Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is ‘No error’, the answer is (e). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any).

To avoid a calamity, the (A)/ police is asking everyone (B)/ to move away from (C)/ the burning building (D)/.

The correct answer is Option B: "police is asking everyone".

The grammatical error lies in Part (B) — the use of the singular verb "is" with the noun "police".

Why is this an error?

The word "police" is a collective noun that, unlike most collective nouns, is always treated as plural in standard English grammar. It refers to a group of officers collectively, and it does not take a singular verb form. This is a fixed grammatical convention:

❌ Incorrect: "The police is asking everyone..."
✅ Correct: "The police are asking everyone..."

Other similar nouns that always take a plural verb include: cattle, people, poultry, clergy, and staff (in British English). These nouns have no singular form and must always be paired with a plural verb.

Corrected sentence:

"To avoid a calamity, the (A)/ police are asking everyone (B)/ to move away from (C)/ the burning building (D)/."

Parts A, C, and D are grammatically correct:
— "To avoid a calamity, the" — correct use of infinitive phrase and article.
— "to move away from" — correct infinitive structure.
— "the burning building" — correct noun phrase with a participial adjective.

Therefore, the only error is in Part (B), where "is" must be replaced with "are" to agree with the plural noun "police".