COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH IV

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH  IV

A lot of people believe that the only kinds of mistakes that they can commit while using a language are the grammatical ones. But, it's not true.  


I'll give you an example. You may be familiar with the word, 'condolence' (which is usually used in plural). When someone passes away, we offer our condolences to the near and dear ones of the deceased. But, recently, I saw someone write "Condolences to Ms. XYZ for passing away!" in a Whatsapp group. Since, Ms. XYZ was the person who had passed away, you can understand how stupid the message was. But, if you regard grammar as just a set of rules, the message isn't really wrong structurally. So, you see you can commit mistakes which may not be based on grammar. Let me cite another instance where grammar does not really play a role in making the utterance inaccurate. I am sure that you are familiar with the expression, 'strong coffee' (even if you do not like having it). We also know that the word, 'powerful', is a synonym for 'strong'. Does it give us the liberty to form the expression, 'powerful coffee'? NO😁😁😁😁😁😁!
I hope I have made myself clear. I thought it was important to talk about it. Many people believe that grammar will solve all their problems. It is not so. There are things that are beyond grammar. Anyhow, let's see what we have in store for today. 

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12. She went to home. ❌❌❌❌

The correct version would be "She went home." ✅✅✅✅✅
But, why is it incorrect? Well, remember, there are some verbs which refer to physical movement (e.g. go, arrive). If you use such a verb in a sentence, you are not supposed to use a preposition before 'home'. That's why, the following sentence is inaccurate.

"When I arrived at home, I found the door ajar."  ❌❌❌❌

It should be

"When I arrived home, I found the door ajar." ✅✅✅✅✅

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay 

But, the sentence, "I feel at home in our new office."  is correct. Why? 

It is because "feel" does not refer to physical movement. I hope you get my point. 

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

13.  Use of Articles ('a' and 'an') before Abbreviations: 

"He is studying for a M. Sc. in Physics." ❌❌ 

But, what is wrong with the preceding sentence. Well, we use 'an' before an abbreviation or letter beginning with a vowel sound. 

Thus, "He is studying for an M. Sc. in Physics." ✅✅ is correct. 

It also means "an HB pencil", "an RAF pilot", "an SMS" are correct expressions. ✅✅✅✅✅ 

Image by Holger Schué from Pixabay 

14. Use of "... between ... to ... ": I'll keep it simple. I have noticed that many people have the tendency to produce sentences such as the following one. 
"There are between 15 to 25 cars stuck in traffic." ❌❌❌❌

The correct version would be

"There are between 15 and 25 cars stuck in traffic."  ✅✅✅✅✅

Remember, we use 'and' after 'between'.

But, if you are really in love with 'to', 😁😁😁😁😁😁 you can use 'from' in place of 'between'. 

Thus, the following sentence is also correct.

"There are from 15 to 25 cars stuck in traffic."  ✅✅✅✅✅

Today's lesson was easy. Right? Do tell me if you learnt something new. And, yeah... one more thing. Make sure you follow my blog to get notifications instantly. 

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Until next time, this is RB, signing off.

© RB 

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH I

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH II

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH III