Transcript Everything You Wanted to Know About English But Were Afraid to Ask

Everything You Wanted to
Know About English
But Were Afraid to Ask
List of Common ErrorsPart 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 accepted the award.
– Everyone got an A except 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 always two words
• alright 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 ErrorsPart 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
lie
lay
Present
Participle
is lying
is laying
Past
lay
laid
Past
Participle
have lain
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
rise
raise
Present
Participle
is rising
is raising
Past
Past
Participle
rose have risen
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
set
sit
Present
Participle
is setting
is sitting
Past
set
sat
Past
Participle
have set
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.