common mistakes in english grammar

الملف الشخصي · 01-29-2010 09:24 PM

common mistakes in english grammar

1.Third conditional

"If I would have known about the party, I would have gone to it."

This is INCORRECT, although commonly used, especially in American English.
The correct form is:
If + had + past participle, would + have + past participle
* "If I had known about the party, I would have gone."
This is CORRECT.

2. Don't vs Doesn’t

"He don’t care about me anymore."

This is INCORRECT.
Doesn't, does not, or does are used with the third person singular - words like he, she, and it.
Don't, do not, or do are used for other subjects.
* "He doesn’t care about me anymore."
This is CORRECT.

3. Bring vs Take

"When we go to the party on Saturday, let’s bring a bottle of wine."

This is INCORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of arrival, use “bring”:
* "When you come to the party, please bring a bottle of wine."
This is CORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of departure, use “take”:
* "When we go to the party, let’s take a bottle of wine."
This is CORRECT.

4. Fewer vs Less

Sign at the checkout of a supermarket: “Ten items or less”.

This is INCORRECT.
You can count the items, so you need to use the number word “fewer”. These nouns are countable.
* "Ten items or fewer."
This is CORRECT.
If you can’t count the substance, then you should use “less”. These nouns are uncountable.
* "You should eat less meat."
This is CORRECT.

5. However

"We were supposed to go to the dance last night, however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."

This is INCORRECT.
A semicolon, rather than a comma, should be used to link these two complete sentences:
* "We were supposed to go to the dance last night; however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."
This is CORRECT.
It should be noted that there ARE situations in which you can use a comma instead of a semi-colon:
* "The match at Wimbledon, however, continued despite the bad weather."
This is CORRECT.
There is only one complete sentence in this example. It is not a compound sentence.

6. Have vs Of

"I never would of thought that he’d behave like that."

This is INCORRECT.
It should be would have:
* "I never would have/would’ve thought that he’d behave like that."
This is CORRECT.
It’s the same for should and could:
"He should of come with me."
This is INCORRECT.
* "He should have/should’ve come with me."
This is CORRECT.
"She could of had anything she wanted."
This is INCORRECT.
* "She could have had anything she wanted."
This is CORRECT.

7. Double negative

"I'm not speaking to nobody in this class."

This is INCORRECT.
Since 'not' is a negative, you cannot use 'nobody' in this sentence:
* "I'm not speaking to anybody in this class."
This is CORRECT.

8. Present perfect

"He has took the train."