Grammar

Editing Common Grammar Mistakes

1 Commonly confused words

Word 1 Meaning Word 2 Meaning
accept to agree to receive or do except not including
adverse unfavourable, harmful averse strongly disliking; opposed
recommendations about what to
advice advise to recommend something
do

affect to change or make a difference to effect a result; to bring about a result

aisle a passage between rows of seats isle an island
all together all in one place, all at once altogether completely; on the whole
moving or extending horizontally referring to something of great
along a long
on length

aloud out loud allowed permitted

altar a sacred table in a church alter to change
not following accepted moral
amoral not concerned with right or wrong immoral
standards

appraise to assess apprise to inform someone

assent agreement, approval ascent the action of rising or climbing up
aural relating to the ears or hearing oral relating to the mouth; spoken
balmy pleasantly warm barmy foolish, crazy
bare naked; to uncover bear to carry; to put up with
in phrase 'with bated breath', i.e.
bated baited with bait attached or inserted
in great suspense

bazaar a Middle Eastern market bizarre strange

the emergence of a baby from
berth a bunk in a ship, train, etc. birth
the womb

born having started life borne carried

to bend the head; the front of a
bough a branch of a tree bow
ship

a device for stopping a vehicle; to

brake break to separate into pieces; a pause
stop a vehicle

to break through, or break a rule; a

breach breech the back part of a gun barrel
gap

broach to raise a subject for discussion brooch a piece of jewellery

canvas a type of strong cloth canvass to seek peoples votes
to ban parts of a book or film; a
censure to criticize strongly censor
person who does this
climactic forming a climax climatic relating to climate
complacent smug and self-satisfied complaisant willing to please

263 Tanjong Katong Rd #01-07, Tel: 6702 0118 1



a direction; a school subject;

coarse rough course
part of a meal

a length of string; a cord-like

chord a group of musical notes cord
body part
to add to so as to improve; an to praise or express approval;
complement compliment
addition that improves something an admiring remark

a group of people who manage or

council counsel advice; to advise
advise

cue a signal for action; a wooden rod queue a line of people or vehicles
to keep something in check; a (in British English) the stone
curb kerb
control or limit edge of a pavement

happening now; a flow of

currant a dried grape current
water, air, or electricity

defuse to make a situation less tense diffuse to spread over a wide area
a waterless, empty area; to
desert dessert the sweet course of a meal
abandon someone

discreet careful not to attract attention discrete separate and distinct

disinterested impartial uninterested not interested
a first version of a piece of
draught a current of air draft
writing

draw an even score at the end of a game drawer a sliding storage compartment
a fight or contest between two
dual having two parts duel
people

elicit to draw out a reply or reaction illicit not allowed by law or rules
to provide compensation if a
to make certain that something
ensure insure person dies or property is
will happen

damaged
envelop to cover or surround envelope a paper container for a letter
physical activity; to do physical
exercise exorcise to drive out an evil spirit
activity

a mythical being, part man,

fawn a young deer; light brown faun
part goat

flaunt to display ostentatiously flout to disregard a rule

to move clumsily; to have difficulty
flounder founder to fail
doing something

forbear to refrain forebear an ancestor

foreword an introduction to a book forward onwards, ahead
freeze to turn to ice frieze a decoration along a wall
grisly gruesome, revolting grizzly a type of bear
hoard a store horde a large crowd of people
imply to suggest indirectly infer to draw a conclusion
loath reluctant, unwilling loathe to hate
loose to unfasten; to set free lose to be deprived of;

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meter a measuring device metre a metric unit; rhythm in verse

militate to be a powerful factor against mitigate to make less severe
palate the roof of the mouth palette a board for mixing colours
pedal a foot-operated lever peddle to sell goods
pole a long, slender piece of wood poll voting in an election
a tiny opening; to study
pour to flow or cause to flow pore
something closely

the use of an idea or method; the to do something repeatedly to

practice work or business of a doctor, practise gain skill; to do something
dentist, etc. regularly
to authorize use of medicine; to
prescribe proscribe to officially forbid something
order authoritatively

most important; the head of a

principal principle a fundamental rule or belief
school

skeptic a person inclined to doubt septic infected with bacteria

sight the ability to see site a location
stationary not moving stationery writing materials
storey a level of a building story a tale or account
titillate to arouse interest titivate to make more attractive
tortuous full of twists; complex torturous full of pain or suffering
a ring-shaped arrangement of
wreath wreathe to surround or encircle
flowers etc.

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2 Modal Verbs

a Can and Could

i. Can / Cannot

To make general statements about what is possible.
It can be very hot in summer (=It is sometimes very hot in summer)
1
You can easily get hurt if you are not careful (=People often get hurt when they
are not careful)
To talk about someone's skill or general abilities
2 She can speak several languages.
They can't dance very well.
To talk about the ability to do something at a given time in the present or future
3 You can make a lot of money if you are lucky.
Help. I can't breathe.
To ask for permission to do something
4
Can I ask a question, please?
We use the negative can't or cannot to show that something is impossible
5 That can't be true.
You cannot be serious.
To make a request (less polite)
6
Can you take a message please?

ii. Could

As the past tense of can
It could be very hot in summer. (=Sometimes it was very hot in summer).
1
You could easily get hurt if you are not careful (=People often got hurt when they
are not careful)
To show that something is possible in the future, but not certain
2
If we don't hurry we could be late. (=Perhaps/Maybe we will be late)
To show that something is/was possible now or at some time in the past
3 It's ten o'clock. They could have arrived now.
They could have arrived hours ago.
To talk about past time
4 She could speak several languages.
They couldn't dance very well
We use couldn't/could not to talk about the past
5 We knew it could not be true.
He was obviously joking. He could not be serious.
To ask a question in a more polite and formal way than can
6
Could I ask a question please?
As a polite way of telling or asking someone to do something
7 Could you take a message please?
Could I have my bill please?

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b Will and Would

i. Uses of will:

To express strong possibility/future predictions/facts
1
Community centres will allow residents to take part in different activities.

To express conditional ideas that are presently true

2
If he apologises to me, I will forgive him.

To express strong requests or orders

3
Will you stop teasing him right now!

To express hope/confidence/belief
4
I am sure that you will agree with me that the proposal is a feasible one.

ii. Uses of would:

To indicate the past
1
He promised me that he would visit once a month.
To describe a past habit
2
I would often visit the arcade after school, but I dont now.
To talk about a hypothetical situation
3
If I were you, I would go for the student exchange programme.
To make a polite request or suggestion
4
I would appreciate it if you could get back to me as soon as possible.
To hedge statements, i.e. to moderate opinions
5
The building of an indoor sports hall would benefit the residents of the estate.

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3 Tenses

Verb Tense Use Example
Present Regular activities/ Amy and Sue play tennis on
I play
simple routine Saturdays.
Present Continuous present Amy and Sue are playing at the
I am playing
continuous action moment.
Finished part of
continuous action. Amy and Sue have played two sets.
Completed actions in They have played several other
unfinished matches this year.
Present
I have time period. Their parents have just arrived.
perfect
played Recent events Sue has broken her racket so she
simple
(unspecified time) can't continue.
Past action with a result They have played in many
in the present. tournaments.
Experiences up to now.
Present Actions begun in the
I have been They have been playing tennis
perfect past which continue
playing since 2 o'clock this afternoon.
continuous today.
Finished actions at a Last Saturday Sue played in another
I played Past simple
specific time in the past. tournament.
Past At 2.45 pm they were playing the
I was playing Past continuous actions.
continuous second set.
Completed actions
Past perfect Two other people had played a
I had played before a specific time or
simple match before Amy and Sue arrived.
event in the past.
Continuous actions
I had been Past perfect At 4 pm they had been playing for 2
before a specific time or
playing continuous hours.
event in the past.
Predictions
Future Amy will win the match today.
I will play Spontaneous decisions/
simple I'll lend you my racket!
offers
I will be Future Tomorrow they will be playing in
Continuous future action
playing continuous another club.
I will have Future By September they will have played
Completed future action
played perfect ten matches.
Future Continuous future action
I will have A 5 pm Amy and Sue will have been
perfect estimated at a time in
been playing playing for 3 hours.
continuous the future.
Conditional Probable action in an
I would play I would play tennis if I had a racket.
simple imaginary situation
I would be Conditional Continuous action in an Amy would be playing tennis if you
playing continuous imaginary situation came by on Saturday afternoon.
Speculation about
I would have Conditional I would have played tennis
imaginary situations in
played perfect yesterday if you had asked me.
the past.
Conditional
I would have Continuous hypothetical I would have been playing with Sue
perfect
been playing situations. if I had won my last match.
continuous

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4 Subject-Verb Agreement

1. When the Subject (i.e. the person, thing doing the action) is SINGULAR then the verb and the
following pronouns and sometimes, the object nouns must be SINGULAR.

2. When the Subject is PLURAL then the verb and following pronouns and sometimes the object
nouns must be PLURAL.

For example:
The child puts his toy into the box. (singular)
The children put their toys into the boxes. (plural) (Each child puts his own toy into the
respective box.)

3. However, depending on the desired meaning, the following is also possible:

The children put their toy into the box. (This means that the children were playing with
one toy together and are putting it into one box.)

4. Beware of collective nouns which often take a singular verb but only when the group is behaving
as a singular entity.

For example:
The team was proud of winning the championship
Some examples of collective nouns - crew, staff, police, furniture, luggage, information.

5. The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular and,
therefore, require singular verbs. Each, too, is always singular and requires a singular verb.

For example:
Everyone has done his or her homework.
Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her work in the library.

6. Phrases such as together with, as well as, and along with are not the same as and. The phrase
introduced by as well as or along with will modify the earlier word (mayor in this case), but it
does not compound the subjects (as the word and would do).

For example:
The mayor as well as his brothers is going to prison.
The mayor and his brothers are going to jail.

7. The pronouns neither and either are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem
to be referring, in a sense, to two things.

For example:
Neither of the two traffic lights is working.
Which shirt do you want for Christmas? Either is fine with me.

In informal writing, neither and either sometimes take a plural verb when these pronouns are
followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with of. This is particularly true of interrogative
constructions: "Have either of you two clowns read the assignment?" "Are either of you taking
this seriously?"

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8. The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does): when nor or or is used the subject closer to
the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the
verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.

For example:
Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.
Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.
Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
Is either my father or my brothers responsible?

However, because a sentence like "Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house"
sounds peculiar, we usually put the plural subject closer to the verb whenever that is possible.

5 Parts of Speech

The eight parts of speech are: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions,
conjunctions and interjections.

Part of Speech Definition Examples
Verbs A word used to describe an To read, write, count, sing, jump or run.
action, state of occurrence
Noun A word used to identify School, dog, book
anything
Pronoun A word that can take the Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
place of a noun. Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us,
them
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its,
ours, theirs.
Adverb A word used to modify The boy ran quickly
adjectives or verbs He lives in an incredibly beautiful mansion.
Adjective A word to modify The beautiful scenery
nouns/pronouns The terrified boy
Preposition A word usually preceeding He jumped into the pool
a noun or pronoun The bird flew over the house
Conjunction A word used to join other Boys and girls
words together Coffee or tea
Interjection An abrupt remark/ an Oh! How could I forget!
exclamation Ah! How wonderful!

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a Prepositions

i. Time

Preposition Usage Examples
on days of the week on Monday
in months/ seasons in august/ in winter
time of day in the morning
year in 2010
after a certain period of time (when?) in an hour
at for night at night
for weekend at the weekend
a certain point of time (when?) at half past nine
since from a certain point of time (past till now) since 1980
for over a certain period of time (past till for two years
now)
ago a certain time in the past two years ago
before earlier than a certain point of time before 2010
to telling the time ten to six (5:50)
past telling the time ten past six (6:10)
to/till/until marking the beginning and end of period from Monday to/till Friday
of time
Preposition Usage Examples
till/until In the sense of how long something is He is on holiday until Friday
going to last
by In the sense of at the latest I will be back by 6 oclock
Up to a certain time By 11 oclock, I had done five
assignments

ii. Place (Position and Direction)

Preposition Usage Examples
in room, building, street, town, country in the kitchen, in London
book, paper etc. in the book
car, taxi in the car, in a taxi
picture, world in the picture, in the world
at meaning next to, by an object at the door, at the station
for table at the table
for events at a concert, at the party
place where you are to do something typical at the cinema, at school, at
(watch a film, study, work) work
on attached the picture on the wall
for a place with a river London lies on the Thames.
being on a surface on the table
for a certain side (left, right) on the left
for a floor in a house on the first floor
for public transport on the bus, on a plane
for television, radio on TV, on the radio

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Preposition Usage Examples

by, next to, left or right of somebody or something Jane is standing by / next to /
beside beside the car.
under on the ground, lower than (or covered by) the bag is under the table
something else
below lower than something else but above the fish are below the surface
ground
over covered by something else put a jacket over your shirt
meaning more than over 16 years of age
getting to the other side (also across) walk over the bridge
overcoming an obstacle climb over the wall
above higher than something else, but not directly a path above the lake
over it
across getting to the other side (also over) walk across the bridge
getting to the other side swim across the lake
through something with limits on top, bottom and drive through the tunnel
the sides
to expressing motion in the direction go to school
into enter a room / a building go into the kitchen / the house
towards movement in the direction of something go 5 steps towards the house
(but not directly to it)
onto movement to the top of something jump onto the table
from in the sense of where from a flower from the garden

iii. Other important prepositions

Preposition Usage Examples
from who gave it a present from Jane
of who/what does it belong to a page of the book
what does it show the picture of a palace
by who made it a book by Mark Twain
on walking or riding on horseback on foot, on horseback
entering a public transport vehicle get on the bus
in entering a car / Taxi get in the car
off leaving a public transport vehicle get off the train
out of leaving a car / Taxi get out of the taxi
by rise or fall of something prices have risen by 10 percent
travelling (other than walking) by car, by bus
at for age she learned Russian at 45
about for topics, meaning what about we were talking about you
Adapted from: https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions

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