Thursday, March 5, 2020
Understanding Some Common Errors In English To Avoid Them
Understanding Some Common Errors In English To Avoid Them English is a subtle language with many tricky grammatical patterns. Even a well versed person in English tends to err in English grammar and more so in the case of a common practitioner of the language. English grammar is tricky with rules and exceptions to rules. Writing English with flawless grammar is a matter of practice and it needs extended knowledge in the grammatical patterns of the language. Following are some common grammatical errors caused by misunderstandings and insufficient knowledge in English grammar Confusion in placing apostrophes Confusion in placing apostrophes is a very common error. For example, The word âItâ is a pronoun and its without apostrophe means its possession. Examples are A) The bird is beautiful. Its feathers are multi colored. B) Itâs perching on the branch of a tree. In the first sentence, the phrase âits feathersâ denotes the feathers of the bird and thus the word âitsâ (without apostrophe) denotes possession. In the second sentence, the word âitâsâ (with apostrophe) is the contraction of the words âit isâ. It denotes the action of the bird (perching). Access Online #English Tutor For Mastery Of 4 #Language #Skills http://t.co/jJ1rfCHwCI pic.twitter.com/ZWHZSDJFu3 â" Tutor Pace (@TutorPace) July 27, 2015 It is important to know where to use apostrophes. Same confusion can be felt in the next example as well. C) There are 20 students in the class. D) Many studentsâ books were lost. E) A studentâs money was also lost. In the first sentence, the word âstudents âdenotes the number (how many) of the students. So, it is just a plural noun where there is no need for any apostrophe. In the second sentence, âstudentsâ points out the meaning- books belong to students (possession). So, there is a need for using apostrophe in âstudentsâ. Third sentence contains a singular noun âstudentâ where apostrophe falls in between the letters âtâ and sâ to specify the singularity of the noun. If we misuse the apostrophe, the sentence loses its sense. Confusing pronouns Pronouns are the words used in the place of nouns. Confusing first person pronouns is a very common error found in English language usage. For example, âHe and I went for a party yesterdayâ is the correct sentence and if one uses He and me went for a party yesterdayâ, it is wrong. Same way, you should not use âHe talked to Iâ. Instead you should say âHe talked to meâ. It is because the letter I is the subject pronoun and âme is the object pronoun and they cannot be misplaced. Same way, âmyselfâ is the reflexive pronoun which should be used only for repetition as in âI patted myself for the good job doneâ. Mixing homophones Homophones are words that have similar sound patterns but are different in meaning and in most cases carry different spellings. If one changes the homophones, the entire meaning changes or there is no sense at all. When you write âbowâ in the place of âboughâ, the entire meaning is lost as in the sentence âThe hunter took the arrow and bough to hunt the deerâ- bough and bow sound the same but they differ in spelling and meaning. Bough is the branch of a tree and the other bow goes with the arrow. Similarly then denotes time and than is a comparative word. The pairs like there and their also are homophones often confused. Confusing words of quantity Countable and uncountable words are often confused by people. Examples are âA number of people attended the meeting yesterdayâ- The word ânumberâ is used, as the noun âpeopleâ is countable. âHe withdrew a large amount of money from the bankâ-the word âamountâ is used with âmoneyâ, since it is uncountable. Agreement of the verb with the subject Using plural verbs in the place of singular ones is a common error. Take the word âmathematicsâ or ânewsâ. Though they end in the letter âsâ, they are not plural in meaning. So, one should write âThe news is falseâ and âMathematics is an interesting subjectâ. Same way, collective nouns do not take plural verbs as in 1000 million dollars is a big sum. Why You Need To Focus On Your #English #Skills For Success In Your #career And Life http://t.co/4z4qVBMUNR pic.twitter.com/B6gSw2goLe â" Tutor Pace (@TutorPace) July 28, 2015 Many more errors in English usage are there. If students find them hard to fix, they can take recourse to an online English tutor who sets them right for him through customized solutions. Online English tutoring is the best bet for students who struggle in English grammar.
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