Category: Common Errors

Read the following sentences: It’s been a beautiful day. He’ll tell you about its smell. What’s the difference between ‘it’s’ and ‘its’ in these two sentences? In the first case, ‘it’s’ is short for the verb combination ‘it is’ in the sentence ‘It’s been a beautiful day. In Read More …

Enough can be used as an adjective, adverb or exclamation in English. Pay careful attention to the placement of ‘enough’ explained below. Enough Adjective / Adverb + Enough When enough modifies an adjective or an adverb place enough after the adjective / adverb: Examples: Do you Read More …

No dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED. However, in a recent linguistic conference held in London, England, and attended by some of the best linguists in the world: Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese, was Read More …

Use “a lot of” before nouns. “A lot of” + noun means a large quantity or a high number. “A lot of” can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. There were a lot of students in the classroom. I drank a Read More …

The letters C and G have two pronunciations – “hard” and “soft.” The pronunciation depends on the letter that comes after the C or G. This photo shows you the general rule (but there are exceptions!)

All writers strew less-than-perfect turns of phrase in their first drafts, unnecessary words and phrases that slow down writing. Here are five stylistic flaws that can be eliminated in revision. 1. Unnecessary prepositional phrases EXAMPLE: After all my hard work, the Read More …

Two frequently confused expressions are “to run the gamut” and “to run the gauntlet.” Gamut originated as a medieval musical term. The word is still used to mean “the full range of notes that a voice or instrument can produce.” Figuratively, gamut means Read More …

The error known as a “misplaced modifier” often results in hilarious images. Some of these errors, whether originating in actual writing or invented by clever English teachers, have achieved classical status and are quoted on numerous websites. Here are five Read More …

Expressions of quantity are placed before nouns and express ‘how much’ or ‘how many’ of something exists. Some expressions of quantity are only used with Noncountable (uncountable) nouns, others are only used with Countable (countable) nouns. Some expressions of quantity Read More …

If you want to write clear, correct English, you certainly need to pay attention to the grammar rules. To help you with that, we created a list with 30 common grammar mistakes you should avoid. Enjoy! Mistake 1: Using whom as a Read More …