COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH (PART 2)

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH

In the previous write-up, I dealt with 5 common errors (Common Errors in English I). Today, I'm going to do the same. 

So, without further ado, let's begin.

6. Use of 'suggest' with an indirect object: 

I'm sure that 9 out of 10 people would say that the following sentence is grammatically correct:

"Could you please suggest me a book on English grammar?"

Why is it incorrect? And, more importantly, how exactly is it incorrect?

Well, remember whenever you use two objects in a sentence where the main verb is 'suggest', you need to use the preposition, 'to', with the indirect object. 

So, the correct version would be:

"Could you please suggest to me a book on English grammar?"


Interestingly, many people get uncomfortable with the addition of 'to'. I guess it's because there are other occasions when we do not use 'to' with 'suggest'. 

For example,
a. She suggested meeting me at the restaurant. 

b. She suggested that I should meet her at the restaurant. 

(Neither of the preceding examples has two objects.)

7. Using 'good in' instead of 'good at': I have lost count of the number of people who make this mistake. 

The following sentence is grammatically inaccurate.

"She is good (/bad) in Mathematics." 

It should be "She is good (/bad) at Mathematics."

Remember, we use 'good/bad + at' to talk about things we do well or badly. 

8. According to: In presentations, many students use the expression, 'according to me', in order to refer to their perspective on a topic. 

But, remember that we use it to refer to another person's opinion or statement, not our own. 

So, instead of using 'according to me', you can use 'in my opinion' (/As far as I am concerned,...)

• According to me, each and every person is a passive smoker. 
• In my opinion, each and every person is a passive smoker. 

 9. Incorrect Sequence of Adverbials of the  Same Type: Just have a look at the following sentences. 

a. She stays near College Street in a hostel. 
b. He is coming back next week on Thursday or Friday.

You know why these sentences are grammatically inaccurate!

Whenever, there are two adverbials of the same type (e.g. place + place) at the end of a sentence, the one which defines the other goes last. 
So, where is the hostel? Near College Street. 

Thus, those sentences should be rewritten in the following manner: 

c. She stays in a hostel near College Street.
d. He is coming back on Thursday or Friday next week. 

10. Confess:  The following sentence is incorrect. 

He confessed his crime. 

Why? It is because we use the preposition, 'to', with 'confess'. 

So, the correct sentence would be 
'He confessed to his crime.' Of course, you can also say "He confessed that he had committed the crime." 



You can buy COMMON ERRORS IN EVERYDAY ENGLISH (OUP) online. It's available on Amazon. Let me give you the link. 



That’s it for today. I'll be back with the third write-

up on Common Errors in English soon. 


Until next time, this is RB, signing off.

© RB