muhamedr
19-02-2011, 01:01 PM
Most Annoying Grammar Mistakes in English
1. Third conditional
"If I would have known about the party, I would have gone to it."
This is INCORRECT, although commonly used, especially in American English.
The correct form is:
If + had + past participle, would + have + past participle
* "If I had known about the party, I would have gone."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Don't vs Doesn’t
"He don’t care about me anymore."
This is INCORRECT.
Doesn't, does not, or does are used with the third person singular - words like he, she, and it.
Don't, do not, or do are used for other subjects.
* "He doesn’t care about me anymore."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Bring vs Take
"When we go to the party on Saturday, let’s bring a bottle of juice."
This is INCORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of arrival, use “bring”:
* "When you come to the party, please bring a bottle of juice."
This is CORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of departure, use “take”:
* "When we go to the party, let’s take a bottle of juice."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Fewer vs Less
Sign at the checkout of a supermarket: “Ten items or less”.
This is INCORRECT.
You can count the items, so you need to use the number word “fewer”. These nouns are countable.
* "Ten items or fewer."
This is CORRECT.
If you can’t count the substance, then you should use “less”. These nouns are uncountable.
* "You should eat less meat."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. However
"We were supposed to go to the dance last night, however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."
This is INCORRECT.
A semicolon, rather than a comma, should be used to link these two complete sentences:
* "We were supposed to go to the dance last night; however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."
This is CORRECT.
It should be noted that there ARE situations in which you can use a comma instead of a semi-colon:
* "The match at Wimbledon, however, continued despite the bad weather."
This is CORRECT.
There is only one complete sentence in this example. It is not a compound sentence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Have vs Of
"I never would of thought that he’d behave like that."
This is INCORRECT.
It should be would have:
* "I never would have/would’ve thought that he’d behave like that."
This is CORRECT.
It’s the same for should and could:
"He should of come with me."
This is INCORRECT.
* "He should have/should’ve come with me."
This is CORRECT.
"She could of had anything she wanted."
This is INCORRECT.
* "She could have had anything she wanted."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Double negative
"I'm not speaking to nobody in this class."
This is INCORRECT.
Since 'not' is a negative, you cannot use 'nobody' in this sentence:
* "I'm not speaking to anybody in this class."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Present perfect
"He has took the train."
This is INCORRECT.
The correct form for the present perfect is:
would + have + past participle
* "He has taken the train."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Went vs Gone
"I should have went to school yesterday."
This is INCORRECT.
The correct form is:
should + have + past participle
* "I should have gone to school yesterday."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Its vs It's
"Its going to be sunny tomorrow."
This is INCORRECT.
It’s is the contraction of It is:
* "It’s going to be sunny tomorrow."
This is CORRECT.
"What’s that? I can’t remember it’s name."
This is INCORRECT.
Its is a possessive pronoun that modifies a noun:
* "What’s that? I can’t remember its name."
This is CORRECT
1. Third conditional
"If I would have known about the party, I would have gone to it."
This is INCORRECT, although commonly used, especially in American English.
The correct form is:
If + had + past participle, would + have + past participle
* "If I had known about the party, I would have gone."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Don't vs Doesn’t
"He don’t care about me anymore."
This is INCORRECT.
Doesn't, does not, or does are used with the third person singular - words like he, she, and it.
Don't, do not, or do are used for other subjects.
* "He doesn’t care about me anymore."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Bring vs Take
"When we go to the party on Saturday, let’s bring a bottle of juice."
This is INCORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of arrival, use “bring”:
* "When you come to the party, please bring a bottle of juice."
This is CORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of departure, use “take”:
* "When we go to the party, let’s take a bottle of juice."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Fewer vs Less
Sign at the checkout of a supermarket: “Ten items or less”.
This is INCORRECT.
You can count the items, so you need to use the number word “fewer”. These nouns are countable.
* "Ten items or fewer."
This is CORRECT.
If you can’t count the substance, then you should use “less”. These nouns are uncountable.
* "You should eat less meat."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. However
"We were supposed to go to the dance last night, however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."
This is INCORRECT.
A semicolon, rather than a comma, should be used to link these two complete sentences:
* "We were supposed to go to the dance last night; however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."
This is CORRECT.
It should be noted that there ARE situations in which you can use a comma instead of a semi-colon:
* "The match at Wimbledon, however, continued despite the bad weather."
This is CORRECT.
There is only one complete sentence in this example. It is not a compound sentence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Have vs Of
"I never would of thought that he’d behave like that."
This is INCORRECT.
It should be would have:
* "I never would have/would’ve thought that he’d behave like that."
This is CORRECT.
It’s the same for should and could:
"He should of come with me."
This is INCORRECT.
* "He should have/should’ve come with me."
This is CORRECT.
"She could of had anything she wanted."
This is INCORRECT.
* "She could have had anything she wanted."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Double negative
"I'm not speaking to nobody in this class."
This is INCORRECT.
Since 'not' is a negative, you cannot use 'nobody' in this sentence:
* "I'm not speaking to anybody in this class."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Present perfect
"He has took the train."
This is INCORRECT.
The correct form for the present perfect is:
would + have + past participle
* "He has taken the train."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Went vs Gone
"I should have went to school yesterday."
This is INCORRECT.
The correct form is:
should + have + past participle
* "I should have gone to school yesterday."
This is CORRECT.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Its vs It's
"Its going to be sunny tomorrow."
This is INCORRECT.
It’s is the contraction of It is:
* "It’s going to be sunny tomorrow."
This is CORRECT.
"What’s that? I can’t remember it’s name."
This is INCORRECT.
Its is a possessive pronoun that modifies a noun:
* "What’s that? I can’t remember its name."
This is CORRECT