COMMON ERRORS IN WRITING AND

SPEAKING ENLISH
ADVANCED ENGLISH GRAMMER
Common erros identification in parts of Speech
 Words can function as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions,
pronouns, prepositions or interjections
 Most common errors made in students' written work involve incorrect word
formation
 There is often confusion between noun, adjective, adverb and verb forms
 It is important to know the function of words in a sentence in order to use
them correctly
 A good quality dictionary
will clearly show the various forms of a word and give examples.
ADVANCED ENGLISH GRAMMER
Many English words can have several forms

Examples:
 research can be either a verb or a noun, but has no adjectival or adverbial
forms.
 simple is an adjective. It has an adverbial form, simply, a noun form,
simplicity, and a verb form, simplify.
 success is a noun, but it also has adjectival, adverbial and verb forms:
successful (adj), successfully (adv) and succeed(v).
 regularly is an adverb, but it also has noun, verb and adjectival forms:
regulation (n), regulate (v) and regular (adj)
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
1. Noun/verb confusion

 A noun defines or names something. A verb expresses an action, something that

happens or occurs, or a mode of being
 Some nouns and verbs share the same form (e.g. project, record), but usually they
are different
 Many nouns end in 'tion' or 'cion', 'ment' or 'ing'. Verb forms vary according
mainly to person, number and tense; they can also be active or passive.
 Examples of noun/verb confusion:
 The group were able to identity the most serious academic problem
(Incorrect use of noun: should be the verb form, identify)
 At present, there is a lot of compete for good jobs
(Incorrect use of verb: should be the noun form, competition)

Note: incorrect items are in italic font. Correct sentences with correct items in bold font
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
2. Noun/adjective confusion

 A noun defines or names something. An adjective qualifies or tells us more about a

noun or pronoun: it can be regular, comparative or superlative
 In a sentence, the qualifying adjective usually comes directly before the noun or
noun
phrase.
 Examples of noun/adjective confusion:
 As the members were aged from 15 to 55, it was a difficulty task to design a game
(Incorrect use of noun: should be the adjectival form, difficult)
 The company demonstrated a great deal of successful in developing clients
(Incorrect use of adjective: should be the noun form, success)
 The important of the case was emphasised
(Incorrect use of adjective: should be the noun form, importance)
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
3. Adjective/adverb confusion

 An adjective is a word that qualifies or tells us more about a noun or pronoun. An

adverb is a word that qualifies or tells us more about a verb (he studies diligently),
or sometimes an adjective (an extremely expensive suit) or another
adverb (she walked very slowly)
 Many adverbs end in 'ly'.
 Examples of adjective/adverb confusion:
 A good business person should be proactively
(Incorrect use of adverb: should be the adjectival form, proactive.)
 She ready agreed to give her presentation
(Incorrect use of adjective: should be the adverbial form, readily.)
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
4. Confusion with gerund or other noun forms

 Nouns based on verbs can end in either 'ing' (the gerund) or another ending such
as 'tion' or 'ment‘
 If there is an object in the sentence, the gerund form is usually correct
 Examples of gerund and other noun form confusion:
 Development a high quality product is of paramount importance.
(Developing a high quality product is of paramount importance.)
 Manufacture clothing in China is very cost effective.
(Manufacturing clothing in China is very cost effective)
If there is no object in the sentence, the alternative to the gerund is usually used.
 Developing is of paramount importance.
(Development is of paramount importance)
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
5. Confusion with different forms of same root noun

 Nouns may have different forms, usually with slightly different meanings, which
can be confusing.
 Examples:
 She decided to move into a new flat to start a new living.
(She decided to move into a new flat to start a new life.)

(The first sentence has a gerund meaning ' means of earning' or 'way of life' instead
of the correct noun form meaning 'existence'.)
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
6. Confusion with pronoun form

 A pronoun is an identifying word used instead of a noun

 Personal pronouns, in English, are I, you, he/she/it, we, you
(plural), and they
 Possessive pronouns are my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
 Personal and possessive pronouns are sometimes confused. If a pronoun refers to a
noun used previously, singular/plural agreement may be incorrect.
 Examples of incorrect pronoun forms:
 All employees have been notified that their are to be made redundant.
(All employees have been notified that they are to be made redundant.)
 The MD has seen the contracts and he wants it substantially altered.
(The MD has seen the contracts and he wants them substantially altered.)
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
7. Confusion with adjective form

a) adjectives ending in ED and ING

 Some adjectives are actually participles (verb forms with -ing and -ed endings).
They can be confusing or you can be confused.
 Generally, the -ed ending means that the noun so described has a passive role: you
are confused by something (the subject matter, the way it is presented, etc.)
 The -ed ending modifiers are often accompanied by prepositions and often
describe the human reaction to something
 The -ing ending means that the noun described has a more active role: if the help
pages do not seem to clarify the point, they are confusing (to you and others).
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
 Correct Examples:
 I am confused about the new fire drill arrangements.
 A number of confusing messages were left by the I.T. Department.
 My parents were disappointed by my poor achievement.
 The rainy weather was disappointing.
 That was a very satisfying meal.
 The review panel were very satisfied with the new online course.
 The Committee are all excited about the new project.
 The new project is very exciting.
 I am never bored in my free time.
 My free time is never boring.
Common errors identification in parts of Speech
b) Omission of 'd' in adjectives ending in 'ed'

Examples:
 Our Company uses the most advance technology.
(Our Company uses the most advanced technology)
 Detail information is required from candidates.
(Detailed information is required from candidates.)

Note: Refer “Rules For Identifying errors.docx”

Use of verbs and phrasal verbs
Phrasal verbs
 Phrasal verbs are phrases that indicate actions.
 Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a preposition or an adverb
 One verb may take on a different meaning when used with other adverbs or
prepositions
 Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a preposition or an adverb
 Sometimes phrasal verbs consist of three elements
Verb Preposition/adverb Preposition / Preposition /
Verb
get up adverb 1 adverb 2
go through look forward to
write down put up with
take after sit in for
Use of verbs and phrasal verbs
 When added to the verb the preposition or adverb may change completely the
meaning of the verb
 Here are some examples:

Phrasal verb Meaning Example

look for search/seek He is looking for his keys
look up to have a great deal of respect for a His father is his model. He is the
person person he looks up to.
look forward to await eagerly/anticipate with She is looking forward to visiting
pleasure Paris.
look up to try to find a piece of information She didn't understand the word. So
by looking in a book or on a she looked it up in her dictionary
computer:
Use of verbs and phrasal verbs
Breakable/Separable Phrasal verb
1.Sometimes, the preposition/adverb is placed either after the verb or after the
object.
Examples:
 Mary made up a really entertaining story.
 Mary made the story up.
2. If the object is a pronoun, however, the preposition/adverb has to be placed after
the pronoun (object).
Examples:
 She made it up.
 Put it down.
 Take it off.
Use of verbs and phrasal verbs
Examples: ‘call off,’ ‘do over,’ ‘hold on,’ ‘find out,’ ‘go away,’ ‘hold up,’ ‘leave out,’ ‘look
over,’ ‘make up,’ ‘pick out,’ and ‘hang up.’

Inseparable Phrasal verb

Some phrasal verbs are always inseparable, because it does not give the intended
meaning
Example:
 I came across some old photos in a drawer.
(I came some old photos across in a drawer.)  Wrong sentence
 The mother ‘calls on’ her children
(The mother calls her children on)  Wrong sentence
Other Examples: ‘go over,’ ‘go through’ ‘run into’, ‘wait on’, and ‘run across’
Use of verbs and phrasal verbs
 Some phrasal verbs contain three parts
Examples: ‘come up with’, ‘cut down on’, and ‘drop out of’

 A category of phrasal verbs called ‘intransitive phrasal verbs’ do not use objects
Example is ‘catch on’.
Auxiliary verbs and their forms
 An auxiliary verb (or a helping verb as it's also called) is used with a main verb to
help express the main verb's tense, mood, or voice
 The main auxiliary verbs are to be, to have, and to do. They appear in the following
forms:
 To Be: am, is, are, was, were, being, been, will be
 To Have: has, have, had, having, will have
 To Do: does, do, did, will do
 There is another kind of auxiliary verb called a modal auxiliary verb (or
modal verb).
 The modal auxiliary verbs are can, could, may, might, must, ought
to, shall, should, will, and
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Tense
In these examples, the main verbs are in bold and the auxiliary verbs are
underlined
(a) She was waiting for an hour.
She is waiting in the hall.
She will be waiting outside.
(In each of these examples, the auxiliary verb of form”to be” helps to form the progressive
tense, which is the tense used for ongoing actions.)

(b) She had drunk it before we arrived.

She has drunk it already.
She will have drunk it by then.
(In each of these examples, the auxiliary verb of form ”to have” helps to form the perfect
tense, which is the tense used for expressing an action's completion.)
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Tense
(c) She had been studying before the incident.
She has been studying.
She will have been studying for a month at that point.

(In each of these examples, the auxiliary verbs ”have and been” help to form the perfect
progressive tense, which is the tense used for expressing an ongoing action's completion.)
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Voice
In these examples, the main verbs are in bold and the auxiliary verbs are
underlined

 Our dessert was eaten by the dog.

 The geese are driven through the snicket.
 The phone will be disconnected tomorrow.

(In these examples, the auxiliary verb of the form “to be” helps to form the passive voice.
A verb is said to be in the passive voice when its subject does not perform the action of the
verb but has the action done to it.)
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Mood
In these examples, the main verbs are in bold and the auxiliary verbs are
underlined

 Did you win?

(Here, the auxiliary verb of the form “to do” is used to form the interrogative mood, i.e., to ask
a question.)

 Don't forget your wallet.

(Here, the auxiliary verb of the form “to do” (in its negative form) is used to form the
imperative mood, i.e., to give an order.)
Subject verb agreement (Concord rules)
 Basic Rule: A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes,
shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb (are, go, shine).
Example: The list of items is/are on the desk.
(If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.)

Exceptions to the Basic rule:

a. The first person pronoun ”I” takes a plural verb (I go, I drive).
b. The basic form of the verb is used after certain main verbs such as watch, see, hear,
feel, help, let, and make. (He watched Ronaldo score the winning goal).

Note: The rules for making singular verbs plural are:

Singular verbs : add -s or -es (he bakes, she walks, Michele washes)
Plural verbs : don't add -s or -es (they bake, we walk, the Hamiltons wash)
Subject verb agreement (Concord rules)
 Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with ”of”
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color to the room.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends color to the room.
(bouquet lends, not roses lend)

 Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a

singular verb
Examples:
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.
Subject verb agreement (Concord rules)
 Rule 3. The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or
pronoun closest to it.
Examples:
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.

 Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are
connected by ”and”.
Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.

Exceptions: In below sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are
compound nouns.
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.
Subject verb agreement (Concord rules)
 Rule 5a. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as ”along
with, as well as, besides, not,” etc. These words and phrases are not part of the
subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.

 Rule 5b. Parentheses are not part of the subject.

Example: Joe (and his trusty mutt) was always welcome.
Subject verb agreement (Concord rules)
 Rule 6. In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb.
Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.
Here are the keys.

 Rule 7. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc.,
when considered as a unit.
Examples:
Three miles is too far to walk.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
BUT
Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.
Subject verb agreement (Concord rules)
 Rule 8a. With words that indicate portions—e.g., a lot, a majority, some, all—Rule
1 given earlier in this section is reversed, and we are guided by the noun after of. If
the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.
Examples:
A lot of the pie has disappeared.
A lot of the pies have disappeared.
Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.
Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared.
A third of the city is unemployed.
A third of the people are unemployed.
All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
Subject verb agreement (Concord rules)
 Rule 8b. With collective nouns such as group, jury, family, audience, population,
the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent.
Examples:
All of my family has arrived OR have arrived.
Most of the jury is here OR are here.
A third of the population was not in favor OR were not in favor of the bill.

 Rule 9. The word ”were” replaces ”was” in sentences that express a wish or are
contrary to fact:
Examples:
If Joe were here, you'd be sorry.
I wish it were Friday.
She requested that he raise his hand.
The foreman demanded that Joe wear safety goggles.
Common errors in Subject verb agreement
 Mistake 1: When there is more than one noun before the verb, you make the verb
agree with the wrong one.

Example:
The characters in this extremely modern version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth are
no longer believable.

(In the following sentences, all of the nouns are in bold. Select the noun that agrees
with the verb.)

(It is the characters who are no longer believable, not the version or Shakespeare
or Macbeth. Therefore, characters is the head noun.)
Common errors in Subject verb agreement
 Mistake 2: You make mistakes when there is more than one head noun joined by
words like and, or, nor.

Note : Two singular head nouns linked by ”and” take a plural verb.
Examples: Chelsea and Mariza own a racehorse.
Both Greece and Ukraine have won the Eurovision Song Contest

Note: But two singular head nouns linked by ”or / nor” take a singular verb
Examples: Either Chelsea or Mariza owns the grey car.
Neither Greece nor Ukraine has won the Eurovision Song Contest as
many times as the Netherlands.
Common errors in Subject verb agreement
 Mistake 3: You don't know what to do with some types of pronouns.
Example: Each of the compartments contains several liters of water.
Note: The head here is the pronoun each, which is a singular pronoun. ('Each of the
compartments' means 'each one of the compartments.) So each always takes a
singular verb. The verb should be contains.

 Mistake 4: You don't know what to do with collective nouns.

Examples:
(1) The committee have circulated the proposal amongst their members.
(The first sentence draws attention to the individual members of the committee, that
is, to the fact that there are a number of individuals involved.)
(2) The committee has met and has rejected the proposal.
(This sentence is correct. The second sentence focuses on the committee as a single
entity, acting as one.)
Common errors in Subject verb agreement
 Mistake 5: You are confused by words that look plural but are ALWAYS singular.

Singular subjects looks like plural – robotics, mathematics, physics, news, forensics,
economics
Example: Nowadays robotics is having lot of scope

 Mistake 6: You make plurals of some words that are only ever singular.

Words like evidence, knowledge, information and research occur commonly in

academic writing. These words never take a plural s. They are always singular and the
verb is therefore always singular too.

Example: The knowledge is power

Noun pronoun agreement
 In the parts of speech lesson, you learned that a pronoun replaces a noun.
Sometimes a pronoun won’t have a noun that it refers to, like the “you”

(1) Singular Noun, Singular Pronoun:

 When writing a sentence, using the same word more than once can get
repetitive.
 Example: Francine edited her paper because her paper was full of errors.

Rather than repeating "paper" twice, it is possible to use a pronoun.

Revision: Francine edited her paper because it was full of errors.
(Since "paper" is singular (there is only one), use a singular pronoun ("it") to
replace it.)
Noun pronoun agreement
(2) Singular "They“ :
 "they" used to correspond to singular subjects in an effort to avoid gendered
pronouns.
 Example:
Original sentence: A teacher should carefully choose professional development
opportunities that address her gaps in knowledge.

Revised sentence: Teachers should carefully choose professional development

opportunities that address their gaps in knowledge.
Noun pronoun agreement
(3) Plural Noun, Plural Pronoun:
When the subject of the sentence is plural, the pronoun in the sentence becomes
plural as well.

 Example: When students arrive on the first day of school, students need help
finding the right classroom (Since "students" is plural, use a plural pronoun to
replace it.)
 Revision: When students arrive on the first day of school, they need help finding
the right classroom.
Noun pronoun agreement
(4) Pronoun Ambiguity

Example:

When Jeff and Brian joined the team members, they were scared.
(The pronoun here ("they") is unclear--to whom does it refer? Was the team scared? Were Jeff
and Brian scared? In this example, because the pronoun "they" is ambiguous, choosing a
noun rather than a pronoun will help with clarity)

Revision: When Jeff and Brian joined the team members, the team members were
scared.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
Sequence of Tenses:

 In order to use these tenses correctly and meaningfully,

one must remember to follow a couple of rules
 The rules that govern the usage of tenses are known as
Sequence of Tenses or Agreement of Tenses.
 Tenses are verbs that describe when an event, action
or condition has occurred. There are three types of
tenses based on the time:
 Past Tense
 Present Tense
 Future Tense
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
 The sequence of the tenses must be kept in mind
 This is a rule that states that the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause, follows
the tense of the verb in the main clause according to the rules discussed in further
slides.
 A Principal or main Clause is an independent clause which can exist even without a
subordinate clause
 A Subordinate Clause is called a dependent clause because it cannot exist without
the help of the principal clause.
 Main clauses have a subject and verb and can stand on their own
 Subordinate clauses begin with a conjunction and therefore cannot stand on their
own.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
 Here are some examples of main clauses:
He did not want to know the content of the letter.
Ashley often thought about her grandparents.
 Here are some examples of subordinate clauses:
Although I only started last week
That Dave had been late to school
 Main clauses have a subject and verb and can stand on their own
 Subordinate clauses begin with a conjunction and therefore cannot stand on their
own.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
Rules for Sequence of Tenses
 This is a rule that states that the tense of the verb in the subordinate clause, follows
the tense of the verb in the main clause according to the rules below.
There are Two Major Rules:
 Rule 1: If there is a use of Past Tense in the Principal Clause, it must be followed
by a Past Tense in the Subordinate Clause.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
 Rule 2: A Present or Future Tense in the Principal Clause might be followed
by any tense required by the sense to convey in the Subordinate Clause.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
Some Other Rules. The Following Are the Other Rules That Also Need to
Be Kept in Mind.

 Rule 3 (Exception to Rule 1) : - A Past Tense in the Principal Clause might be

followed by a Present tense in the Subordinate Clause when the Subordinate
clause expresses some daily habit of a universal fact in a sentence.
 Examples:
 The teacher taught us that the sun rises from the east.
 The king said that all humans are mortal.
 He learned from his failure that pride has a fall
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
 Rule 4: When the Subordinate Clause is introduced by a Conjunction of
comparison, e.g. then, Rule 1 does not apply here as any tense can be followed by
any tense.

 If the comparison is displayed by ‘as well as’ instead of ‘then’, the same rule holds
intact. Any tense may be followed by any tense, according to the context intended by
the speaker.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
 Rule 5: If the Verb in the Principal Clause is used with the past tense, the
Verb in the Subordinate Clause must be expressed by ' might' (Past Tense).

 He worked hard that he might win the tournament.

 He was working hard that he might win the tournament.
 He had worked hard that he might win the tournament.
 He had been working hard that he might win the tournament.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
 Rule 6: When phrases like as if, with that, what if, it is time are used, the
sentences are always in the past tense.

 I wish I could eat another pizza.

 They stared at me as if I were crazy.
Sequences of tenses and error identification in
tenses
Error finding in tenses with examples:

1) After you will return from Mumbai I will come to meet you.
(After you will return from Mumbai I will come to meet you.)
{Expl: Remove will, because don’t use will, after “after” time clause}
2) My father has left for Bombay last Saturday
(My father has left for Bombay last Saturday)
{Expl: It is mentioned that activity is of last Saturday hence remove “has”}
3) I used to study till 10 PM and then I go to bed.
(I used to study till 10 PM and then I go to bed.)
{Expl: “used to” tells about past action, hence replace “go” with “went”}
Verbal Analogy
 In general, an analogy is a similarity that is drawn between two different, but
sufficiently similar events, situations, or circumstances
 A verbal analogy draws a similarity between one pair of words and another
pair of words
 The student must find a words that has the same relationship to the word as the
first pair
 For example: fire is to hot, as ice is to cold
 In order to know well in analogies, the first thing to be done is to 'find the
relationship between the pair'
Verbal Analogy
 There are a lot of different relationships that can exist in a pair; for example:
1. Part and Whole
2. Smaller and bigger
3. Coming before and after
4. A leads to B
5. A lacks to B
6. B is a sign /symbol of A
7. A is a type of B
8. A is a tool of doing B
 Examples:
1. Fruit: orange - orange is a type of fruit.
2. Doctor: hospital - doctor works in a hospital
Verbal Analogy
Questions:

1) PALATE : MOUTH ::

A) rainbow : sky (D) Palate is the roof of the mouth; ceiling

is the roof of the room
B) rivulet: dam

C) hill: range

D) ceiling : room
Verbal Analogy
Questions:

2) REFLECTION: LIGHT::

(B) A reflection is the return of light to its

A) movie : scene source; an echo is the return of sound to
its source
B) echo : sound

C) sentiment: feeling

D) iris : sight
Confused and misused words