S.E.A. Language Arts Practice worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s go line by line and find the one grammatical error in each.

---

Line 13: “A hurricane can cause a tremendous number of”

→ “number of” is used for countable things (like apples, cars).
→ “destruction” is uncountable — you can’t say “one destruction, two destructions.”
→ So we should use “amount of” instead of “number of”.

✔ Correction: amount

---

Line 14: “destruction in a less amount of time. It has”

→ “less” is used for uncountable nouns (like water, time), BUT here it’s modifying “amount”, which is already singular and correct.
→ Wait — actually, “a less amount” sounds odd. We usually say “a shorter amount of time” or just “less time”.
→ But since the phrase is “a ___ amount of time”, the right word is “shorter”, because “amount” is being described — and time duration is measured as short/long, not less/more when paired with “amount”.
→ Actually, let’s think again: “less amount” is redundant. The standard phrase is “a smaller amount” or simply “less time”.
→ But looking at common usage: “in a shorter amount of time” is natural.
→ However, the error is likely “less” → “shorter”, because “amount of time” pairs better with “shorter”.

Wait — another way: maybe it’s “less” → “smaller”? No, “smaller amount” is okay but not ideal for time.

Actually, the most natural fix is to change “less” to “shorter”, because we’re talking about duration.

But let’s check grammar rules:
- “Less” = for uncountable nouns (less sugar)
- “Fewer” = for countable (fewer apples)
- But “amount of time” — time is uncountable, so “less time” is fine.
→ The problem is “a less amount” — that’s awkward. You don’t say “a less amount”, you say “a smaller amount” or just “less”.

So perhaps the error is “less” → “smaller”? Or maybe remove “a” and “amount”? But we must only change one word.

Looking at standard corrections for this type of exercise:
The intended correction is likely “less” → “shorter”, because “shorter amount of time” is idiomatic.

Alternatively, some might say “less” should be “smaller”, but “shorter” fits better with time.

Let me double-check:
“In a less amount of time” → incorrect.
Correct: “In a shorter amount of time” OR “In less time”.

Since the structure is “a ___ amount of time”, the adjective should be “shorter”.

✔ Correction: shorter

---

Line 15: “the power to destroy anything that come in”

→ Subject: “anything” — that’s singular.
→ Verb: “come” — that’s plural form.
→ Should be “comes” to match singular subject.

✔ Correction: comes

---

Line 16: “their path. Most of the damage done is caused”

→ “their path” — whose path? The hurricane’s. Hurricane is singular.
→ So pronoun should be “its”, not “their”.

✔ Correction: its

---

Line 17: “with the massive flooding and gusty winds”

→ “caused with” — wrong preposition.
→ We say “caused by”, not “caused with”.

✔ Correction: by

---

Line 18: “what accompany these huge storms.”

→ “what” is not the right relative pronoun here.
→ We’re referring to “flooding and gusty winds” — things that accompany the storms.
→ Should be “that” or “which”, not “what”.
→ Also, verb “accompany” — subject is plural (“flooding and winds”), so verb is correct.
→ Error is “what” → should be “that”

✔ Correction: that

---

Now let’s list all corrections:

13. number → amount
14. less → shorter
15. come → comes
16. their → its
17. with → by
18. what → that

Wait — let’s recheck line 14. Is “shorter” definitely correct?

Alternative view: Maybe “less” should be “smaller”? But “smaller amount of time” is acceptable, though “shorter” is more natural for time.

Actually, in many grammar exercises, they expect “less” → “shorter” for time duration.

Another possibility: maybe “a less amount” → remove “a” and change to “less time”, but we can only change one word.

I think “shorter” is best.

But let’s see if there’s a simpler fix: sometimes “less” is replaced with “smaller” in such contexts.

Upon second thought: “amount” is often paired with “large/small”, not “less/more”. So “a small amount of time” — but “less” is comparative.

Actually, the phrase “a less amount” is grammatically incorrect because “less” is not used before “amount” like that. The correct comparative is “a smaller amount”.

Example:
✘ “a less amount of money”
✔ “a smaller amount of money”

Similarly:
✘ “a less amount of time”
✔ “a smaller amount of time”

And “shorter amount of time” is also correct, but “smaller” is more directly replacing “less” in terms of quantity.

But time is duration — so “shorter” is better.

I recall now: in standard English, we say:
- “less time” (without “amount”)
- “a shorter period of time”
- “a smaller amount of time” — this is acceptable but less common.

Given that, and since the sentence says “a ___ amount of time”, the most appropriate word is “smaller”.

Let me confirm with a reliable source mindset:
Merriam-Webster or Cambridge would say:
“Amount” is modified by “large”, “small”, “greater”, “lesser” — wait, “lesser” is an option?

“Lesser amount” — yes, that’s possible, but rare.

Actually, “less” is an adverb or determiner, not typically an adjective before “amount”.

The correct adjective is “smaller”.

For example:
“We need a smaller amount of flour.”
Not “a less amount”.

So for consistency, “less” → “smaller” is the grammatical correction.

But in context of time, “shorter” is more natural.

This is tricky.

Let’s look at the whole sentence:
“destruction in a less amount of time”

If we change to “a smaller amount of time”, it’s grammatically correct.
If we change to “a shorter amount of time”, it’s also correct and more idiomatic.

Which one is expected in school grammar exercises?

I think both could be accepted, but “shorter” is better for time.

However, to be safe, let’s see what the most common correction is.

Upon reflection, I remember similar exercises where “less” is changed to “shorter” for time.

Example: “It took a less time” → “a shorter time”

Here it’s “a less amount of time” → still, “shorter” fits.

I’ll go with “shorter”.

Final decision:

13. number → amount
14. less → shorter
15. come → comes
16. their → its
17. with → by
18. what → that

Yes.

Final Answer:
13. amount
14. shorter
15. comes
16. its
17. by
18. that