What happens if a method in a subclass is annotated with @Override but its signature does not match any method in the base class?

What happens if a method in a subclass is annotated with @Override but its signature does not match any method in the base class?

• A. It silently creates a new method in the subclass.
• B. The compiler reports an error because there is no matching method to override.
• C. It overrides a different method by name.
• D. It changes the visibility of the base method.

Answer: (B)

The @Override annotation signals that the method in the subclass should override a method with the same signature in a superclass. If the subclass method’s signature doesn’t match any method in the base class, there’s nothing to override, so the compiler reports an error. This is a safety check that helps catch mistakes like typos in the method name or parameter types. For example, if the base class has a method void play(int) and the subclass writes @Override void play(double), the compiler will flag an error because there is no base method with that double parameter to override. The other possibilities don’t fit because @Override requires an actual override of a method from the superclass; it won’t quietly create a new method, it won’t override some other method by name, and it doesn’t change the base method’s visibility.