Everything You Wanted to Know About English

But Were Afraid to Ask

List of Common Errors-Part One

1. a, an

• a: goes before a consonant sound• an: goes before a vowel sound• Example:

–a boat–an hour

2. accept, except

• accept: “to receive”• except: “to leave out”• Example:

– He acceptedaccepted the award.– Everyone got an A exceptexcept Kate.

3. affect, effect

• affect: (verb) “to influence”• effect: (noun) “the result of an action”

(verb) “to bring about”• Example:

– The loss of McNabb did not affect the Eagles.

– The movie had great special effects.

4. ain’t

• Not formal-avoid it when writing.

5. already, all ready

• already=previously• all ready=ready to go• Example:

– I already saw that movie.– The family was all ready to leave for

vacation.

6. all right

• all right is alwaysalways two words• alrightalright is not a word

7. a lot

• a lot is always two words

8. anyways, anywheres, everywheres, nowheres, somewheres• Not words!• No –s at the end!

9. at

• Don’t use after where.• Example:

– Where is your pen at?

10. bad, badly

• bad is an adjective.• badly is an adverb.• Example:

– Those socks smell bad.(noun) (adj)

– I did badly on the test.(verb) (adv)

11. between, among

• Use between when referring to two things at a time. (Between has two ee’s.)

• Use among when referring to a group.• Note: among and amongst have the

same meaning.• Example:

– Steve sits between Lorin and Amanda.– We split the food among the three of us.

12. bring, take

• bring=“to come carrying something”• take=“to go carrying something” • Example:

– I will bring home takeout Chinese food.

13. bust, busted

• Don’t use them as verbs. Use burst or break or catch or arrest.

• Example:– The teacher caught the lying student. (Not

busted.)

14. could of, should of, would of, might of, must of, ought to of• All are incorrect! • Use have instead.• Example:

– I should have studied.

15. desert, dessert

• desert-think sand• dessert-think yummy!• (There are two S’s in dessert because

you go back for seconds.)

16. doesn’t, don’t

• doesn’t=does not• don’t=do not• Example:

– He doesn’t know how to swim. (Not don’t.)

17. et cetera

• Latin for “and so on”.• etc. Not ect!• Do not use it! It’s vague!

18. farther, further

• farther=extent of physical distance.• further=extent of time or degree.• Example:

– He throws the ball farther than Pete.– We’ll talk further tomorrow.

19. fewer, less

• Use fewer with plural words.• Use less with singular words.• Example:

– Fewer plants grow in the desert than in the tundra.

– She needs less help than he does.

20. good, well

• good-adjective• well-adverb• Example:

– I did well on the quiz.(V) (adv)

• (Note: Well can be an adjective meaning “healthy.”)

• Example:I don’t feel well.

21. had ought, hadn’t ought

• Don’t use had with ought.• Example:

– He ought to help us.

22. hardly, scarcely

• They both have negative meaning.• Don’t use them with another negative

word (like not).• Example:

– I can hardly read this.

List of Common Errors-Part Two

23. he, she, it, they

• Don’t use them after the subject.• Example:

– Scott he went to Six Flags.

24. hisself

• Not a word.• Use himself.

25. how come, why

• How come is informal.• Why is formal.• Example:

– How come I got a C?

26. its, it’s

• An apostrophe with a pronoun is always a contraction!

• its=belonging to it• it’s=it is• Example:

– It’s time for the dog to run on its own.

27. kind, sort, type

• This, that, these, and those should agree in number with kind, sort, and type.

• Example:– He likes this kind of music, not those

kinds.

28. kind of, sort of

• They’re informal.• Use somewhat or rather.• Example:

– I’m kind of hungry.

29. learn, teach

• learn=to acquire knowledge• teach=to instruct (give knowledge)• Example:

– Ms. Hoover is teaching me to not eat paste.

30. leave, let

• leave=to go away• let=to allow• Example:

– Let her go to the corner. (Not leave)

31. lie, lay

• lie=to rest (does not take an object)• lay=to put something in a place (takes

an object)

Base Present Participle

Past Past Participle

lie is lying lay have lainlay is laying laid have laid

lie, lay (continued)

• Example:– She laid the gloves on the desk. – When I got home, I lay down to sleep.

32. imply, infer

• imply=to give a hint or suggestion• infer=to take a hint or suggestion• Example:

– He implied that I had something in my teeth, and I inferred it.

33. like, as if, though

• Like is often used where as if or though should be used.

• Example:– She behaved as if she hadn’t heard her

name.

34. may, can

• can=able to• may=permission• Example:

– May I go to the bathroom? (Not can.)

35. of

• Don’t use of after inside, off, and outside.

• Example:– Get off of the stage.

36. real

• Don’t use real the same way you’d use very, really, or extremely.

• Example:– That test is extremely hard. (Not real.)

37. reason…because

• Use reason…that instead.• Example:

– The reason I did well on the test was that I studied. (Not because.)

38. rise, raise

• rise=to go up (doesn’t take an object)• raise=to lift up (takes an object)

Base Present Participle

Past Past Participle

rise is rising rose have risenraise is raising raised have raised

rise, raise (continued)

• Example:– The sun rises every morning.– My boss raised my salary ten percent. (Salary is the direct object of raised. That

is, it is what is raised.)

39. set, sit

• set=“to put something in a place” • sit=“to rest in a chair” or “to be in a

place”

Base Present Participle

Past Past Participle

set is setting set have setsit is sitting sat have sat

set, sit (continued)

• Example:– Sit under that tree.– Set your backpack under the tree.

40. some, somewhat

• Don’t use some for somewhat.• Example:

– My fever’s gone down somewhat.

41. than, then

• Than is used for comparison.• Then is used with time. (When? Then.)• Example:

– The Eagles are better than the Falcons.– I read my book then did my homework.

42. their, there, they’re

• their=belonging to them• there=a place (Where? There.)• they’re=they are• Example:

– Their books are over there.

43. theirself, theirselves

• Not words!• Use themselves.

44. them

• Don’t use them as an adjective.• Example:

– Put those cans in the trash.

45. this here, that there

• Don’t use them together.• Example:

– Should I get that there shirt?

46. try and

• Use try to instead.• Example:

– I’ll try to be on time.

47. use to, used to, suppose to, supposed to• Don’t leave off the –d when writing

these.• Example:

– I used to live in Philadelphia.

48. way, ways

• Use way (no –s) when referring to distance.

• Example:– We have a long way to go. (Not ways.)

49. when, where

• Don’t use these words when writing a definition.

• Example:– An infomercial is where a TV show that is

a long advertisement.

50. where

• Don’t use where for that.• Example:

– I read that the Phillies lost. (Not where.)

51. who, which, that

• They are all pronouns, but they are used to refer to different kinds of nouns.

• Who refers to people.• Which refers to things.• That refers to either people or things.• If you’re not sure, use that.• Example:

– This is the ring that I want.

52. who, whom

• who=subject• whom=object (usually goes with or to)• Example:

– Who is that guy with the hook for the hand?

– To whom should I give this money?

53. who’s, whose

• who’s=who is or who has• whose=ownership• Example:

– Whose pants are these?– Who’s there?

54. without, unless

• Don’t use without for unless.• Example:

– I can’t go to the game unless I do my homework. (Not without doing.)

55. your, you’re

• your=ownership• you’re=you are• Example:

– You’re missing your homework.