common_mistakes.doc

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100 COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH MADE BY GREEK SPEAKERS

What follows is a list of one hundred common errors that Greek

speakers typically make when speaking English, which are generallybased on word-for-word translation from Greek into English.Following each incorrect sentence there is an analysis of what themistake is and supplementary information on what is correct inEnglish.

1. She fell down of her bed.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She fell out of bed.

A) fall down = to fall from a vertical position: the tree fell down inthe storm.

B) fall out of = to fall from something which is holding or containingyou: the baby has fallen out of the pram.

C) when we talk of bed as a place where we sleep etc, we dontuse the definite article: she was in bed; he found them in bedtogether; I am going to bed. When we consider the bed as a pieceof furniture, we use the article: the bed had not been made; theysat on the bed; there is a spider in the bed.

2. She is elder than me two years.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She is older than me by two years./She is twoyears my elder.

A) elderis a comparative adjective which must stand in front of anoun, and refers to peoples age in comparison with someone elsesage: this is my elder brother. The superlative is eldest, and itindicates the oldest person in a group:John is the eldest boy in theclass. It is most commonly used to refer to members of a family,although not exclusively.

B) elderis also used as a noun in the following phrase: she is five

years my elder; he is six months your elder.


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3. The bad was that he could not to go fishing.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The bad thing/The pity was that he could not

go fishing.

A) The bad really means Bad people (remember the film, The Good,The Bad and The Ugly?), as when we place the definite article infront of an adjective of quality or class, it becomes a plural noun:

The poor are given hampers of food at Christmas by theGovernment.

Many of the uneducated in this country cant read or write.

B) After could you cannot use the full infinitive (to + verb).

4. I reached to the office early and knocked the door.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I reached the office early and knocked on thedoor.

A) reach is not followed by a preposition. It is a useful synonym for

the verb arrive, which is followed by a preposition (at, on, or inaccording to the situation).

B) knockis followed by the preposition on when it means to hit withyour hand to make a noise. If it is used without a preposition itmeans to hit accidentally:

As I was parking the car I knocked the car behind and brokeits headlight.

I knocked into an old gentleman in the street and he fell over.

= bumped into him

5. Yesterday in the night I saw a nice dream.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I had a nice dream last night.

A) Time references should stand at the end of a sentence, unlessthere is a special reason for them to be emphasised - then they

stand at the beginning. Yesterday in the nightis not proper English.


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B) In English we have dreams, we dont see them!

6. Eventually the dog it managed to rich the park.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Eventually, the dog managed to reach thepark./The dog finally managed to reach the park.

A) Eventuallyshould be followed by a comma at the beginning ofthe sentence.

B) Pronouns are used to replace their nouns, not straight afterthem.

C) rich is an adjective, not a verb, and although its pronunciation issimilar to reach, they should not be confused.

7. She is thinking to go to University.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She is thinking of going to University.

A) The phrase used for ... is I am thinking of+ gerund.

8. Do not do so many typing errors.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Do not/Dont make so many typingerrors/mistakes.

A) We say make an error/a mistake, not do.

9. Your car is not very clear.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Your car is not very clean.

A) clearmeans with the idea of or :

The sky was lovely and clear - not a cloud in sight.

The mountain water is completely clear and refreshing.

B) clean means not containing impurities, or not covered in dirt.

Use SuperKleen washing powder for absolutely clean clothes.


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10. I had breakfast. After I went for jogging.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I had breakfast. Afterwards OR After that, I

went jogging.

A) afteris a conjunction which cannot begin a sentence. If it is usedas a preposition it must be followed by a noun, not a verb.Afterwards is a suitable word for the beginning of a sentence toshow that what comes next follows chronologically what happenedin the previous sentence.

B) activities which are expressed with the verb go are in the gerundform, without a preposition:

go shopping, go fishing, go skiing, go cycling, go swimming,go running, go jogging,

go sailing, go hang-gliding

11. He did not happy when he herd the news.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He was not happy when he heard the news.

A) happyis not a verb, so it cant be introduced by did not !

B) herd, pronounced exactly the same as heard, means .

12. She looks an angel.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She looks like an angel.

A) we express appearance by comparison with the verb look like,which has resemble as a synonym.

13. Georgia is an experienced typewriter.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Georgia is an experienced typist.

A) although typewriterlooks like a word to describe a person (cf.

writer, driver), it describes the machine. Another common mistake


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of this sort is the word cooker, which is the machine not the person -he/she is a cook.

14. I didnt say you to do it.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I didnt tell you to do it.

A) the expression tell somebody to do something is used in English,not say.

15. A day I went a run.

CORRECT SENTENCE: (One day) I went for a run./I went running (oneday).

A) A dayis unemphatic, while One daymeans .

B) There are a number of phrases of the form go for a...:

go for a drink, go for a drive, go for a walk, go for a run, go fora jog, go for a swim

go for a ride (on a horse or bicycle), go (out) for a meal, go fora ski

16. Would you like a peace of cake?

CORRECT SENTENCE: Would you like a piece of cake?

A) You should not confusepeace (= ) withpiece (= ),even though they are pronounced the same.

17. This windows are not cleans.

CORRECT SENTENCE: These windows are not clean.

A) Dont forget that this has a plural form, these, and thathas thoseas its plural.

B) Adjectives do not show plural form in English.


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18. We were discussing about his behaviour.

CORRECT SENTENCE: We were discussing his behaviour.

A) The verb discussis NOT followed by a preposition. However, itMUST be followed by an object - it is never used without one.Moreover, it indicates quite a formal, serious conversation, notsimply a friendly chat.

19. My grades are the same with your.

CORRECT SENTENCE: My grades/marks are the same as yours.

A) the sameis followed by as, NEVER with. Asis apreposition, so if you wish to place a verb after it, the verb hasgerund form:

Watching a football match on television is not the same aswatching it from

the stands in the stadium.

B) youris a possessive adjective, so it stands in front of a noun.Yoursis a possessive pronoun, so it does not stand in front of anoun; it replacesa noun.

20. I felt asleep in class.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I fell asleep in class.

A) Do not confuse the following verbs:

feel felt felt ,

fall fell fallen

lose lost lost ,

miss missed missed /

loose loosed loosed ()


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shoot shot shot

shout shouted shouted

21. Weather of England is often rainy.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The weather in England is often rainy/wet.

A) Although weatheris an uncountable noun, it must be precededby thehere, because we are referring to particular weather -English weather.

B) Countries are preceded by the preposition in, not of.

22. I have lived hear since four years.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I have lived here for four years.

A) Do not confuse hear() and here().

B) Sinceis used before expressions which say when an actionstarted (such as last Monday,three oclock, 1962and I was achild). Foris used in front of expressions which show how longsomething has been happening (such as six days, two hours,several months, a hundred years).

23. I am old enough to drive a car she said me.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me (that) she was old enough to

drive a car.

OR: I am old enough to drive a car, she said./she told me.

A) The verb sayis used when we dont mention who hears what issaid. Occasionally it is used in the form ofhe said to me, but thisis not followed by what is said. However, it is acceptable to placethe form he said to meafter direct speech enclosed in invertedcommas:

It is time to go, he said to her.


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It is more usual to follow the form he told me, remembering thatyou must not put the preposition toafter tell.

B) If you use reported speech, make sure that you apply all thenecessary changes (tenses, pronouns, adverbs of time and place,

etc.).

24. They asked each to the other for favours.

CORRECT SENTENCE: They asked each other for favours.

OR: They asked favours of each other.

A) Follow the form ask somebodyforsomething, which means . Remember that ask somebodysomethingmeans .

B) Dont forget that there is a parallel, older form: ask somethingof somebody, which means , and which isgenerally used when you are asking somebody to do something foryou. Examples:

I asked his advice of him. (= I asked him for his advice.) Heasks little of his wife. (= He doesnt

ask his wife to do much.)

C) Remember that we do a favour for others.

25. He went at the forest to cut a wood.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He went into/to the forest to cut some wood.

A) A very basic mistake is the use ofatfor movement. It isalmost always wrong! Use toand its associated prepositions(into, upto, out to, onto etc).

B) A woodis . Woodas an uncountable noun means/. is a piece of wood, a stickor a plankaccording to the context. The phrase is hegot/received a beating.

26. In the way to the cinema I met my friend.


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CORRECT SENTENCE: On the way to the cinema I met my friend.

OR: On the way to the cinema I met a friend of mine.

A) in the/my waymeans = :

I couldnt get out of the car park because someone hadparked in my way.

while on the/my way means = .

B) I met my friendrefers to a particular friend whom you expectedto meet. I met a friend of minerefers to a friend whom you didntexpect to meet. Remember the form of the second phrase: He is afriend of mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs/Johns/the Smiths/themanagers.

27. For his surprise the film was cancelled.

CORRECT SENTENCE: To his surprise the film was cancelled.

A) Learn the following prepositional phrases if you dont alreadyknow them:

to my surprise

to her horror

to our shock

to their delight

to your astonishment

to their relief

They all hold the meaning of () etc.

28. She has many works to complete.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She has a lot of work/jobs to do.

A) Dont forget that workis both countable and uncountable, but the

meaning differs according to which form is used. A workusuallyrefers to a piece of art (visual, audio or written), work


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(uncountable) refers to the work we do (), and works(plural) can refer either to pieces of art, or to such ideas as PublicWorks (roadworks, for example). The Workscan also mean thefactoryin a town where the factory employs a lot of people.

B) Remember that we do jobs or work, and that we dohomework(uncountable) and housework(uncountable).

29. He was too angry when I told him to leave.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He was very angry (He was furious) when Itold him to leave.

A) Dont forget that toomeans more than desirable. It is foundin the form too adjective or adverb to do something.

B) Remember (and use!) adjectives which improve your expression.Using basic words is not wrong, but using more complicatedvocabulary dramatically improves your expression in a foreignlanguage. This is also true for your mother tongue...

Examples:

very hot = boiling, sweltering

very cold = freezing, parky

very angry = furious, beside oneself

very fast = speedy (adj.), speedily(adv.)

very slow(ly) = sluggish (adj.), sluggishly

very tired = exhausted

very noisy = deafening

very quiet = silent

very interesting = fascinating

All limit adjectives are qualified by absolutely


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30. The bus ran fastly so that the passengers arrived quickly in thecity.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The bus drove fast so that the passengersarrived in the city quickly.

A) Fastis both an adjective and an adverb, without any change inform. Another such adjective/adverb to remember is hard. Dontforget that hardlymeans almost not at all.

B) Remember that the normal word order of an unemphasisedsentence (subject - verb - direct object - indirect object - how? -where? - when?) is changed if the verb indicates movement, and theorder of the adverbial phrases at the end of the sentence becomeswhere? - how? -when?.

31. In the contrary to my friends I study hardly.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Unlike my friends I study hard.

A) On the contraryis an adverbial phrase, and is usually followedby a comma to separate it from the body of the sentence. It meansOpposite to what has just been mentioned:

Pigs are said to be dirty animals. On the contrary, they arevery clean.

Contrary to...is used in a similar way, and means Despite...:

Contrary to what people say about pigs being dirty animals,they are very clean.

So both expressions show a contrast where one idea contradictsanother. That is why neither is suitable in the original sentence.Unlikesimply means different from.

B) See 30.A) for information about hardly.

32. There is many people hear today.

CORRECT SENTENCE: There are many/a lot of people here today.

A) Peopleis a plural noun when it means , . It

is singular if it means .


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B) See 22.A) for information about hear/here.

C) Manyis usually used in negative or interrogative sentences,although not exclusively. It is more common in positive sentenceswhen these are more formal.

33. He left from his work early today afternoon.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He left work early this afternoon.

A) Leaveis not followed by from; this is a common, but seriousmistake!

B) When we refer to the place where we work as work, it is notpreceded by an article or by a possessive adjective:

I was going to work

He is at work

I left my keys at work

C) Remember the phrases this morning, this afternoon, this evening.British English speakers usually pronounce these phrases as the

smorning, the sarfternoon, the seevening, without a preposition.

34. She borrowed me her comb.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She lent me her comb.

OR: She borrowed a/my comb (from me).

A) Dont forget that borrowand lendare opposites! They follow

the form borrow something from somebodyand lend somethingto somebody(or lend somebody something).

35. Do not do a noise.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Do not/Dont make a noise.

A) Remember that we make a noise.


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B) The negative imperative is most commonly expressed by Dont+ infinitive, although Do not + infinitiveis more emphatic.

36. He was said to try very hardly.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He was said to have tried very hard.

A) After passive expressions with verbs of speech, we use anappropriate infinitive to show time and aspect. The four infinitivesare (using the verb work):

Present Infinitive Simple work

Present Infinitive Continuous be working

Past Infinitive Simple have worked

Past Infinitive Continuous have been working

Present and Future tense ideas use Present Infinitives (with theimportant exception of Present Perfect ideas, which use PastInfinitives). Past tense ideas use Past Infinitives.

B) See 30.A) for information on hard/hardly.

37. She said me much lies.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me many/a lot of lies.

A) The correct phrase is tell somebody lies/a lie.

B) muchis used for uncountable nouns, and like manyis usuallyused in negative and interrogative sentences (see 32.C) ).

38. He told to her to dont disturb him.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He told her not to disturb him.

A) As was mentioned in 23.A), tellis not followed by thepreposition to.

B) The form oftellhere is tell somebody (not) to do something.Remember that notstands before to, which is the opposite of

Greek word order ( ...).


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39. She did not leave me to play.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She did not/didnt let me play.

A) Leavedoes not have the meaning of. The formyou should use is let somebody do something. Remember not touse a full infinitive with to (*let somebody to do something), whichis a very common, but serious mistake.

40. She is the best friend of hers.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She is her best friend.

A) You cannot use the definite article with phrases such as friend ofmine, you must use the indefinite article. Look at the followingexamples:

This is a painting of Picassos.

I have found a book of yours.

Meet a colleague of mine, Keith Houseman.

41. Nobody said nothing for the traffic accident.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Nobody said anything about the traffic/roadaccident.

A) Nobody said nothing is a double negative, unacceptable instandard English, although commonly heard in uneducated speech.

B) Greek is translated as about when it is synonymous with, as here.

42. The weeds in the yard have grown up a lot.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The weeds in the yard have grown a lot.

A) Grow up is used for people, with the idea of become taller,

older and more mature, grow (without up) means become


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taller or generally bigger in size, and can be used widely, not just forpeople.

43. The vegetables are not ripe.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The vegetables are not ripe.

A) Incorrect use of the apostrophe to express a plural, a commonmistake of uneducated native speakers when writing. Rememberalso the difference between its and its.

B) Ripe is a little unusual in this sentence, and maybe readywould be more suitable. Ripe tends to be used for fruit. Matureis used for cheese, wine and humans! However, a ripe cheese isone which is tasting too strong because it hasnt been kept in idealconditions

44. She likes not to travel with a plane.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She doesnt like travelling by plane.

A) The negative Simple Present verb should need no comment.

B) The verb like is followed by a full infinitive if it refers to specificoccasions, and by a gerund if it refers to a general like. The samegoes for dislike, love and hate.

C) The preposition by is used before the names of vehicles toindicate how someone travels, provided that no other word standsbetween by and the name of the vehicle.

45. For my good luck I have a hole collection of charms.

CORRECT SENTENCE: To my good luck I have a complete collectionof charms.

A) Even the correct sentence is a little strange! Notice the phrasesTo my (good) luck, to my horror, to my delight, to my surprise, tomy astonishment and others.

B) Dont confuse the words hole and whole, even though they

are homophones.


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C) the words whole and collection do not go well together, usecomplete.

46. Everybody in the circus were funny.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Everybody in the circus was funny.

A) Compounds of some, any, no and every are singular.

47. He did not obey to the policeman when he said stop.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He did not obey the policeman when he toldhim to stop.

A) The verbs obey and its opposite disobey are not followed bya preposition.

B) Written language doesnt reflect spoken language, and you mustwrite more formally than you speak. It may be acceptable to saythe expression when he said stop, but written language requiresthe more formal when he told him to stop.

48. The boy wich work at the store does this kind of things.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The boy who works at the store does this kindof thing.

A) Which is not used for people. The misspelt wich is a commonerror.

B) Omission of the final -s in the third person singular of the Present

Simple is also a common error, and one to be avoided at all costs.

C) After the phrases kind(s) of, sort(s) of, variety/ies of,type(s) of you should use a singular noun.

49. I could not unplugged the kitchens sink.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I couldnt unblock the kitchen sink.


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A) After modal verbs some form of the infinitive is used, full or bare.The Simple Past is never used.

B) Unplug means to remove the (electric) plug, not to remove theplug from a sink, which is expressed by the phrase take the plug

out.

C) Many expressions using a noun as an adjective exist, such as cardoor, door key, pen top and so on. It is usually wrong to use thegenitive instead of these particular phrases.

50. The crazy man laughed loud.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The madman laughed out loud.

A) crazy is not used as commonly as Greeks seem to think. is the madman.

B) Notice the phrase out loud.

51. She was hearing the song from the stereo.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She was listening to the song on the stereo.

A) Hear means , while listen to means .

B) Notice that we say ON the stereo, the video, the television, theradio.

52. Before a week I won her at tennis.

CORRECT SENTENCE: A week ago I beat her at tennis.

A) Before is used in this way only in reported speech.

B) The verb win means (, ), while beatmeans (, ).

C) Notice that we beat someone else AT an activity.


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53. The arsonist put fire to the house.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The arsonist set fire to the house.

A) The phrase is set fire to.

54. She went at work without to take a shower first.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She went to work without taking a showerfirst.

A) The preposition at is not used for movement.

B) Without is a preposition, so it is followed by a noun or a gerund,not an infinitive. Only the prepositions but and except can befollowed by infinitives.

55. The teacher wanted to make us a frighten.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The teacher wanted to frighten us.

A) There is no such phrase as to make someone a frighten.

56. Yesterday were many snows.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Yesterday there was a lot of snow.

A) All verbs must have a subject, which must stand before the verb,unless the sentence is a question.

B) Snow is an uncountable noun, unlike in Greek.

57. She has not succeed to get a date for Friday night.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She has not succeeded in getting a date forFriday night.

A) The Present Perfect form should not cause any problems at thislevel.

B) The verb succeed is followed by in and a noun or a gerund,

never an infinitive.


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58. Her illness prevent her for working.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Her illness prevented her from working.

A) The verb prevent is followed by the preposition from and anoun or a gerund.

59. She said me she buyed a dresses.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me she had bought some dresses/adress.

A) Care is needed with the verbs say and tell. See sentence 23.

B) The rules of tense change for reported speech must be followedin English, unlike in Greek.

60. I stopped out the restaurant to rest for a minute.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I stopped outside the/a restaurant to rest for

a minute.

A) The preposition out refers only to movement, while outsiderefers both to movement and position.

61. She was enjoyed her travel very much.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She enjoyed her trip very much.

A) The verb enjoy is not a passive verb, and is rarely found used inthe passive.

B) The noun travel is uncountable, and means the experience oftravelling, whereas trip or journey indicates a specificmovement from one place to another. The plural noun travelsmeans exotic journeys, adventures, as in the phrase He has writtena highly successful book about his travels.

62. Our lifes have been changed by the experience.


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CORRECT SENTENCE: Our lives have been changed (better: altered)by the experience.

A) Care is needed in forming the plural of nouns ending in -f or -fe,as some nouns do not follow the rule whereby the -f becomes a -v

when -es is added. The most notable examples of this are roof -roofs, cliff - cliffs, chief -chiefs, safe - safes, dwarf -dwarfs.

63. The man was laying at the bed.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The man was lying on the bed.

A) The verbs lie and lay cause problems. Here are their forms andmeanings:

1 2 3 4 5

lie lied lied lying

lie lay lain lying ,

lay laid laid laying ,

1 = Infinitive, 2 = Past Simple, 3 = Past Participle, 4 = PresentParticiple, 5 = Meaning in Greek.

B) The preposition at is generally used to indicate the activitytaking place at a certain place, rather than for position. Therefore,its use is incorrect here.

64. Lets go for a walk in the car.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Lets go for a drive in the car.

A) Lets go for a walk means literally that: a walk using your feet.Notice other phrases: go for a run, go for a ride (on a bike, amotorbike or a horse), go for a swim, go for a jog, go for a fly (in asmall plane), go for a ski.

65. When I will return at home I will go to the bed.


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CORRECT SENTENCE: When I return home I will go to bed.

A) Do not use a future tense in a Time Clause.

B) At home refers to position, while home without a preposition

refers to movement.

C) The phrase is go to bed.

66. As usually, our mother explained us behave.

CORRECT SENTENCE: As usual, our mother explained to us how tobehave.

A) Notice the phrase as usual, which means as she usually does.As usually is WRONG.

B) The verb explain has the following syntaxes: explain sth tosb (NEVER explain sb sth), and explain to sb how to do sth.Exceptionally, when the sth is a long list of phrase, we use thesyntax explain to sb sth.

67. He tryed to fit the luggages in the car.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He tried to fit the luggage in the car.

A) Try is followed by an infinitive if it means , and by agerund if it means .

B) Luggage, like baggage, is an UNCOUNTABLE noun.

68. The bank was stoled in Saturday.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The bank was robbed on Saturday.

A) The verb steal - stole - stolen means to take something whichdoes not belong to you, while to rob means to remove somethingfrom somebody or from a building illegally. The syntax is steal sthfrom sb, rob sth/sb of something. Other verbs worthremembering are mug sb, burgle a building (usually a house),shoplift sth (from a shop).

B) Be careful with prepositions for time phrases:

The following phrases are as they are spoken:


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On Saturday, the fifth of June, nineteen ninety-two

On the fifth of June, nineteen ninety-two

In June, nineteen ninety-two

In nineteen ninety-two

69. She dresses good and has nice cloths.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She dresses well and has nice clothes.

A) good is not an adverb but an adjective, so it cannot describe anaction.

B) cloth means when it is uncountable, and whenit is countable.

70. She was laying in the park when I looked her.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She was lying in the park when I saw her.

A) See sentence 63 for information on lie and lay.

B) Look is followed by the preposition at, but here the meaningrequires see, which means to see by chance.

71. I am getting my hairs cut today.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I am getting/having my hair cut today.

A) Hair is uncountable with the meaning , and countablewith the meaning .

B) Both the verbs get and have are used to form the causativevoice, but get indicates a more active role on the part of thesubject.

72. She was very hurry so she raised from the dinner table without

say anything.


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CORRECT SENTENCE: She was in a (great) hurry so she rose fromthe dinner table without saying anything.

A) Notice the phrase I am in a (great) hurry.

B) The verb raise means , , while rise - rose - risenmeans , .

C) Without is a preposition, and as such it must be followed by anoun or a gerund, never an infinitive.

73. I knew from the beginning nothing helped.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I knew from the start/outset that nothingwould help.

A) Notice the phrases from the start and from the outset.

B) Be careful to follow the rules for tense changes in reportedspeech, which must be used in almost all cases.

74. I opened light for to read my book.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I switched on the light in order to/so as to/toread my book./so that I could read my book.

A) Open and close are not used for starting and stopping thefunction of electrical appliances.

B) For to is not the way we express purpose. If the subjects ofboth parts of the sentence are the same, then use in order (not)to, so as (not) to, or just (not) to, but if the subjects aredifferent you should use so that or in order that and an

appropriate tense.

75. The car was running very quick.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The car was travelling very quickly/fast.

A) Cars do not run, because they do not have legs!!

B) Quick is an adjective, not an adverb, so it cannot describe anaction.


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76. We have no time to loose.

CORRECT SENTENCE: We have no time to lose.

A) Loose as a verb means (), and as anadjective it means .

77. Occasionally when it happens the weather to be bad I do not gofor baths.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Occasionally, when the weather happens tobe bad, I do not go swimming.

A) Occasionally at the beginning of a sentence should be followedby a comma.

B) Happen with the meaning of is not an impersonalverb in English.

C) Baths means - the thing you sit in in your bathroom!

78. The fire result a very big damage.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The fire resulted in/caused serious damage.

A) The verb result is followed by the preposition in.

B) Damage is an uncountable noun, and is usually found with theadjective serious. The plural noun damages does not mean, it means .

79. I heard the bomb to explode and run for cover.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I heard the bomb explode and ran for cover.

A) Verbs of perception such as hear are followed by the bareinfinitive, if the whole action is perceived, or by a present participleif the action is repeated or only partially perceived. The fullinfinitive is not used after them.

B) Be careful to ensure that all verbs have a tense.


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80. It is not a so easy thing to get to Australia with a car.

CORRECT SENTENCE: It is not such an easy thing/task/It is not so

easy to get to Australia by car.

A) Care is needed with the rules for the use of so and such.

B) Avoid using the phrase with a car/lorry/plane etc/.

81. Where should I put all these furniture?

CORRECT SENTENCE: Where should I put all this furniture?

A) Furniture is an uncountable noun.

82. I run very fast but still I lost the bus.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I ran very fast but I still missed the bus.

A) Be careful to ensure that all verbs have a tense.

B) Still stands in front of verb groups, but after the subject of theverb group. If the verb group is positive, still stands in the positionof the adverbs of frequency. If the group is negative, still stands infront of the whole verb group:

He is still doing his homework.

I still havent found what I am looking for.

C) Lose means , miss means ,

.

83. He passed terrible the holiday.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He had a terrible time on holiday.

A) Notice the phrase have a great/terrible/fantastic etc time.Pass does not means in the phrase , which

would be I am having a great time.


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84. I ate a lot because the other day I was going to do a diet.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I ate a lot because the next day I was going

to go on a diet.

A) The other day means .

B) is go on a diet or start a diet, or be on a dietif it has already started.

85. I waited Paul to be a tall man and dark.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I expected Paul to be a tall, dark man.

A) The verb wait is followed by the preposition for. Expectmeans .

B) Adjectives are only joined by and if their meanings areassociated:

It was a cold and windy night.

He was a sly and cunning boy.

The wet and miserable dog slunk in through the door.

86. She is the girl who she saw the murder.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She is the girl who saw/witnessed themurder.

A) When who, which or that is the subject of the followingverb, it must be immediately followed by the verb (or an adverb andthe verb). If a pronoun or noun stands before the verb, then who,which or that must be the object of the verb.

B) Dont forget that a relative clause is surrounded by commas ifthe information it presents is not essential for the meaning of themain clause:

France, which is a hexagonally-shaped country, lies between

Germany and the Atlantic Ocean.


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87. I have two months to go in England.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I havent been to England for two months.

A) The original (incorrect) sentence directly reflects the Greek , but is completely incorrect inEnglish

88. He understood his mistake

CORRECT SENTENCE: He realised his mistake.

The verb understand means to begin to know something that isexplained to you, whereas realise means that something suddenlycomes to you, maybe by someone telling you and maybe not.

89. She told me she will dance and so she did

CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me she would dance/was going todance and she did so.

A) The rules of Reported Speech as regards the change of tense areusually kept in English, so the verb has to go once tense backfrom what was actually said.

B) she did so is a phrase used to repeat a verb alreadymentioned, for example:

I have decided to get fit and I am determined to do so.

90. The evening I went at a concert with a friend of me.

CORRECT SENTENCE: In the evening I went to a concert with afriend of mine.

A) Remember the phrases in the morning/afternoon/evening andat night.

B) The preposition at is generally not used for verbs of

movement. If it is combined with a verb of movement, the idea ofan attack is implied:


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I threw the ball to my friend BUT I threw the stone at thewindow.

I drove to the garage BUT The joyriders drove the stolen carat the policeman.

C) In English we say a friend of mine, where mine means myfriends. So the idea of the phrase a friend of mine means . If a noun is used, or a name, the correctform is a friend of my uncles and a friend of Daves.

91. He hanged the mirror in the wall.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He hung the mirror on the wall.

A) The verb hang exists in two forms: hang - hung - hung, whichmeans to suspend an object from a hook, nail etc. Hang - hanged -hanged means to kill a person by hanging them by the throat.

B) in the wall would suggest that the mirror was inside the wall,not on its surface.

92. She did a mistake to her work.

CORRECT SENTENCE: She made a mistake in her work.

A) The verbs make and do need special care - there areparticular collocations (combination of two or more words) whichyou should learn.

Ask me to give you a list from the computer if I havent alreadydone so.

93. Except what I tell you, you must also buy soap.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Apart from what I have told you, you mustalso buy some soap.

A) The preposition except requires the preposition for when itstands at the beginning of a sentence:

Except for John, everybody here speaks French.


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When placed elsewhere in the sentence, the preposition for isoptional.

Everybody here speaks French, except (for) John.

The form except for/except means not including.

Apart from means including/as well as:

Apart from French, I also speak German and Italian.

B) Soap is uncountable, therefore it requires an article when weare not talking about all the soap in the world!

94. The inspector controlled my ticket.

CORRECT SENTENCE: The inspector checked my ticket.

A) Control means restrict the way something operates so that itoperates in the way that you want. Check means to look atsomething to make sure that it is correct.

95. Last night I listened a bad new.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Last night I heard some bad news.

A) Listen requires the preposition to if it has an object:

I listened to some Mozart as I worked.

Hear means to hear something which is in the sound around us,as the sound from the radio or television is. If listen were used itwould mean that you already knew that there was this news

beforehand and listened to the report especially.

B) News is uncountable. It therefore takes the articlessome/any/no and a singular verb.

96. He opened the radio entering into the car.

CORRECT SENTENCE: He turned on the radio/He turned the radio on

when he got into the car.


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A) Open is used to express the idea of movement of one surfacefrom another (such as opening a book or door). Turn on and itsopposite turn off refer to putting into operation a device, usuallyelectrical.

B) Enter into means begin and is principally used in formalphrases, such as The USA has entered into negotiations with Russiaover economic aid. Enter with the meaning of go into is notfollowed by a preposition: He entered the room quietly.

However, with cars, we use the form get into and its opposite getout of. If get into/out of are used with buildings (houses, shopsetc) it means to enter/leave by using force: How did the thievesget into the shop? The man managed to get out of prison bydigging a tunnel.

97. Look in page 3 on line 6.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Look at line 6 on page 3.

A) Note the prepositions, and the fact that we put the mostrestrictive item first.

98. A lot of friends is hear.

CORRECT SENTENCE: A lot of friends are here.

A) A simple mistake - putting a plural noun with a singular verb.

B) Another simple mistake - misspelling hear and here. Anothercommon error is confusing there and their.

99. Anybody did not to tell the truth to me.

CORRECT SENTENCE: Nobody told me the truth.

A) Anybody as a subject means whoever/any personwho/everyone who:

Anybody who sees the criminal should call the police.

B) The form of tell is tell somebody something.


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100. Everyday on holidays I was playing at the garden.

CORRECT SENTENCE: I played in the garden every day on holiday.

A) A frequent action is indicated here, therefore the verb must bePast Simple.

B) The preposition at is used before words indicating placeprovided that a particular activity always happens in that place. Agood example is at the bus-stop, where clearly a particularactivity (waiting for a bus) takes place.

C) Words and phrases indicating the time an action happens occurat the end of the sentence, or at the beginning when they areemphasised.

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