REET Hindi Notes
Sentence correction (vakya shuddhi) teaches you to spot a sentence's grammatical error — case-marker, gender-number agreement, word-order, and so on — and fix it, and it is a regular part of REET's Hindi Language-I/II paper. This page explains the most common sentence errors with examples, so you can pick the correct option quickly in the exam, and go on to correct children's sentences in class too.
- 0 questions in REET 2024
- Class 5–8 level
- 9 min read
How REET asks this topic
Vakya shuddhi is linked to Hindi sentence-structure and grammar-correction, and it is considered part of the sentence-structure unit in the REET Language-I/II syllabus. There was no direct question from this topic in REET 2024's paper, so this page is based on the syllabus and standard Hindi grammar rules. Typically, a question gives an incorrect sentence and asks you to pick its correct form from four options, or to identify the incorrect part of the sentence. Some questions may also ask what type of error (case, gender-number, word-order, etc.) a given sentence has, so it's also useful to remember the names of the error-types.
What is Sentence Correction and Why Does It Matter
Sentence correction means identifying and fixing an error in a sentence's grammatical structure — case-markers, gender-number agreement, word-order, and the fixed usage of idioms. It is different from spelling correction, because here it's not a word but the structure of the whole sentence that's checked.
In a correct sentence, three things must agree at once — the gender-number-person of the subject and verb must match, the case-markers must fit the meaning of the sentence, and the word-order (padkram) must follow Hindi's natural sentence structure (subject-object-verb). A slip in even one of these makes the sentence incorrect, even if its meaning is understandable.
Case and Gender-Number Related Errors
| Incorrect Sentence | Correct Sentence | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| मैं विद्यालय को जाता हूँ | मैं विद्यालय जाता हूँ | Adding the case-marker 'को' with a verb of destination is unnecessary |
| उसके आँसू पोंछ दी | उसके आँसू पोंछ दिए | 'आँसू' is a masculine plural word, so the verb 'दिए' should also be plural |
| मेरी प्राण निकल गई | मेरे प्राण निकल गए | 'प्राण' is always used in the masculine plural |
| राम ने रोटी खाया | राम ने रोटी खाई | In a sentence with the case-marker 'ने', the verb changes according to the object ('रोटी', feminine) |
| बालक स्कूल से डर लगता है | बालक को स्कूल से डर लगता है | With verbs like 'डर लगना', the experiencer case-marker 'को' is necessary |
Word-Order and Word-Usage Related Errors
| Incorrect Sentence | Correct Sentence | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| सुंदर एक लड़की वहाँ खड़ी थी | एक सुंदर लड़की वहाँ खड़ी थी | In Hindi, an adjective comes after a numeral word and before the noun |
| उसने अपने आप स्वयं यह कार्य किया | उसने स्वयं यह कार्य किया | 'अपने आप' and 'स्वयं' are synonyms; using both together is a repetition error |
| कल रात्रि के समय वर्षा हुई | कल रात वर्षा हुई | 'रात्रि' and 'समय' repeat the same idea; remove the unnecessary word |
| उसने मेरे ऊपर आँख रखी | उसने मुझ पर आँख रखी | An idiom's fixed usage is set; changing its case-marker is an error |
| राधा ही केवल यह काम कर सकती है | केवल राधा ही यह काम कर सकती है | Emphasis words ('ही', 'केवल') should sit right before or after the word they're emphasising |
Main Types of Sentence Errors
- Case Error (कारक दोष)
- Using the wrong case-marker (ने, को, से, में, etc.) in a sentence
- Gender/Number Error (लिंग/वचन दोष)
- The verb not agreeing with the subject's or object's gender-number
- Word-Order Error (पदक्रम दोष)
- The order of words, especially adjective-noun, being wrong
- Repetition Error (पुनरुक्ति दोष)
- Using two words with the same meaning together, like 'अपने आप स्वयं'
- Idiom Error (मुहावरा दोष)
- Changing an idiom's fixed form or case-marker
- Unnecessary Word Error (अनावश्यक शब्द दोष)
- Adding words to a sentence that add nothing to the meaning and make it heavier
Tense and Connector-Related Errors
| Incorrect Sentence | Correct Sentence | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| कल मैं बाजार जाऊँगा और सामान खरीदा | कल मैं बाजार जाऊँगा और सामान खरीदूँगा | Both connected verb-parts in a sentence should be in the same tense |
| यद्यपि वह बीमार था परंतु फिर भी आया | यद्यपि वह बीमार था, फिर भी आया | 'यद्यपि' pairs with 'तथापि/फिर भी'; repeating it with 'परंतु' is incorrect |
| जैसे ही वह आया त्यों ही मैं गया | ज्यों ही वह आया त्यों ही मैं गया | 'जैसे-वैसे' and 'ज्यों-त्यों' are two separate pairs; mixing them is an error |
How to Teach This to Children
Classroom Activity
Give children slips with incorrect sentences and have them discuss in pairs to build the correct sentence — peer correction deepens understanding, and children also learn from each other's mistakes.
Teaching Aids
Make a 'sentence correction board' on the classroom wall, where an incorrect sentence and its correct form are pinned up every week, so children see it repeatedly while passing by and remember it.
Common Misconception
Students think a sentence that's fine in everyday speech is also grammatically correct, while the grammar standards of speech and writing can differ — this difference needs to be explained with examples.
Assessment Idea
Pick five sentences from the textbook and have students find errors deliberately planted in them, then have a class discussion to settle on the correct form.
Trick to Remember
Look at the subject first, then the object — always match the verb's form to the object present in the sentence (when it is passive-oriented) or to the subject (when it is active-oriented); this is the key to most sentence-correction questions. To save time in the exam, get into the habit of mentally breaking the sentence into three parts — subject, object, verb.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Choose the correct sentence from below.
- Aलड़कों ने खाना खाया।
- Bलड़कों ने खाना खाई।
- Cलड़कों ने खाना खाओ।
- Dलड़कों को खाना खाया।
Explanation
'खाना' is a masculine word, so the verb 'खाया', matching the object, is correct.
Question 2
Choose the incorrect sentence.
- Aवह घर जाता है।
- Bवह घर को जाता है।
- Cवह विद्यालय जाता है।
- Dवह बाजार जाता है।
Explanation
Adding the case-marker 'को' with a verb of destination is unnecessary and incorrect; the correct form would be 'वह घर जाता है'.
Question 3
The correct form of 'बालिकाओं का पैर में चोट लगी' is—
- Aबालिकाओं के पैर में चोट लगी
- Bबालिकाओं का पैर में चोट लगा
- Cबालिकाओं की पैर में चोट लगी
- Dबालिकाओं के पैर में चोट लगा
Explanation
With the plural subject 'बालिकाओं', the possessive case-marker 'के' and the verb 'लगी' (matching चोट, feminine) are appropriate.
Question 4
What error (dosh) is present in the sentence 'उसने अपनी निजी डायरी में खुद लिखा'?
- Aकारक दोष
- Bपुनरुक्ति दोष
- Cवचन दोष
- Dपदक्रम दोष
Explanation
'अपनी निजी' and 'खुद' both repeat the same idea (of one's own), so this is a repetition error.
Question 5
The sentence 'मैंने कल रात्रि को पत्र लिखा' needs correction because—
- A'रात्रि' और 'को' मिलकर अनावश्यक दोहराव बनाते हैं, 'कल रात पत्र लिखा' पर्याप्त है
- Bक्रिया का काल गलत है
- Cकारक-चिह्न 'ने' गलत है
- Dवाक्य में कोई दोष नहीं है
Explanation
'रात्रि को' together form an unnecessary repetition; 'कल रात पत्र लिखा' is enough and is the standard, correct usage.
Question 6
The correct word order of 'नन्हा वह बालक बहुत चंचल है' is—
- Aवह नन्हा बालक बहुत चंचल है
- Bबालक वह नन्हा बहुत चंचल है
- Cचंचल वह नन्हा बालक है
- Dबहुत वह नन्हा चंचल बालक है
Explanation
In Hindi, a pronoun/demonstrative word (वह) usually comes before the adjective — the correct word-order is 'वह नन्हा बालक'.
Question 7
About the sentence 'छात्राओं ने निबंध लिखा', the correct statement is—
- Aवाक्य शुद्ध है, क्योंकि क्रिया 'लिखा' कर्म 'निबंध' (पुल्लिंग) के अनुसार है, कर्ता के अनुसार नहीं
- Bवाक्य अशुद्ध है, क्योंकि क्रिया 'लिखी' होनी चाहिए
- Cवाक्य अशुद्ध है, क्योंकि कारक-चिह्न 'ने' गलत है
- Dवाक्य अशुद्ध है, क्योंकि 'छात्राओं' की जगह 'छात्रों' होना चाहिए
Explanation
In a sentence with 'ने', the verb 'लिखा' agrees with the object 'निबंध' (masculine), not with the subject; so the sentence is correct as it stands.
Question 8
The most useful classroom activity for a teacher while teaching sentence correction (vakya-shuddhi) is—
- Aविद्यार्थियों को अशुद्ध वाक्यों की पर्चियाँ देकर जोड़ी में सुधार कराना
- Bकेवल परिभाषाएँ बोर्ड पर लिखवाना
- Cवाक्य शुद्धि पर कोई चर्चा न करना
- Dविद्यार्थियों से बिना कारण बताए केवल शुद्ध वाक्य याद कराना
Explanation
Giving students slips with incorrect sentences to fix in pairs, through active practice with peer correction, builds a deeper and more lasting understanding of sentence correction.
Question 9
What error is present in the sentence 'सैनिकों ने अदम्य साहस के साथ शत्रु का सामना किया और विजय प्राप्त किया'?
- Aअंतिम क्रिया 'प्राप्त किया' कर्म 'विजय' (स्त्रीलिंग) के अनुसार नहीं है, शुद्ध रूप 'प्राप्त की' होगा
- Bकारक दोष
- Cपदक्रम दोष
- Dमुहावरा दोष
Explanation
The final verb 'प्राप्त किया' doesn't agree with the object 'विजय' (feminine); the correct form would be 'प्राप्त की' — this is an example of a gender error.
Question 10
The sentence 'गरीबों को अनाज मुफ्त में बांटा गया, ताकि वे भूखे न रहें, इसलिए' needs correction because—
- Aवाक्य के अंत में 'इसलिए' अनावश्यक और अर्थ की दृष्टि से भ्रामक जुड़ा है, इसे हटाना चाहिए
- Bकारक-चिह्न 'को' गलत है
- Cक्रिया 'बांटा गया' अशुद्ध है
- Dवाक्य में कोई दोष नहीं है
Explanation
'ताकि' has already established the cause-effect relationship; adding 'इसलिए' again at the end makes the sentence unclear and faulty.
Frequently Asked Questions
In what form is vakya shuddhi asked in REET?+
Usually, an incorrect sentence is given and you're asked to choose its correct form from four options, or a part of the sentence is underlined and you're asked which error it shows.
What's the difference between vakya shuddhi and vartani shuddhi?+
Vartani shuddhi fixes word-level errors (vowel-marks, letters), while vakya shuddhi fixes errors in the grammatical structure of the whole sentence (case, gender-number, word-order) — together they complete language understanding.
What is punarukti dosh (repetition error)?+
When the same meaning is repeated in a sentence with two different words, like 'अपने आप स्वयं' or 'पुनः दोबारा', it's called a repetition error — it makes a sentence unnecessarily heavy.
What's the best strategy for solving sentence correction questions?+
Break the sentence into subject, object, and verb — then check case-markers, gender-number agreement, and word-order separately; this order catches errors quickly.
Can the case-marker be changed in sentences with idioms?+
No — an idiom's usage is fixed, so changing its case-marker or word-order in it is considered an error, even if the meaning stays clear.
Read Next
Spelling Correction (Vartani Shuddhi)
Learn to identify word-level spelling errors
Sangya (Noun)
Types and identification of nouns — the next topic in REET Hindi grammar
REET Syllabus
The complete official REET Level 1 and Level 2 syllabus in one place
REET 2024 Solved Paper
All solved REET 2024 questions, organised by subject
Change Log
- 17 September 2026 — English page published — mirrors the fact-checked Hindi page, independently bilingual-accuracy checked