Let us improve our EnglishCommon mistakes we make

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• They’re going to be here soon

• We should contact their agent

• Can we use their car?

• Thereisanargumentthat says

These are homophones – words that sound the same but have differentmeanings; that iswhy

weget confused.

The rules:1. Use “there” to refer toaplacethat isn’there– “over there”.

2. Wealsouse “there” to statesomething– “Therearenobiscuits left.”

3. “Their” indicatespossession–somethingbelonging to them.

4. “They’re” is short for “theyare”.

• Their going to be here soon

• We should contact they’re agent

• Can we use there car?

• Theirisanargumentthat says

Wrongusage: Correctusage:There/their/they’re

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The mistake most people make is using “less” (forquantity)whentheyactuallymean “fewer”(fornumbers), rather thantheotherway round.

• There are fewer packets now

• She has fewer toys as compared to him

• Ten items or fewer

• There are less packets now

• She has less toys as compared to him

• Ten items or less

The rules:1. “Fewer” refers to itemsyoucancount individually.

2. “Less” refers toa commodity,suchas sandorwater,whichyou can’t count individually.

3. Less timebut fewerhours4. Less stressbut fewerworries

Wrongusage: Correctusage:Fewer/less

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Amount/number

The rules:1. “Amount” refers toacommodity,which can’tbecounted (for instancewater).

2. “Number” refers to individualthings that can be counted (for examplebirds).

• Agreateramountofpeople are eating more healthily

• Agreaternumberofpeople are eating more healthily

• The rain dumped a larger amount of water onthecountrythanisaverage for the month

Wrongusage: Correctusage:These twowork in the samewayas “less”and “fewer”, referring

respectively to commodities and individual items.

We say 14 to 15people came.People can be counted and are

separate entities, sowe should say14or 15people cam.

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It’s easy to see why people get this onewrong,but there’sno reason

whyyou should.

• I’m too hot

• It’s time to go

• I’m going to town

• Heboughttwocakes

• I’m to hot

• It’stimetwogo

• I’m going too town

• He bought to cakes

The rules:1. “To” isused in the infinitiveformofaverb– “to talk”.

2. “To” is alsoused tomean“towards”.

3. “Too”means “also”or “aswell”.4. “Two” refers to thenumber2.

Wrongusage: Correctusage:To/two/too

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• AnujandIareofftothecircus

• Anuj and I are going into town

• Give it to Anuj and me to lookafter

• I’ll deal with it myself

• I thought to myself

• MeandJohnareofftothe circus

• Myself and John are going into town

• Give it to John and I to lookafter

The rules:1.Whenreferring toyourself andsomeone else,put theirnamefirst in the sentence.

2.Choose “me”or “I”byremoving their name and seeingwhich sounds right.

3.Youonlyuse “myself ” if you’vealreadyused “I”,makingyouthe subject of the sentence.

All three refer to oneself and hence thereissometimesconfusion

aboutthesuitabilityoftheusage,particularlyinasentenceinwhichanotherpersonisreferredto.

Wrongusage: Correctusage:Me/Myself/I

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• Shewasbetteratitthanhim

• It was more than enough

• We’ll go to the baker first,thenthecoffeeshop

• Shewasbetteratitthenhim

• It was more then enough

The rules:1. “Than” isused in comparisons.2. “Then” isused to indicate

something following something else in time, as in step-by-stepinstructions, orplanningaschedule (“we’ll go there firstand then there”).

Confusionbetween “then”and“than”probablyarisesbecausethe two lookandsoundsimilar.

Wrongusage: Correctusage:Then/than

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• I could have done itbetter(Ihadthecapabilityofdoingbetter)

• Iwoulddoitbettergivenanother chance

(intentforfuture)

• Ishoulddoitbetter (itisexpectedofme)

• Youcoulddothisforme?

• How would you did it?

• Should it be possible for you?

The rules:1. Weuse “could”when there is/wasapossibility.

2. Weuse “would”whenweintend to.

3. Weuse “should”whenweought to.

“Could/would/should”

They are similar sounding but quitedifferent inmeaning.

Wrongusage: Correctusage:

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• Whom shall I invite?

• Who is responsible?

• He was the only person who wanted to come

• Who shall I invite?

• Whom is responsible?

• He was the only person that wanted to come

The rules:1. “Who” refers to the subject ofa sentence; “whom” refers totheobject.

2. “Who”and “whom”work inthe samewayas “he”or “him”.Youcanworkoutwhichyoushould use by asking yourself the following:

“Whodid this?Hedid”–so “who” is correct. “Whomshould I invite? Invitehim”–so “whom” is correct.

Who/whomThinkof “he/she”or “him/her”

whenconfused.Wrongusage: Correctusage:

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Wrongusage: Correctusage:Alphabet/LetterThere is sometimes confusion

about theusageof these 2words.For example, theword “Alphabet”is synonymouslyused for “Letter”.

• My name Seema has 5 lettersinit.

• WhichistheletterafterD?

• Kisthe11thletteroftheEnglish alphabet

• My name Seema has 5 alphabets.

• Which is the alphabet afterD?

• Kisthe11thalphabet.

1. Actually alphabet is a set oflettersorsymbolsinafixedorderused forwritinga language.

2. It originatesfromalphaandbeta, first 2 lettersof theGreekalphabet.

3. Most languageshaveanalphabetof their own.

4. TheEnglishalphabethas 26letters (A-Z)

5. Hindialphabet is called“Varnmala”.

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The rules:1. When we write we must takecaretowritesentencesproperly.

2. Sentence=asetofwordsexpressingastatement,aquestionoranorder,usuallycontainingasubjectandaverb.

3. InwrittenEnglish sentencesbeginwitha capital letterandendwitha full stop,aquestionmarkoranexclamationmark.

In a presentation when we use bullet points to keep it short,wedonot formcomplete sentences;butby mistake tend to put a full stopafter eachpoint.

Common mistake

A sentence makes complete sense and has a subjectandapredicate.Aphrase is agroupofwords usually without a verband is apartof asentence. Itmakes somesense but not complete sense.

DifferenceSentence/PhraseThere is ahugedifference

between thewritten languageandthe spoken language.

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• Ahourago(hourhashsilent and hence begins withavowelsound,though not a vowel letter)

• Anunion(Aisalsousedbefore words beginning withavowelletter,nothavingavowelsound.)

Useof thearticlesa/an

The rules:1. “An” is alsousedbeforewordsbeginningwithvowel sound.

2. Similarly “a” isusedbeforewords beginning with a vowel letterwithoutavowel sound.

3. “A&an”areusedonly forcountable nouns in the singular.

• An hour ago

• An honest man

• A union

• Aonerupeenote

We have learnt that “an” isused before words beginning withvowels (a,e,i,o,u)and “a”

otherwise.

Wrongusage: Correctusage:

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1. Iamhungry.Getmesomethingtoeat.

M.B.B.S

Mr.K.D.Kelkar

L.I.C

2.Weneedbooks,pens,pencilsanderasers.

Usageof full stop, comma,semi colon and colon Examples–full stop&comma Examples–semi colon&colon

1. Hisnatureismild;hisheartgenerous.

Sheisahardworking,sincereandwell-behavedgirl;andweallloveher.

2.Childrenaregenerallydivided into three categories:listeners,lookersandmovers.

1. Full stop isused to indicatecompletionofa sentence, asweallknow. It is alsoused forindicating abbreviations and initials.

2. Comma isused forabriefpause ina sentence. Itusuallyseparates clauses.

3. Semi colon isused fora longerpause.

4. Colon isusedbeforeenumerating.

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• He waited for the medicine to have an effect

• They were directly affectedbytheflooding

Affect/effect

The rules:1. Affect is averb–“toaffect”–meaning to influenceorhavean impacton something.

2. Effect is thenoun–“apositiveeffect”–referring to the resultofbeingaffectedby something.

• He waited for the medicine to have an affect

• They were directly effectedbytheflooding

It’s an easy enough mistake to makegivenhowsimilar these twowords lookandsound,but there’sa simple explanation tohelpyou

remember thedifference.

Wrongusage: Correctusage:

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I.e. ande.g.These twoabbreviationsare commonlyconfused,andmanypeopleuse theminterchangeablyHowever, theirusesare

verydifferent.

Correctusage:Wrongusage:

• Helikedmanydifferentauthors,e.g.ChetanBhagat,SudhaMurthy&AmishTripathi

• He objects to the changes–i.e.hewon’tbeacceptingthem.

• Helikedmanydifferentauthors,i.e.ChetanBhagat,SudhaMurthy&AmishTripathi

• He objects to the changes–e.g.hewon’tbeacceptingthem.

The rules:1. I.e.means “that is” or “inotherwords”. It comesfromtheLatinwords “id est”.

2. E.g.means “for example”. Itcomesfrom theLatinwords“exempligratia”.

3. Onlyuse“i.e.”and“e.g.”whenwritinginformally.Informaldocuments,suchasessays,itisbettertowriteoutthemeanings(“forexample”or“thatis”).

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Invite/invitationCorrectusage:Wrongusage:

• I haven’t responded to herinvitationyet.

• She sent me an invitation.

• I’m going to invite her to joinus.

• I haven’t responded to herinviteyet.

• Shesentmeaninvite.

The rules:1. “Invite” is averb–“to invite”.

It refers to asking someone if they’d like to do something or go somewhere.

2. “Invitation” is anoun–“aninvitation”. It refers to theactualmessageaskingsomeone if they’d like to do somethingorgo somewhere.

This mistake is now so common that it’s almost accepted as an alternative,but if you reallywantto speakEnglishproperly, you

shouldavoid it.

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Correctusage:Wrongusage:

• It’s snowing outside

• Thesofalooksgreatwithits new cover

• Its snowing outside

• Thesofalooksgreatwithit’s new cover

The rules:1. “It’s”isonlyusedwhenshortfor“itis”.2. “Its”indicatessomethingbelonging

to something that isn’t masculine or feminine(like“his”and“hers”,butused when you’re not talking about a person).

3. Ifithelps,rememberthatinanimateobjects can’t really possess something inthewayahumancan.

Its/it’sApostrophes shouldbeusedto indicatepossession,butthere is one exception to thisrule, and that is theword “it”.Unsurprisingly, this exceptiongets lotsofpeople confused.

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Correctusage:Wrongusage:

• You’rebeautiful• Do you know when

you’re coming over?

• Can I have one of your biscuits?

• Yourbeautiful• Do you know when your

coming over?

• Can I have one of you’re biscuits?

The rules:

“Your” indicatespossession –something belonging toyou.

“You’re” is short for “youare”.

Your/you’re

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Wordsfirstbecomeapartofourreceptivevocabularyandthenwestartusingthemourselves.

Vocabularyofapersontellsus the extentor

number of words that he/sheknows.Aperson’svocabularymaybewideor limited.Accordingto researchers, 500

repetitionsare requiredbefore any word becomes

partof aperson’svocabulary.

Passive&ActiveVocabulary

Vocabularymaybepassiveoractive;meaningtherebythat the words that we readandhearareapartof our passive or receptive vocabulary.And the words that we speakandwriteareapartofouractiveorexpressivevocabulary.

Fromreceptive to expressive

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Youmustbecomeactivelyreceptive tonewwords.

Youmustbeonaconstant lookout, inyourreadingand listening,

for any words that other people know and you do

not.

Step 1

Toencounternewwords,youmustreadmore.Youdon’t have to read only heavystuff.Recreationalreading,likenovels,magazinesetc.alsohelps.

Step 2

Investtimeinadictionary.It has a wealth of informationaboutthelanguage.Checkoutthedictionaryeachtimeyouencounteranewword.Repeatitinyourmind2-3timessothatitstays.

VocabularyBuilding

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Step 3 Step 4

There are words that are “correct” touse inasituationbut thereare

words that are more apt orappropriate; closer towhat you really want to

say.

Synonymsare thereforeimportant forvocabulary

development.

This must become a way oflife,ahabitforever.Thedesiremustbefromwithinandtheeffortconstant.Put new words with their meaningson“postit”slipsforafewdaysorweeks,tillyouarecomfortablewiththesenewwords.

Expressyourselfwithnewwords.Insteadofalwaysusingthesameadjectives,makeaconstanteffortto replace them with synonyms.

Synonyms

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Step 5 Step 6

Areasofhuman learningare immenselywide.

Moreover, all areashavetheir own special words or jargon.Like true students,

you must methodically attacknewareasof

learningandreadaboutdifferent subjects.Using

jargon creates a good impression.

Make lists of words related tocertainfieldsofstudy.Forexample:practitionersandprofessionals,science,machinery,medicalscience,artarchitecture,law,automobiles,armedforces,astronomyetc.

Make word lists about simplemundanethings:media,filmmaking,airport/railwaystation,governance/parliament,cuisines,trade/business,music,sportsetc.

Jargon

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Step 7 Step 8

Using “classification”technique,you can takecertain situationsand

write all the words that come toyourmind.Wehesitate to expressourselves because we

fumble for suitablewords.

Thinkofvariedsituationsand step by step list all the wordsthatgowitheach;like planning a holiday abroad and making preparationsrightfromrequiringtraveldocumentsetc.,orcookery&grocerylist

Youcandailylookupthedictionaryfor4-5new words –taking one alphabetaday.

Make sentences with each newword.

Classification

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Slang Informal Situationswhereusing slang is alright

Theseareveryinformalwordsorexpressions

that are more common in spokenlanguage.Generallyspecialgroupshavetheirownslangvocabulary.

It consists of words and expressionswhichwillnotbefoundinthedictionary,andcanbedistortionsofexistingwordsorentirely

inventedterms.

Itisusedininformalsituations.Itisnotappropriateinformalsituations.Youmayuseit while conversing but writtenformalEnglishmustconformtobasicgrammarrules.

Whileplayingsports,ataninformalrestaurantoraparty,whilewatchingasportingevent,withclosefamilymembersorfriends,whileshopping,studyingorhangingout.Onadate,atthemovies,inemail,innotes,onthetelephonewithfriendsetc.

Slang

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Informalvs.Formal

Learntocontroltheurgeto speak casually when informalsituations.Tobeabletoarticulatewell,onehastofindaptwordsandforthatvocabularybuildingisaprerequisite.(seelesson5)

Informalwriting

There has seen a dramatic decline in the writing abilitiesofthestudentsduetoTweeting,Facebook,andtexting.Theydonotcapitalize words or use punctuationanymore.Takecare.

Informal speaking

Slanggives comfort incommunicationas littleeffort is requiredand

also because you know youarenotbeing judged.Youcanbeyourself.

However, transporting thisfeelingof ease to formalsituations isnotadvisable.Formal situationsdemandformal communication.

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Funda–forfundamentalMax–formaximum‘Coz –for becauseDunno–for do not knowGonna–for going toYa/yeahforyesBro–forbrother

Short formsarequickertouse,bothwhile

speakingandwriting.In formal situations

take care to write the full form.Unfortunately,sometimes the full formisnotknown.Try tofindout the full form

and use at appropriate places. (Remember theseare English Improving

lessons.)

Somecommonshort forms

Abs –for abdominal musclesGym–forgymnasiumLab–forlaboratoryId–foridentificationIntro–forintroductionInfo–forinformationVibes–forvibrations

Some more…ShortenedForms

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Twenty-foursevenWhatsupHang outHooked on toIn thingTurnup/showupDish outJust a secDramaqueen

Someexpressionsarevery casualandmustberestricted toonlyverycasual situations.Yourapproach and intent maybe “serious”, as inan interview, but if youarticulate casually, you

willbeassesseddifferently.

Tobeavoided in formal situations Somemore examples

Have a blastBlowupmoneyCool dudeDeck upEye candyChill outDamnAnywaysNoworries

Some phrases

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Theseare shortenedversions of words or

titles ornamesofgroups,organizations etc.Mostareaccepted forms.

Sometimes fewer lettersofawordareused (St. forsaintorDr. fordoctor),sometimesfirst letter

of each word are used (ISRO for Indian Space&ResearchOrganization).

It is alright to use abbreviations if they are widely used across nations/cultures.Oryoumustbeconfidentthelistenerorreader would know as you both belong to the sameset-up,culturallyorworkwise.

However, if theabbreviations are peculiar or restricted toa closedgroup (likeaparticularcompany, institution,city etc., thenyoumustuse the full form. (We inAhmedabad know what PDPU orCGRoad standfor, outsidersmaynotknow.)

AbbreviationsWhen to use When not to use

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Theword “sorry” is onethat isusedwidely,butit has more than one meaning.Whenwe’reapologizing forsomething,we say either “sorry for”or “sorryabout”.

Butyou canalsouse theword to expressa feelingof sympathy towardssomeone.

Examplesof apology

• Helosthisjob;Ifeelreallysorryforhim.

• Verysorrytohearyourfatherpassedaway.

• Iamsosorry,youreallyhadaroughtime.

Sorry

• I’msorryaboutthemess.• I’msorryforruiningyourday.

• IamsorryIcamelateandkeptyouwaiting.

Feelingsof sympathy

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• Becareful,don’tlosethekeys.

• She will lose her hair due tochemotherapy.

• If you lose this race you willnotqualifyfornextround.

• Youwillloseyourdepositifyoucanceltheorder.

Loosemeansnot firmlyfixedwhere it shouldbeOR itmaymean,nottied togetherOR it canbeused tomeanfreetomovearound.OR

not fittingproperly.Losemeans to be unable to findsomethingOR tohave something taken

awayfromyouOR to facedefeatOR tohave togive

up something.

• Thebuttonisloose.• Sheleftherhairloose.• The cows were let loose tograze.

• Thiskurtaisabitlooseforme.

Loose/LoseExamplesofusageofLoose ExamplesofusageofLose

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Older/Elder

Inthetrain×Onthetrain√Youcanfindheronherdesk.×Atherdesk√What’s the time in your watch?×Byyourwatch√

Five-daysweek×Five-dayweek√Heis20yearold.×Heisa20-year-oldmanor20yearsold.√Threehoursjourney×Three-hourjourneyorthreehours’journey√

These are used to compare the ages of people,buildings,

monuments, things etc.Elder is less commonly

used nowadays and is appropriate when

comparing the age of people, especially if theyarefrom the same family.We say “elder to”but

“older than”.

Commonerrors Commonerrors

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Breakup=snapping(end)of a relationship

Breakdown=bedistressedemotionally and vent the lossorgriefORavehicleor a machine or a system developing a fault that requiresrepairs

This word has several meanings and when

joined with some prepositions and other words like in, out, off,up,downetc. it givesanewexpression. Inappropriate

usage can alter the meaning completely.

Breakin=toenterwithoutpermissionandusuallynotfromthemainentrance

Breakout=spreadofadisease or riots or other formsofunrestorviolence

Breakoff=togoawayfrom

BreakSomeexamples Somemore examples

Nowsome idioms…….

• Anabsolute,demandingorultimatechallengeormeasureofqualityorcapability–derivingfromveryoldtimes–severalhundredsofyearsago–whennitricacidwasusedtodeterminethepurityorpresenceofgold,especiallywhengoldwascurrencybeforecoinage.Golddoesnotdissolveinnitricacid,whereaslesscostlysilverandbasemetalsdo.Theuseofnitricacidalsofeaturedstronglyinalchemy,theancient‘science’of(attempting)convertingbasemetalsintogold.

acid test

open a can of worms

• highlydifficultsituationpresentlyunseenorkeptundercontrolorignoredOR

• provokedebateaboutOR

• exposeahithertodormant,potentiallyhighlydifficultsituation

• ideally(usuallyimpossibly),satisfyingorachievingtwoneeds,aims,problemsthataredifficultorimpossibletoreconcile(andusuallycontradictoryormutuallyexclusive)-thisexpressionrepresentsanunlikely ideal outcome or compromise

best of bothworlds / best of

all worlds

• Apersonwhobehavesandperformsextremelywellandparticularlybeyondthenormalexpectation,perhapssmugly,astopromptcynicism,criticismandmoreaccuratelyalittlejealousyfromothers

goody two shoes /littlemiss

goody two shoes

• extremehappinessoreuphoria

• beinginastateofextremehappiness,notnecessarilybutpotentiallyduetodrugsoralcohol

• cloudsevenisanothervariation,butcloudninetends to be the most popular

on cloud nine

• Takeresponsibilityformanagingasituationwhileunderthreatorincrisis,especiallyonatemporaryordeputybasis,orwhilewaitingforusual/additionalhelptoarriveorreturn

• ‘holdthefort’or‘holdingthefort’isametaphorbasedontheideaofsoldiersdefending(holding)acastleorfortagainstattackbyenemyforces.

hold the fort /holding the fort

• (my)university-fromtheLatin, meaning 'fostering mother’alma mater

battleofthe bulge

• diet/lose weight

• apersonwhoraisesobjectionsagainsta(typically)logicalorreasonableproposition,usuallytotestagenerallyacceptedargument,orsimplytopromptdebate

devil's advocate

• familyloyaltiesaregreaterthanthosebetweenfriends

blood isthicker than

water

• artisticallyunconventional(typicallyreferringtolifestyle,people,atmosphere,etc.)-BohemiaandBohemianoriginallyreferredtoahistoricregioninthewesternCzechrepublic

bohemian

• suddenshockorsurprise-see'thunderbolt’boltfromthe blue

the buckstops here

• acceptanceofultimateresponsibility

• delegateoravoidresponsibilitybypassingaproblemor blame to another person

pass thebuck/passing

the buck

• give away a secretlet the cat outof the bag

carte-blanche • fulldiscretionarypower,freedomorpermissiontodoanything

dampsquib• failureoranti-climax-asquibisanoldwordforafirework,andawetonewouldobviouslyfailtogooffproperly or at all

double whammy

• twoproblemsinone.Usuallypeoplemisuseitwhen2consecutivegoodthingsarealsoreferredtoasdouble whammy

• easy target or something that is vulnerable or defenselesstoattacksittingduck

• budget tightlymake endsmeet

hoi polloi • anordinarymassofpeople

• freeofobligationsorresponsibilities/freeandsingle,unattached

footlooseand

fancyfree

Thank you