Welcome to the
English language where the rules are confusing and your understanding
of logic doesn’t matter. At least it may seem that way to newcomers.
With so many different rules, exceptions to the rules and unruly
punctuation marks, English can seem like a minefield. However, there’s
no need to stress as we’re here to help. Below you’ll find a list of
common mistakes people make and some simple tips to keep in mind to
avoid them.
1. Which or That – which is it?
This has to be one of the most common
mistakes when it comes to writing in English. At first these two words
seem interchangeable, however, they aren’t. “That” is a restrictive
pronoun meaning it is vital to the noun to which it is referring. Charlie doesn’t trust milk that isn’t from a cow.
In this example the information about “a cow” is essential to the rest
of the sentence as the meaning is changed without it. If however you
wanted to introduce non-essential qualifiers you would use the pronoun
“which”. Charlie will only drink dairy milk, which he buys from the store. If you are using “which,” you should always include a comma before
the “which”. A trick to decide whether you need “that” or “which” is to
remove the part of the sentence that comes after the pronoun (which or
that), if your sentence still makes sense, use “which.”
2. The indefinite article conundrum – “a” or “an”
Who can remember being told this
indefinite article rule when they were first learning English: always
use “an” if the next word starts with a vowel, and always use “a” if the
next word starts with a consonant. Sound familiar? Well, it’s wrong.
The actual rule works a little more like this: if the first sound of the word is a vowel sound, use “an,” if the first sound is a consonant use “a.” So if you were referring to a station in the underground, you would say an underground station. However, if you were referring to a particular uniform, you would say a uniform I saw last week. The reason is because the first sound in uniform
is a “you” sound, which is a consonant – hence “an.” Keep this in mind
the next time you find yourself wondering which indefinite article to
use.
3. There/their/they’re
These three words are homophones and all
sound the same, however, their meanings are not and if you use the wrong
one in your writing you’ll probably lose some credibility. When
selecting the right there/their/they’re, remember “there” is an adverb
and is used to draw attention to a person, place or thing, we stayed there for six days. “Their” is the possessive form of “they,” we tried to find their house. Finally “they’re” is a contraction of the words “they” and “are,” they’re not answering the phone, which can be written as they are
not answering the phone. If you’re deciding which one to use, first
think about your sentence, are you trying to show possession, where
something is, or are you contracting two words? Once you have the
answer, you’ll know which one to use.
4. Fewer or Less
Don’t believe what you read at the
supermarket checkout, the express aisle that requires 15 items or less
is grammatically incorrect. “Less” is used exclusively for unknowable
quantities, for example Jacob put in less effort this year than
last year. Whereas “fewer” is used for a knowable quantity, e.g. You
can only use the express checkout if you have 15 items or fewer. Another great example comes from a comparison between people, you can have fewer people, but can only have less of a crowd. The key is whether you can quantify what you’re talking about, if not you’re best to use “less.”
5. Your/you’re
As much as these two words seem the same
they are not. One denotes possession and the other is a contraction. If
you are trying to say someone owns an item you would use “your”. As in, I
think someone is trying to steal your poodle. If however you
would like to say that a person is doing something or is going somewhere
etc. you would use the contraction “you’re.” Please let me know if you’re interested in buying this poodle, which can also be written as, Please let me know if you are
interested in buying this poodle. Say the sentence aloud in your head,
if you are showing ownership it’s “your”, for everything else it’s
“you’re.”
6. To/too/two
These three words sound exactly the same, however, that is all they have in common. One is a preposition, another is an adverb and the other is a number.
It seems safe to assume that most people have a handle on “two,” which
is how you spell the number 2. It’s the other two that people seem to
have a problem with, the preposition (to) and the adverb (too). The
easiest way to determine whether you use “to” or “too” is to replace it
with also. If the sentence still makes sense with “also,” use “too” I will eat sushi, too, if you replace “too” with “also,” the sentence stays the same. In all other instances you would use “to.”
7. Its/it’s
This is a simple one. As we’ve encountered before, the difference between these two is that one is a contraction and the other denotes possession.
“Its” is the word you’re looking for when you want to show ownership of
something. “It’s” is a contraction of the words “it” and “is.” The
surest way to tell whether you need “its” or “it’s” is to say the
sentence in your head, could it be written as “it is?” It’s raining outside, could be It is raining outside. If it can’t be written as it is, do not use an apostrophe.
8. Lose/loose
You can lose something, but you definitely can’t loose it. Lose is a verb and usually means to no longer have something, or are unable to find it. On the other hand loose is an adjective
meaning not firm, or not tightly fixed in place. A bolt can be loose,
but it can’t be lose – unless you lose the bolt. Remember, lose that
second “o” if you have lost something.
9. Lay/lie
These two words are so easy to confuse that even English experts will get them mixed up on occasion. “Lay” is a transitive verb,
which means it requires a subject and one or more objects to be used
correctly. You would use the present form of “lay” when you have a
subject and an object e.g. I lay the carpet on the floor. The past tense form of “lay” is “laid” e.g. Last week, Tommy laid the flowers on the ground. “Lie” is an intransitive verb, meaning it does not need an object. Its present tense form is “lie” e.g. To avoid the afternoon heat the dogs lie in the shade. The past tense form of “lie” is “lay,” e.g. Yesterday the man lay on his bed. Try to avoid using “laid” when you actually mean “lay.”
10. Irony and Coincidence
If you think a situation is ironic, don’t,
because the chances are it’s probably a coincidence. That’s worth
repeating, if you think a situation is ironic, chances are it’s a
coincidence and not ironic. A coincidence is a series of events that
seem planned or related but only occur as a result of chance. Let’s say
for example, you had a friend called Vicky who moved from Vietnam to
England and met the love of her life in England who had also moved from
Vietnam, this would be a coincidence, not ironic. If
however, your friend Vicky moved from Vietnam to England to get away
from Vietnamese men, but ended up meeting and falling in love with a
Vietnamese man in England, this would be ironic. An ironic situation occurs when events unfold in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected.
11. Practice your spelling
One of the hardest aspects of mastering
the English language is the spelling. Unlike most other languages, a lot
of the words are not spelled phonetically, and plenty violate the
rules. Like the famous “i” before “e” except after “c” rule. But even
this rule doesn’t always apply, in fact there are more exceptions to
this rule than followers, for example words like weigh and sleigh
don’t follow. That’s not to say the rules aren’t helpful, they are,
they’re just better to be used as a guide. In fact the best way to
master your English spelling is to practice. Practice
everyday, have a dictionary with you and anytime you’re unsure how to
spell a word, look it up. The act of looking it up will reinforce the
correct spelling in your mind.
Source: everjobs.com.bd/
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