everything you wanted to know about english but were afraid to ask
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Everything You Wanted to Know About English But Were Afraid to Ask. List of Common Errors- Part One. 1. a, an. a: goes before a consonant sound an: goes before a vowel sound Example: a b oat an h our. 2. accept, except. accept: “to receive” except: “to leave out” Example: - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Everything You Wanted to Know About English
But Were Afraid to Ask
List of Common Errors-Part One
1. a, an
• a: goes before a consonant sound• an: goes before a vowel sound• Example:
–a boat–an hour
2. accept, except
• accept: “to receive”• except: “to leave out”• Example:
– He acceptedaccepted the award.– Everyone got an A exceptexcept Kate.
3. affect, effect
• affect: (verb) “to influence”• effect: (noun) “the result of an action”
(verb) “to bring about”• Example:
– The loss of McNabb did not affect the Eagles.
– The movie had great special effects.
4. ain’t
• Not formal-avoid it when writing.
5. already, all ready
• already=previously• all ready=ready to go• Example:
– I already saw that movie.– The family was all ready to leave for
vacation.
6. all right
• all right is alwaysalways two words• alrightalright is not a word
7. a lot
• a lot is always two words
8. anyways, anywheres, everywheres, nowheres, somewheres• Not words!• No –s at the end!
9. at
• Don’t use after where.• Example:
– Where is your pen at?
10. bad, badly
• bad is an adjective.• badly is an adverb.• Example:
– Those socks smell bad.(noun) (adj)
– I did badly on the test.(verb) (adv)
11. between, among
• Use between when referring to two things at a time. (Between has two ee’s.)
• Use among when referring to a group.• Note: among and amongst have the
same meaning.• Example:
– Steve sits between Lorin and Amanda.– We split the food among the three of us.
12. bring, take
• bring=“to come carrying something”• take=“to go carrying something” • Example:
– I will bring home takeout Chinese food.
13. bust, busted
• Don’t use them as verbs. Use burst or break or catch or arrest.
• Example:– The teacher caught the lying student. (Not
busted.)
14. could of, should of, would of, might of, must of, ought to of• All are incorrect! • Use have instead.• Example:
– I should have studied.
15. desert, dessert
• desert-think sand• dessert-think yummy!• (There are two S’s in dessert because
you go back for seconds.)
16. doesn’t, don’t
• doesn’t=does not• don’t=do not• Example:
– He doesn’t know how to swim. (Not don’t.)
17. et cetera
• Latin for “and so on”.• etc. Not ect!• Do not use it! It’s vague!
18. farther, further
• farther=extent of physical distance.• further=extent of time or degree.• Example:
– He throws the ball farther than Pete.– We’ll talk further tomorrow.
19. fewer, less
• Use fewer with plural words.• Use less with singular words.• Example:
– Fewer plants grow in the desert than in the tundra.
– She needs less help than he does.
20. good, well
• good-adjective• well-adverb• Example:
– I did well on the quiz.(V) (adv)
• (Note: Well can be an adjective meaning “healthy.”)
• Example:I don’t feel well.
21. had ought, hadn’t ought
• Don’t use had with ought.• Example:
– He ought to help us.
22. hardly, scarcely
• They both have negative meaning.• Don’t use them with another negative
word (like not).• Example:
– I can hardly read this.
List of Common Errors-Part Two
23. he, she, it, they
• Don’t use them after the subject.• Example:
– Scott he went to Six Flags.
24. hisself
• Not a word.• Use himself.
25. how come, why
• How come is informal.• Why is formal.• Example:
– How come I got a C?
26. its, it’s
• An apostrophe with a pronoun is always a contraction!
• its=belonging to it• it’s=it is• Example:
– It’s time for the dog to run on its own.
27. kind, sort, type
• This, that, these, and those should agree in number with kind, sort, and type.
• Example:– He likes this kind of music, not those
kinds.
28. kind of, sort of
• They’re informal.• Use somewhat or rather.• Example:
– I’m kind of hungry.
29. learn, teach
• learn=to acquire knowledge• teach=to instruct (give knowledge)• Example:
– Ms. Hoover is teaching me to not eat paste.
30. leave, let
• leave=to go away• let=to allow• Example:
– Let her go to the corner. (Not leave)
31. lie, lay
• lie=to rest (does not take an object)• lay=to put something in a place (takes
an object)
Base Present Participle
Past Past Participle
lie is lying lay have lainlay is laying laid have laid
lie, lay (continued)
• Example:– She laid the gloves on the desk. – When I got home, I lay down to sleep.
32. imply, infer
• imply=to give a hint or suggestion• infer=to take a hint or suggestion• Example:
– He implied that I had something in my teeth, and I inferred it.
33. like, as if, though
• Like is often used where as if or though should be used.
• Example:– She behaved as if she hadn’t heard her
name.
34. may, can
• can=able to• may=permission• Example:
– May I go to the bathroom? (Not can.)
35. of
• Don’t use of after inside, off, and outside.
• Example:– Get off of the stage.
36. real
• Don’t use real the same way you’d use very, really, or extremely.
• Example:– That test is extremely hard. (Not real.)
37. reason…because
• Use reason…that instead.• Example:
– The reason I did well on the test was that I studied. (Not because.)
38. rise, raise
• rise=to go up (doesn’t take an object)• raise=to lift up (takes an object)
Base Present Participle
Past Past Participle
rise is rising rose have risenraise is raising raised have raised
rise, raise (continued)
• Example:– The sun rises every morning.– My boss raised my salary ten percent. (Salary is the direct object of raised. That
is, it is what is raised.)
39. set, sit
• set=“to put something in a place” • sit=“to rest in a chair” or “to be in a
place”
Base Present Participle
Past Past Participle
set is setting set have setsit is sitting sat have sat
set, sit (continued)
• Example:– Sit under that tree.– Set your backpack under the tree.
40. some, somewhat
• Don’t use some for somewhat.• Example:
– My fever’s gone down somewhat.
41. than, then
• Than is used for comparison.• Then is used with time. (When? Then.)• Example:
– The Eagles are better than the Falcons.– I read my book then did my homework.
42. their, there, they’re
• their=belonging to them• there=a place (Where? There.)• they’re=they are• Example:
– Their books are over there.
43. theirself, theirselves
• Not words!• Use themselves.
44. them
• Don’t use them as an adjective.• Example:
– Put those cans in the trash.
45. this here, that there
• Don’t use them together.• Example:
– Should I get that there shirt?
46. try and
• Use try to instead.• Example:
– I’ll try to be on time.
47. use to, used to, suppose to, supposed to• Don’t leave off the –d when writing
these.• Example:
– I used to live in Philadelphia.
48. way, ways
• Use way (no –s) when referring to distance.
• Example:– We have a long way to go. (Not ways.)
49. when, where
• Don’t use these words when writing a definition.
• Example:– An infomercial is where a TV show that is
a long advertisement.
50. where
• Don’t use where for that.• Example:
– I read that the Phillies lost. (Not where.)
51. who, which, that
• They are all pronouns, but they are used to refer to different kinds of nouns.
• Who refers to people.• Which refers to things.• That refers to either people or things.• If you’re not sure, use that.• Example:
– This is the ring that I want.
52. who, whom
• who=subject• whom=object (usually goes with or to)• Example:
– Who is that guy with the hook for the hand?
– To whom should I give this money?
53. who’s, whose
• who’s=who is or who has• whose=ownership• Example:
– Whose pants are these?– Who’s there?
54. without, unless
• Don’t use without for unless.• Example:
– I can’t go to the game unless I do my homework. (Not without doing.)
55. your, you’re
• your=ownership• you’re=you are• Example:
– You’re missing your homework.