COMMON ERRORS

GRAMMAR ERRORS
1. It's or Its
Example Mistake: The spider spun it's web. Its a very beautiful web.
Tip: "Its," without an apostrophe, is the possessive version of a pronoun. In the above
example, we should use the possessive "its" to talk about the spider's web, because the web
belongs to the spider.
Tt's," with an apostrophe, is a contraction of it is" or "it has." When talking about the
beauty ofthe web, we're saying that it is a very beautiful web. Therefore, we should use the
contraction "it's" instead of "its."
So, if you're not sure which spelling to use-"it's" or "its"-try adding "it is" or "it has"
to the sentence. If neither of those phrases works, then its is the word you're looking for.
For example, "the spider spun it is web" and "the spider spun it has web'" do not make any
sense. That's why you should say "the spider spun its web."
Correction: The spider spun its web. It's a very beautiful web.

2. Subject-verb Agreement
Example Mistake: The list of items are on the desk.

Tip: In the above sentence, the list of items is one singular list. Therefore, we should not
use "are." We should use "is."

Correction: The list of items is on the desk.

3. Gone or Went

Example Mistake: She had already went to the bathroom before they got in the car.
Tip: If you aren't sure whether to use "gone" or "went," remember that "gone" always
needs an auxiliary verb before it. Auxiliary verbs include: has, have, had, is, am, are, was,
were, be.
"Went" can't have an auxiliary verb before it.
is also
In the sentence above, we used "went" even though the auxiliary verb "had'"
present. Since the word "had" is there, we should use "gone" instead of "went
Correction: She had already gone to the bathroom before they got in the car:

63
 64
ENGLISH FOR ABILITY ENHANCEMENT IIl (Semester 5th)
4. Watch, Look, See
Example Mistake: Stop watching my private journal. / I look at the snow falling./I don't
play tennis, but I look at them playing every day.
Tip: "See," "look" and "watch" are often confused in meaning. However, they should be
used in different situations. The difference between the three verbs can be explained in the
following way:
Look- to look at something directly.
See-to see something that comes into our sight that we weren't looking for.
Watch to look at something carefully, usually at something that's moving.
So, we can "see" something even if we don't want to, but we can only "look at" something
on purpose.

Correction: Stop looking at my private journal. / I watch the snow falling. /1 don't play
tennis, but I see them playing every day.
5. Pronoun Misplacement
Example Mistake: Take a deep breath through your nose and hold it.
Tip: The singular pronoun in the sentence should stand in for nouns, but here it's unclear
which noun it's standing in for. The singular noun closest to the word "it" is "nose," so it
seems that "hold it" means to hold your nose. Instead, we want someone to hold their
breath not their nose.
When we use pronouns properly, we must easily understand which single noun the
pronoun stands for. Make sure to be very clear. If it's unclear, don't use the pronoun or
change the sentence!

Correction: Take a breath through your nose and hold your breath.
Speaking mistakes

6. Future Tense
Example Mistake: I will be going to the dance party yesterday.
Tip: The future tense is being used to talk about the wrong time in the sentence above,
since the sentence is talking about something that happened in the past, yesterday. You
should only use the future tense when something has not happened yet, but it's going to
happen in the future.
Correction: I will be going to the dance party tomorrow.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY 65

7. Literaly or Figuratively
Example Mistake: I'm literally melting because it's so hot. / Figuratively speaking, it's
100 degrees out here.
Tip: This is a mistake because "literally" means "actually" or "really," and "figuratively"
means not real. "Figuratively" is used to exaggerate, or enlarge the meaning ofsomething
Correction: Figuratively speaking. I'm melting because it's so hot. / It's literally 100
degrees out here.

8. Loan or Borrow
Example Mistake: Can you borrow me that book? You can loan me my notes
Tip: The listener may be confused since "loan" means "to give" and "borrow'" means "to
take." It's simple memorization that's required to get the correct meaning.
For example, "borrow me that book" means "take me that book" in the above example.
Where do you want the listener to take the book? That isn't what you meant to say!
Instead, you would like to use the book, so you want someone to give it to you.
Correction: Can you loan me that book? You can borrow my notes.
9. Casualor Formal
Example Mistake: (Atjob interview) "Hey, what's up?"
Tip: Know your audience! Casual talk is for friends, not your boss. This isn't formal, it's
slang. It can even be considered inappropriate or rude. To speak more formally in English,
you should avoid contractions (say "how is" instead of "how's") and try to be more polite.
Correction: "Hello, how is everything going?"
10. Since or For
Example Mistake: I have known him for always. I saw him since last year.
Tip: You use "for" if you don't have to calculate the period of time, because the amount
of time is indicated in the sentence already. You use "since" if you have to calculate the
period of time, because you only have the starting point.
Correction: I have lived here for two months. (You don't have to calculate, you know the
period is "two months.")/I have lived here since 1975. (You have to calculate now. If you
came in 1975-the starting point-and now it's 2016.)

Writing Mistakes
I. Academic English or Casual Texting Language

Example Mistake: (In an academic paper) If u want to know my opinion tho, IDK who
should be president.
 66 ENGLISH FOR ABILITY ENHANCEMENT m (Semeete,
Tip: Try break the habit of using text language to communicate your
to
ideas
5th)
Write
everything out completely. This text style is inappropriate language to use for acad.
academic
purposes. Slang words like "IDK" (which stands for don't know") "I are
conversation and texting only. good for
Correction: If you want to know my opinion, I do not know who should be
president
12. Punctuation

Example Mistake: (in a business letter) Dear Mrs. Jones: I am still interested in the
iok
and want to thank you for the interview! I
hope you will consider me for the followine job
programs, A, B and C. ing
Tip: Be you understand the purpose for your punctuation.
sure

In the example above, when

you address Mrs. Jones, you should only include a
comma.
Colons (:) are used when you want to make a list of
something, and
usually not when
you're addressing someone.
The exclamation point may be viewed as
unprofessional. Often, they're used to illustrate
strong emotion, which is something a potential employer might not care for.
Correction: Dear Mrs. Jones, I am still interested in the
job, and I wanted to thank you
for the interview. I hope you will consider me for the
following programs: A, B and C.
13. Run-on Sentences

Example Mistake: I am a woman and I am a good mother and I am an office worke.

Tip:
If you can't say it in one
breath, you shouldn't write it like that either. A run-on is a
sentence in which two or more
independent clauses (i.e., complete sentences) are joined
without appropriate punctuation. The
example is missing a period after "woman," and the
example should contain two separate sentences.
Correction: I am a woman. I am a good mother and an office worker.
14. Apostrophes

Example Mistake: A womans hat was left on the bus./ Two dogs use the dish. It is the
dogs's dish.
Tip: Apostrophes indicate that a noun owns something. There are no
first sentence, even though you' re talking about the apostrophes in the
hat which is owned by the woman.
In the second sentence, there is morethan one dog, but the
apostrophe is not used correctly.
Singular nouns will always add 's when you're
indicating possession, even if the noun ends
 RAMMAR AND VOCABULARY
67
with
h"5""s."Plural nouns that do not end in "s" also take an 's.
Plural nouns However, plural nouns that end
added after the "s
uith "s" have an apostrophe
orrection: A woman's hat was lett on the bus. / Two dogs use the dish. It is the dogs

dish.
15. Capitalization

Example Mistake: one rainy day, i saw sarah at Union street library.

Tip: In this example, Union is the only item that has been capitalized when there should
be more.
In terms of capitalization, ask yourself three questions:
Is this the first letter in a sentence? If the answer is yes, then you should capitalize that
word. In this sentence, the first word is "one," so "one" should be capitalized.
Is this the pronoun "T"? If yes, capitalize. "T" should always be capitalized.
Am I using a name that someone gave to this thing or person? If yes, capitalize. "Sarah"
should be capitalized, and "Union Street Library" should be completely capitalized because
it's the given name of a location.
Corection: One rainy day, I saw Sarah at Union Street Library.
 TIPS TO SPOT ERRORS IN ENGLISH
Even those of you who are well-versed with
English end up making the silliest of errors
in grammar. It is a
very natural tendency but error-spotting is not an art that one can't
master. It is just a matter of
swearing by some guidelines and practice. Here are some tins
for error
spotting in English:
1. Certain nouns
possess a singular form but still represent plurality and
thus, take
a
plural verb when used in a sentence.
E.g. Cattle. peasantry, people, clergy, police.
Thus,
The Police has come (Incorrect)
The Police have come (Correct)
2. Certain nouns always take the plural verb because their form is always plural.
E.g. Scissors, trousers, spectacles, thanks, premises.
Thus,
The scissors is kept on the table. (Incorrect)
The scissors are kept on the table. (Correct)
3. When number is followed by a noun
a
denoting measure, length, money, number
or weight, the form of the nouns does not
change so as long
are they followed by
another noun or
pronoun.
E.g. Million, pair, metre, year, dozen, foot, head.
Thus,
This is a nine-metres cloth. (Incorrect)
This is a nine-metre cloth. (Correct)
4. When a number is followed by a noun
denoting measure, length, money, number
or weight, but these are not followed by another noun or pronoun, then they take the
plural form.
E.g. Million, pair, metre, year, dozen, foot, head.
Thus,
This sari is nine yard long. (Incorrect)
This sari is nine yards long. (Correct)

68
 GRAMMARAND VOCABULARY
69
&. Certain nouns, especially of the collective category, are used as singular when
a unit.
they specify
E. Public, team, committee, government, audience, orchestra,
company, jury.
Thus,
The public were unanimous in their
opinion. (Incorrect)
The public unanimous in its opinion. (Correct)
was

6. Certain nouns, especially of the collective

category, are used in plural when they
specify a difference of opinion or class.
E.g. Public, team, committee, government, audience, orchestra,
company, jury.
Thus,
The jury was divided in its opinion. (Incorrect)
The jury were divided in their opinion. (Correct)
7. If the pronoun 'one' is used, it must be maintained
throughout the sentence.
Thus,
One must respect his elders. (Incorrect)
One must respect one's elders. (Correct)
8. The word 'whose'is used for living people and 'which' is used for
things or ideas.
non-living
Thus,
Which box is kept on the table? (Incorrect)
Whose box is kept on the table? (Correct)
9. Less' is used to denote quantity while 'fewer' is used to denote number.
Thus,
No less thantwenty people were (Incorrect)
No fewer than
twenty people were (Correct)
10. One of'is always followed by in the
noun
plural form.
Thus,
She is of the least
one important person in the office. (Incorrect)
She is one of the least
important people in the office. (Correct)
11. Only 'than' should be used after 'no other'

Thus,
I like no other movie but Titanic. (Incorrect)
70 ENGLISH FOR ABILITY ENHANCEMENT I (Semester- 5th)
I like other movie than Titanic. (Correct)
no

12. After the word 'Know', "how, 'what' or 'when' should be used before
using the
infinitive.
Thus,
I know tospeak English. (Incorrect)
I know how to speak English. (Correct)
13.Iftheverb indicates a purpose, an infinitive must be used and ifthe verb indicates
a cause, a gerund must be used.
Thus,
He went to the mall for watching a movie.(Incorrect)
He went to the mall to watch a movie.
(Correct)
He was suspended to show indiscipline.
(Incorrect)
He was suspended for showing
indiscipline.(Correct)
14. 'As' is not used with verbs like
'appointed', 'elected", 'considered', 'called' but
it is used with the word 'regard'.

Thus,
He was elected as Secretary of the
organisation. (Incorrect)
He was elected Secretary of the
organisation. (Correct)
I regard Sahil my best friend.
(Incorrect)
I regard Sahil as my best friend.
(Correct)
15. Adverbs should not be confused with
adjectives. An adjective describes the
characteristic of the subject while an adverb describes the action of the verb.
Thus,
The horse looked beautifully.
(Incorrect)
The horse looked beautiful.
(Correct)
16. Question tags are always the
opposite of the sentence which means that if the
sentence is positive, the question tag is
negative and vice versa.
Thus,
You dancing, were you? (Incorrect)
were

You were dancing, weren't you?

(Correct)
17. An infinitive verb should never be split.
Thus,
GRAMMARAND VOCABULARY
71
I request you
to kindly tell me. (Incorrect)
I request you kindly
to tell me. (Correct)
18. A pronoun after "like', 'unlike' and 'let' takes an objective case.

Thus,
never find a woman like she. (Incorrect)
You will
You will never find a woman like her. (Correct)

Let I do it. (lncorrect)

Let me do it. (Correct)
19. The relative pronoun 'that'is used instead of 'who' or 'which' after adjectives in
the superlative degree.
Thus,
This is the best which she could do. (Incorrect)
This is the best that she could do. (Correct)
20. To show equality 'as' is used both before and after the adjective.
Thus,
I can run as fast, if not faster than you. (Incorrect)
I can run as fast as, if not faster than you. (Correct)
21. Even though more than one'indicates a plural sense, it agrees with a singular
noun and takes a singular verb.

Thus,
More than one students completed their project. (Incorrect)
More than one student completed his project. (Correct)
22. 'Scarcely'and 'hardly' are followed by "when' and not by than'.
Thus,
Hardly had the teacher left the room than the pupils started enjoying. (Incorrect)
Hardly had the teacher left the room when the pupils started enjoying. (Correct)
23.Though' is followed by 'yet'and not by "but'.
Thus,
Though he is poor but he is honest. (Incorrect)
Though he is poor, yet he is honest. (Correct)
72 ENGLISH FOR ABILITYENHANCEMENT 1 (Semester
24.
Lest'must be followed by 'should'
5th)
or by nothing at all and "Such'
must he
be
followed by 'as'.
Thus,
Work hard lest you will fail. (Incorrect)
Work hard lest you should fail. (Correct)
Work hard lest you fail. (Correct)
He is such a writer that
everybody should read his books. (Incorrect)
He is such a writer as everybody should read his books. (Correct)
25. 'Unless' expresses a condition and is always used in the
negative sense. Thus
not is never used with 'unless'.
Thus,
Unless you do not work hard, you will not excel in the
examination. (Incorrect)
Unless you work hard, you will not excel in the examination.
(Correct)
26. When'denotes a general and 'while'
sense
implies a time duration of
doing
something.
Thus,
When learning how to sing, technique is of utmost importance. (Incorrect)
While learning how to sing, technique is of utmost
importance. (Correct)