Correct the Mistakes

1. I never traveled internationally. I might next year, though.

2. I really enjoyed to be there yesterday.

3. If you want to be successful, you need to believe in you.

4. She’s really selfish. She only cares about her.

5. They’ve been married during ten years.

6. Is important to be polite and respectful.

7. I wish I have more time to finish the proposal.

8. I work here since 2010.

9. I’ve been studied a lot lately.

10. The TV is too loud? Okay, I turn it down.

11. When I was a kid I used to playing sports with my friends.

12. Waking up early was hard at first, but now I’m used to do it.

14. They didn’t think that the house was enough big.

15. I had to think about the problem for a while, but I finally figured out it.

16. I got here late because the traffic.

17. They’re looking forward to go on vacation next year.

18. We need to analyze more deeply this problem.

19. If we hire more people, we wouldn’t be so busy.

20. Today we discussed about potential strategies.

21. This will allow us to concentrate on our business and don’t worry about our IT
infrastructure.

22. They gave him more responsibilities due to he is handling his current responsibilities
very well.
23. They wouldn’t let me to leave early today even though I had something really
important to take care of.

24. In the meantime John prepared breakfast, I worked on putting the finishing touches
on my presentation.

25. I wish to have a relaxing vacation this December.

Answers and Explanations

1. I never I’ve never traveled internationally. I might next year, though.

If we’re talking about not having experienced something that we might experience in the
future, we normally use the present perfect.

Examples:
I’ve never seen a movie in Spanish.
I never saw a movie in Spanish.
I’ve never eaten broccoli.
I never ate broccoli.

Note that we use the simple past if we are talking about not having experienced
something that we will never have the chance to experience.

Examples:
I didn’t go to my high school graduation.
I haven’t gone to my high school graduation.

2. I really enjoyed to be being there yesterday.

After certain verbs, we use the gerund instead of the infinitive. Enjoy is one of these
verbs. Some other verbs that are followed by the gerund are consider, delay, dislike,
finish, imagine, mind, miss, practice, risk, and tolerate.

Examples:
I miss being a college student.
I miss to be a college student.
We finished working on the project around 2:00.
We finished to work on the project around 2:00.
They don’t mind staying late if they have a lot of work.
They don’t mind to stay late if they have a lot of work.

For more information, see this guide to using use two verbs together.

3. If you want to be successful, you need to believe in you yourself.

When the subject and the verb of a sentence are the same, we use reflexive pronouns
(myself, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves).

Examples:
You need to believe in yourself.
You need to believe in you.
He emailed the document to himself.
He emailed the document to him.
They have to cook for themselves.
They have to cook for them.

4. She’s really selfish. She only cares about her herself.

See the explanation to number 3.

5. They’ve been married during for ten years.

We use during to say over what period of time something happened in the past. To
communicate how long an unfinished action has been happening, we use for or since.
We use for for a duration of time (four months, five years, 26 minutes, nine days, etc.)
and we use since for specific moments in time (9 AM, Thursday, 1963, etc.).

6. It is important to be polite and respectful.

Unless we are using the imperative, sentences in English need a subject.

We use it as the subject for statements about the weather, times and
dates, and opinions about places.

Examples:
It is raining really hard right now.
Is raining really hard right now.
It’s 3:35 in the afternoon.
Is 3:35 in the afternoon.
It’s too crowded here. Let’s leave.
Is too crowded here. Let’s leave.

For more information see this link from the British Council.

7. I wish I have had more time to finish the proposal.

With wish statements in the present tense, we use the simple past tense.

Examples:
I wish I were taller. (For wish statements in the present, we prefer were for all subjects.)
I wish I am taller.
She wishes she still worked at her old job.
She wishes she works at her old job.

8. I work I’ve worked here since 2010.

To talk about something that happened in the past and continues in the present, we use
the present perfect or present perfect continuous.

Examples:
I’ve been here since 10 a.m.
I’m here since 10 a.m.
I’ve been working on this project for three weeks.
I’m working on this project for three weeks.

9. I’ve been studied studying a lot lately.

We need the present perfect continuous here. We can use this form to talk about
something that has happened a lot recently. The form is subject + have/has + been +
ing.

Examples:
I’ve been working out a lot lately.
I’ve been worked out a lot lately.
She’s been bringing her lunch every day.
She’s been brought her lunch every day.
10. The TV is too loud? Okay, I I’ll turn it down.

We use will to respond to a request.

Examples:
Oh, do you need the report? I’ll send it right away.
Oh, do you need the report? I send it right away.
Oh, do you need the report? I’m going to send it right away.

11. When I was a kid I used to playing play sports with my friends.

We use used to + base form to talk about something that was true in the past but no
longer true. For more information, see this lesson on using used to correctly.

12. Waking up early was hard at first, but now I’m used to do doing it.

We use to be + used to + gerund to talk about something we are accustomed to doing.

For more information, see this lesson on using used to correctly.

13. This office isn’t as big than as the other office.

We use as + adjective + as for these comparisons, not as + adjective + than

Examples:
The United States isn’t as big as Russia.
The United States isn’t as big than Russia.
Our company is just as strong as it was a year ago.
Our company is just as strong than it was a year ago.

14. They didn’t think that the house was enough big big enough.

Enough goes after an adjective or before a noun.

Examples:
We were worried that our bid wasn’t competitive enough.
We were worried that our bid wasn’t enough competitive.
I don’t know if we have enough people working on this.
I don’t know if we have people enough working on this.

15. I had to think about the problem for a while, but I finally figured out it it out.

Most phrasal verbs are separable (the phrasal verb can be separated by its object).
With separable phrasal verbs, the object pronoun must go between the verb and the
preposition.

Examples:
We will send someone to pick you up.
We will send someone to pick up you.
Thank you for backing me up during the meeting today.
Thank you for backing up me during the meeting today.

16. I got here late because of the traffic (or because there was a lot of traffic).

Because is followed by a subject and a verb. Because of is followed by a noun or

gerund.

Examples:
They lost some clients because of the scandal.
They lost some clients because the scandal.
They lost some clients because they handled the scandal poorly.
They lost some clients because of they handled the scandal poorly.

17. They’re looking forward to go going on vacation next year.

To is a preposition here, not part of the infinitive. We need the gerund form of the verb
after a preposition.

18. We need to analyze more deeply this problem more deeply.

In general, we don’t place adverbs between a verb and its object.

Examples:
We need to pursue this opportunity aggressively.
We need to pursue aggressively this opportunity.
They treat their employees poorly.
They treat poorly their employees.

19. If we hire hired more people, we wouldn’t be so busy.

or If we hire more people, we wouldn’t won’t be so busy.

If we are speaking hypothetically, we need the second conditional.

If we hire hired more people, we wouldn’t be so busy.
If we are talking about something that is likely to happen, we need the first conditional.
If we hire more people, we wouldn’t won’t be so busy.
For more information, see this guide to conditionals.

20. Today we discussed about potential strategies.

We do not use about after the word discuss.

21. This will allow us to concentrate on our business and don’t (to) not worry about our
IT infrastructure.

We need the negative infinitive of the verb to worry. The word to is optional because we
have already used the infinitive to concentrate after the verb allow. Don’t is incorrect
because this is not an imperative.

22. They gave him more responsibilities due to since/because he is handling his current
responsibilities very well.

Due to is followed by a noun, not a subject + verb. Since and because are followed by a
subject + verb.

Examples:
She was chosen for the position due to her experience.
She was chosen for the position due to she has a lot of experience.

23. They wouldn’t let me to leave early today even though I had something really
important to take care of.
After let, help, make, and have (when have is used to communicate that someone is
being told to do something), we use the base infinitive, not the infinitive form of the
second verb.

Examples:
He had his secretary reserve a table for two.
He had his secretary to reserve a table for two.
They made us feel welcome.
They made us to feel welcome.
My niece helped me set up my computer.
My niece helped me to set up my computer.

24. In the meantime While John prepared breakfast, I worked on putting the finishing
touches on my presentation.

To talk about two actions happening simultaneously, we use while. We use in the
meantime to communicate that we are doing something while we are waiting for
something else to happen.

Examples:
I reviewed my notes one last time while I waited for my name to be called.
I reviewed my notes one last time in the meantime I waited for my name to be called.
John can help us with this, but he’s on vacation until Monday. In the meantime, we’ll
have to do the best we can.
John can help us with this, but he’s on vacation until Monday. While we’ll have to do the
best we can.

25. I wish hope to have a relaxing vacation this December.

We normally use wish to talk about something hypothetical. For something we want to
happen in the future, we can use hope and want.

Examples:
I wish I had more time. (hypothetical)
I hope I had more time.
I hope to retire at age 65. (something the speaker wants in the future)
I wish to retire at age 65.

Note that I wish to retire at age 65 isn’t technically wrong, but it sounds old fashioned
and formal. Hope is the better choice.