COMMON MISTAKES

COMMON MISTAKES
• There's somebody on the phone. He must be Sam. X
There's somebody on the phone . It must be Sam. 
• She earns a lot more than I. X
She earns a lot more than me. 
She earns a lot more than I do.
• The ball hit him on his head. X
The ball hit him on the head. 
• Don't sit on that chair. One of it's legs is broken. X
Don't sit on that chair. One of its legs is broken. 
• This car is my brother's-in-law. X
This car is my brother-in-law's.
• Those are Ben and Tim's bicycles. X
Those are Ben's and Tim's bicycles.
• Relax yourself and put your feet up. X
Relax and put your feet up. 
• I have rarely met someone as polite as Greg. X
I have rarely met anyone as polite as Greg. 
• The girl was wearing a bracelet on every wrist. X
The girl was wearing a bracelet on each wrist. 
• I've seen nearly each film he has directed. X
I've seen nearly every film he has directed. 
• They all have been to France before. X
They have all been to France before. 
• We spent the all week lying on the beach. X
We spent all week lying on the beach. 
We spent the whole week lying on the beach. 
• She seems to be talking on the telephone the whole time. X
She seems to be talking on the telephone all the time. 
• There isn't nothing in the fridge. It's empty. X
There isn't anything in the fridge. It's empty. 
There is nothing in the fridge. It's empty. 
• The womens' department is on the second floor. X
The women's department is on the second floor. 
• All my friends bicycles are better than mine. X
All my friends' bicycles are better than mine. 
• The phone book is right in front of yourself. X
The phone book is right in front of you. 
• We have very few milk left. We need to buy some. X
We have very little milk left. We need to buy some. 
• You can buy a sports car or a jeep. Either cars are fine with me. X
You can buy a sports car or a jeep. Either car is fine with me. 
• Where have you put the others bags? X
Where have you put the other bags? 
Explanatiıon:
 He ….. ( We use it when we identify someone.)
 …….than I. (We do not use a personal pronoun alone after than.)
 …..his head. (We use the when talking about things at happen to parts of people's bodies.)
 It's ... (We use its as the possessive adjective.)
 brother's-in-law ... (Compound noun – brother-in-law's.)
 ……Ben and Tim's bicycles ... (We use 's after each rne to show individual possession.)
 …….Relax yourself ... (We do not use reflexive pronouns with relax.)
 rarely... someone... ( Any and its compounds are used with rarely.)
 ... every wrist. (We use each when we talk about two people or things.)
 ... nearly each ... (We use every with nearly.)
 ... all have been ... {All goes after the auxiliary verb but before the main verb.)
 ... the all week... (The whole week.)
 ... the whole time ... (We don't use whole with uncountable nouns.)
 ... isn't nothing ... (We don't use no and its comp¬ounds with a negative verb.)
 ... womens' department ... (We use 's after plural nouns not ending in -s.)
 ... my friends bicycles... (We use' after plural nouns ending in -s.)
 ... in front of yourself. (We do not use reflexive pronouns after prepositions of place.)
 ... very few milk ... (We use Me with uncountable nouns.) .. .
 Either cars are ... {Either is followed by a singular countable noun.
 ... the others bags? (When other is used with a noun, it has no plural form.)
 Correct the mistakes.
1 We can watch the comedy or the thriller. Either films is fine with me.
2 I have very few time. You'd better make it quick
3 The childrens' area is run by experienced staff
4 There isn't nothing good on television this evening
5 The boy had a cut on every knee.
6 We have rarely been somewhere as beautiful as this
7 He works a lot harder than I.
8 What have you told the others staff?
9 The cupboard was right next to himself.

10 Don't drink the whole lemonade by yourself. Offer some to your friends.
11 She spent all the day talking to customers.
12 We all have been invited to Samantha's party.
13 The teacher patted her on her head.
14 That dog is hurt. One of it's paws is bleeding.
15 These are Jane and Claire's school bags.
16 All my clients files are on the desk.
17 I've visited nearly each house on this list.
18 This jacket is my father's-in-law.
19 There's someone here to see you. She must be your sister.
20 Feel yourself free to ask any question you like
Answer: 1 We can watch the comedy or the thriller. Either film is fine with me.
2 I have very little time. You'd better make it quick.
3 The children's area is run by experienced staff.
4 There isn't anything/is nothing good on television this evening.
5 The boy had a cut on each knee.
6 We have rarely been anywhere as beautiful as this.
7 He works a lot harder than me7 I do.
8 What have you told the other staff?
9 the cupboard was right next to him.
10 Don't drink all the lemonade by yourseif. Offer some to your friends.
11 She spent all day/the whole day taflcing to customers.
12 We have all been invited to Samantha's party.
13 The teacher patted her on the head.
14 That dog is hurt. One of its paws is bleeding.
15 These are Jane's and Claire's school bags.
16 All my clients'/client's files are on the desk.
17 I've visited nearly every house on this list.
18 This jacket is my father-in-law's.
19 There's someone here to see you. It must be your sister.
20 Feel free to ask any question you like.

 Cross out the unnecessary word.
1 The teacher wants all of students to participate in the concert at the end of term.
2 She concentrated herself on the exam questions.
3 Neither of the coach nor the players were happy with their performance in the game.
4 They spent the all morning looking for a place to their tent.
5 Please,don't hesitate to call any one time you want
6 There it seems to be something wrong with the system.
7 Every one citizen has to pay taxes.
8 John's sister she got engaged to a young doctor last week.
9 There she is a woman at the door. It's our new neighbour.
10 These jumpers are quite expensive, but the others ones are cheap.
11 Some people enjoy playing golf, while others people find it very boring.
12 She bought a lots of decorations for the party
13 The meeting was attended by a very few people, and as a result no important decisions were made
14 If anyone person reveals anything to the press , they will be fired.
Answer: 1 of 6 it 11 people
2 herself 7 one 12 a
3 of 8 she 13 a
4 the 9 she 14 person
5 one to ones





Common errors 1
What's the difference between you're and your?
• I hope you're well.
• Don't forget your coat.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/your.html
What's the difference between it's and its?
• It's my coat.
• The dog buried its bone.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/its.html
What's the difference between who's and whose?
• Who's your best friend?
• Whose coat is this?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/who's.html
What's the difference between they're and there and their?
• They're good friends.
• There are some biscuits in the fridge.
• Their coats are the same colour.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/their.html
All links to Paul Brian's Common Errors in English .
All of these questions involve apostrophes (see archive/punctuation).
To see many examples of these structures, see the Web Concordancer.
In the 'search string' field type in you're, your, it's, its, who's, whose, they're, there or their. Select any corpus in the 'select corpus' field, and then click on the 'search for concordances' button.

Common errors 2

more common errors
grammar game
Back to Index

What's the difference between affect and effect?
• I'm pleased to say that the changes don't affect us.
• The effect of the drought on the economy is very serious.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/affect.html
What's the difference between bare and bear?
• The cupboard is bare.
• I don't know how you can bear to live here.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/bare.html
What's the difference between continual and continuous?
• The complaints about that teacher are continual.
• There was continuous snow for a fortnight?.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/continual.html
What's the difference between advice and advise?
• I gave them some advice.
• Could you advise us on a souvenir to buy?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/advice.html
Please note, that practice/practise and device/devise follow the same rules as the previous example.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/practice.html
What's the difference between lose and loose?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/lose.html
• Don't lose the map or we'll never get there.
• It is best to wear loose-fitting clothes in summer.
What's the difference between passed and past?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/passed.html
• When we were on holiday the time passed very quickly.
• He went past so quickly that we didn't recognise him.
What's the difference between principal and principle?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/principal.html
• The principal cause of his troubles is his laziness.
• It is a matter of principle.
What's the difference between quiet and quite?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/quiet.html
• You must be absolutely quiet during the examination.
• It was quite a long time until the train came.
What's the difference between stationary and stationery?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/stationary.html
• The cars were stationary for almost an hour before the traffic jam began to clear.
• Pens, paper, staplers and paper clips are all types of stationery.
What's the difference between weather and whether?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/weather.html
• We had beautiful sunny weather all week.
• I don't know whether I'll go to the party or not.
All links to Paul Brian's Common Errors in English .
To see many examples of the use of these commonly confused words, see the Web Concordancer.
Type any of the words in the 'search string' field, select any corpus in the 'select corpus' field, and then click on the 'search for concordances' button.