Working as a student advisor for over 10 years has given me some idea of what the most common mistakes speakers of other languages make when learning English. I see them every day in emails, letters, social media posts and in blogs. So what are the five most common mistakes I see?
1. There, Their and They’re – these three are commonly misunderstood and used incorrectly. One is used to indicate a place, another is used to indicate possession and the last use is as a contraction for ‘they are’.
Do you know which should appear in these sentences?
I was ………., I saw everything!
They were a funny colour and ……….. faces were crinkled and dry.
I know I should stop them, but ……….. too strong.
2. Weather and whether – the first is what you view out of your window, you know rain, sunshine, wind, snow etc. The other is a conjunction that can be used in a similar way to ‘if’. Can you spot which should go where?
There’s some discussion as to …………the price is quite right.
Today the ………. will be changeable.
3. Its and It’s – one indicates possession and the other is simply a contraction of ‘it is’. Do you know which is which? Test your knowledge:
I know …….. big, but it’ll surely fit in that large bag?
The cat chases ……… prey through the garden.
4. Incorrect use of commas – this is one my biggest annoyances, as it seems people just don’t take the time to work out how to use them properly. So, commas are used when you need to break up a sentence to allow the reader the time to pause, but only a short pause. Like in the sentence you’ve just read. Often it’s easier to see where commas should go if you read a sentence aloud. If the sentence is too long, you’ll run out of breath before you get to the end of it. But don’t go overboard, sticking them in everywhere – use them wisely. See if you can work out where the commas should go:
After a long walk through the forest I like to soak my feet in warm water.
The cake had sugar eggs flour and cocoa powder.
Mary his long lost sister decided to return to the house.
5. Not using upper case letters when they should be used. Some of this may be due to the informality that people think is fine when using email. But, honestly, sending an email like this:
i’m interested, so please send me some information on the courses business training college offers
This seems more like lazy writing to me and will not impress anyone.
There are many more, but I think you get the point. It’s important to write well and to try to be as correct as possible. If you don’t know something, that’s fine. Don’t pretend you do and miss the chance to check it – it could cost you that promotion!
If you need more practice getting it right, here’s a link to a previous blog entry that’s all about useful websites for learning English.
If you have any other websites you use, or other ways of improving your English, please do let me know so I can pass on your wisdom.
Answers:
Q1.
I was there, I saw everything!
They were a funny colour and their faces were crinkled and dry.
I know I should stop them, but they’re too strong.
Q2.
There’s some discussion as to whether the price is quite right.
Today the weather will be changeable.
Q3.
I know it’s big, but it’ll surely fit in that large bag?
The cat chases its prey through the garden.
Q4.
After a long walk through the forest, I like to soak my feet in warm water.
The cake had sugar, eggs, flour and cocoa powder.
Mary, his long lost sister, decided to return to the house.
