Common Errors
verb
1
DO · HAVE · MAKE · TAKE
Many phrases begin with a very common very such as do, make, have, or take : ‘I felt very nervous about taking the test but, after having a long talk with Mrs Fisher, I decided I would just do my best and try not to make too many silly mistakes .’ These verbs can be combined with some nouns but not with others and since they do not have a clear meaning of their own, choosing the right combination can be a problem. Phrases which tend to cause difficulty are shown below.
HAVE
have a bath (or esp. AmE take ) ‘She’s probably upstairs having a bath.’
Have (your) breakfast ‘We usually have breakfast in the kitchen.’
Have (your) dinner ‘We had dinner and then went for a walk.’
Have a drink ‘I’ll collapse if I don’t have a drink soon.’
Have (an) experience ‘He has no experience of running a large company.’
Have fun ‘You can’t stop people from having fun.’
Have a holiday ‘It’s almost a year since we had a real holiday.’
Have an interview ‘I’ve had six interviews but no one has offered me a job.’
Have a lesson ‘Every morning we have three fifty-minute lessons.’
Have (your) lunch ‘Isn’t it about time we had lunch?’
Have an operation ‘Before I had the operation I could hardly walk.’
Have a party ‘On Saturday we’re having a party.’
Have a picnic ‘If it’s sunny we could have a picnic.’
Have a shower (or esp. AmE take) ‘It only takes me a minute to have a shower.’
TAKE
Take/do an examination ‘Why do we have to take so many tests?’
Take (your) medicine ‘Don’t forget to take your medicine.’
Take a pill ‘He refuses to take sleeping pills.’
Take/do a test ‘The last test I took was a disaster.’
MAKE
Make an effort ‘I had to make a big effort not to laugh.’
Make a journey ‘It was the first journey he’d made all on his own.’
Make a mistake ‘He has made a serious mistake.’
Make a noise ‘How can one small child make so much noise?’
Make progress ‘I made very little progress at the start of the course.’
DO
Do your best ‘Don’t worry, Tim. Just do your best.’
Do (or cause) damage ‘The storm did a lot of damage to the crops.’
Do an exercise ‘Have you done your exercises today?’
Do an experiment ‘To do this experiment, you’ll need two eggs.’
Do (sb) good ‘The holiday has done him a lot of good.’
Do harm ‘A scandal would do his reputation a lot of harm.’
Do your homework ‘Have you done your homework yet?’
Do a job ‘I’ve got one or two jobs to do this evening.’
Do the/some shopping ‘Jake has gone into town to do some shopping.’
Do research ‘We need to do a lot more research.’
Do things ‘We’ve done lots of different things today.’
Do your training ‘Where did you do your training?’
Note also: do something/anything etc: ‘I can’t come now – I’m doing something.’ ‘He hasn’t done anything wrong.'
2
See THAT 3 (↑that)
III
adjective
DUBIOUS: Taking all the above into account, one could say that tourism does more harm than good.
GOOD: Taking all the above arguments into account, one could say that tourism does more harm than good.
Instead of using the above as a loose reference to something mentioned earlier, make the reference more precise by using the above + noun (or the + noun + above ): 'the above reasons', 'the statement above '.
preposition
1
BAD: He likes reading, above all novels.
GOOD: He likes reading, especially novels.
Above all means 'most importantly': 'Get plenty of sleep, eat lots of good food, and above all try to relax.' 'There were many qualities that made him a great leader. Above all, he had charisma.'
2
BAD: There were above a hundred people in the crowd.
GOOD: There were over a hundred people in the crowd.
Do not use above with numbers (unless referring to points on a scale): 'He is over eighty years of age.' 'I receive over twenty letters a day.' Compare 'Don't let the temperature get above thirty degrees.'
3
BAD: This year English is above all my most important subject.
GOOD: This year English is by far my most important subject.
With a superlative form ('the most important'), use by far : 'The riot was by far the most horrific scene I'd ever witnessed.'
4
DUBIOUS: I like to stay at home on a Sunday, as I've said above.
GOOD: I like to stay at home on a Sunday, as I've already said.
DUBIOUS: What do you think of the above suggestion?
GOOD: What do you think of my/this suggestion?
Above is used in formal writing to refer to something that has been mentioned earlier: 'From the above arguments it can be seen that supporters of the dam project fall into two camps.' In informal styles, this use of above is inappropriate.
5
BAD: Where would you like to go above all?
GOOD: Where would you like to go most of all?
When you mean 'more than anywhere/anything/anyone else', use most of all or the most : 'What worries me most of all is that the car is not roadworthy.' 'The one I liked the most was too expensive.'
adverb
1
BAD: Honestly, we didn't play very well in the final.
GOOD: To be honest, we didn't play very well in the final.
BAD: Honestly, I don't really like her husband.
GOOD: To tell you the truth, I don't really like her husband.
Use honestly when you want someone to believe that what you are saying is really true: 'I honestly don't mind where we go, as long as we go somewhere.' 'I was going to give it back to you, honestly.'
To show someone that you are about to tell them your own true feelings about something (especially feelings that you usually keep secret), use to be honest (with you), in all honesty, to tell (you) the truth, (quite) frankly or to be frank : 'In all honesty, I'll be glad when the children are back at school.' 'To tell you the truth, I don't think that the marriage will last long.'
2
BAD: I honestly say that I haven't seen anyone work so hard.
GOOD: I can honestly say that I haven't seen anyone work so hard.
I can honestly say (WITH can ): 'I can honestly say this is the worst film I've ever seen.'
verb
1
BAD: As far as I concern, the cost of the repair is not my responsibility.
GOOD: As far as I'm concerned, the cost of the repair is not my responsibility.
as far as sb/sth is concerned : 'As far as my parents are concerned, I'm free to come whenever I like.' 'As far as the law is concerned, you are innocent until proven guilty.' 'As far as your grammar is concerned, you seem to be having a problem with tenses.'
2
BAD: You should concern more about your health.
GOOD: You should be more concerned about your health.
BAD: There are far more serious things to concern about.
GOOD: There are far more serious things to be concerned about.
be concerned about sth (= be worried or anxious): 'The government is becoming increasingly concerned about the rising level of unemployment.' 'The manager is naturally very concerned about the recent spate of injuries.'
3
BAD: The first chapter is concerned about the disposal of nuclear waste.
GOOD: The first chapter is concerned with the disposal of nuclear waste.
GOOD: The first chapter concerns the disposal of nuclear waste.
be concerned with sth OR concern sth = (of a book, film, essay etc) be about a particular subject: 'The article is concerned with recent developments in primary education.'
4
BAD: Some dentists are more concerned in earning money than doing a good job.
GOOD: Some dentists are more concerned with earning money than doing a good job.
be concerned with (doing ) sth = be interested in: 'We should be more concerned with re-educating criminals than punishing them.'
noun
BAD: The history of the town dates back to the Middle Age.
GOOD: The history of the town dates back to the Middle Ages.
middle age = the period in a person's life between youth and old age: 'People who live this type of life are lucky if they reach middle age.'
Middle Ages = the period in European history from about 1100 to 1500 AD: 'Life in the Middle Ages was very simple.'
adverb
BAD: I utterly hope you won't be angry with me.
GOOD: I sincerely hope you won't be angry with me.
BAD: I have to make sure that our customers are utterly satisfied.
GOOD: I have to make sure that our customers are completely satisfied.
Utterly is usually used with words that have a negative meaning or express strong disapproval such as (adjectives) ridiculous, absurd, irrelevant, useless, wrong, impossible, (adjectival participles) confused, amazed, dejected, ruined, (verbs) reject, detest, destroy : 'This new tin opener is utterly useless.' 'The whole idea is utterly absurd.' 'I'm utterly amazed.' 'The entire building was utterly destroyed.'
pronoun
1
BAD: Dear Mary ... Yours faithfully ...
GOOD: Dear Mary ... Yours/With love/With best wishes ...
BAD: Dear John, ... Yours sincerely ...
GOOD: Dear John, ... Yours/With love/With best wishes ...
Yours faithfully and Yours sincerely are used only in formal letters.
At the end of a letter to a friend or relative, use Yours, With love, With best wishes, etc.
2
BAD: Dear Sir, ... Yours,
GOOD: Dear Sir, ... Yours faithfully,
When a formal letter begins with Dear Sir or Dear Madam , it usually ends with Yours faithfully .
BAD: I daren't to ask her for any more money.
GOOD: I daren't ask her for any more money.
daren't do sth (WITHOUT to ): 'I daren't tell George what happened or he'll be furious.'
Compare: 'I don't dare tell/to tell George what happened ... .'
conjunction
BAD: Although I enjoyed my stay in the USA, but I was still glad to come home.
GOOD: Although I enjoyed my stay in the USA, I was still glad to come home.
GOOD: I enjoyed my stay in the USA, but I was still glad to come home.
If the first clause begins with although or (even) though, do not begin the second clause with but or yet .
See also SO 2 (↑so)
adverb
1
BAD: He left the house at five in the morning, when the family was yet asleep.
GOOD: He left the house at five in the morning, when the family was still asleep.
BAD: I've only been here two weeks and everything is strange yet.
GOOD: I've only been here two weeks and everything is still strange.
Yet means 'up to the moment of speaking' and is used mainly in questions and negative sentences: 'Do you feel any better yet?' 'The post office isn't open yet.'
When you want to say that an earlier state or situation has not changed, use still : 'I've taken the medicine but I still feel terrible.' 'Does Hilary still go to the same school?'
2
BAD: I didn't finish my thesis yet.
GOOD: I haven't finished my thesis yet.
Yet (= up to the moment of speaking) is usually used with the present or present perfect tense (NOT the past tense): 'Has the taxi arrived yet?' 'Is the taxi here yet?'
3
See note at BUT (↑but)
noun
1
BAD: She said she was going on holidays to France.
GOOD: She said she was going on holiday to France.
BAD: I've just got back from holidays.
GOOD: I've just got back from holiday.
Speakers of British English use (be/go) on holiday, (return/get back) from holiday (WITHOUT -s ): 'I met her while I was on holiday in Switzerland.' 'We're supposed to be going on holiday with them.'
The plural form holidays is usually used with the/my/your etc: 'Where are you going for your holiday/s this year?' 'During the long summer holiday/s some students get a part-time job.'
Speakers of American Engish use (be/go) on vacation etc.
2
BAD: The children stay up late when they are in their holidays.
GOOD: The children stay up late when they are on holiday.
BAD: In those days we couldn't afford to go in holidays.
GOOD: In those days we couldn't afford to go on holiday.
(be/go) on holiday (NOT in (your) holidays ): 'Mark's on holiday this week.' 'On holiday I just like to relax and read a book or two.'
3
BAD: It's time you made a holiday.
GOOD: It's time you had a holiday.
BAD: At Easter a lot of pensioners go to Lugano to make a holiday.
GOOD: At Easter a lot of pensioners go to Lugano to have a holiday.
DO · HAVE · MAKE · TAKE
Many phrases begin with a very common very such as do, make, have, or take : ‘I felt very nervous about taking the test but, after having a long talk with Mrs Fisher, I decided I would just do my best and try not to make too many silly mistakes .’ These verbs can be combined with some nouns but not with others and since they do not have a clear meaning of their own, choosing the right combination can be a problem. Phrases which tend to cause difficulty are shown below.
HAVE
have a bath (or esp. AmE take ) ‘She’s probably upstairs having a bath.’
Have (your) breakfast ‘We usually have breakfast in the kitchen.’
Have (your) dinner ‘We had dinner and then went for a walk.’
Have a drink ‘I’ll collapse if I don’t have a drink soon.’
Have (an) experience ‘He has no experience of running a large company.’
Have fun ‘You can’t stop people from having fun.’
Have a holiday ‘It’s almost a year since we had a real holiday.’
Have an interview ‘I’ve had six interviews but no one has offered me a job.’
Have a lesson ‘Every morning we have three fifty-minute lessons.’
Have (your) lunch ‘Isn’t it about time we had lunch?’
Have an operation ‘Before I had the operation I could hardly walk.’
Have a party ‘On Saturday we’re having a party.’
Have a picnic ‘If it’s sunny we could have a picnic.’
Have a shower (or esp. AmE take) ‘It only takes me a minute to have a shower.’
TAKE
Take/do an examination ‘Why do we have to take so many tests?’
Take (your) medicine ‘Don’t forget to take your medicine.’
Take a pill ‘He refuses to take sleeping pills.’
Take/do a test ‘The last test I took was a disaster.’
MAKE
Make an effort ‘I had to make a big effort not to laugh.’
Make a journey ‘It was the first journey he’d made all on his own.’
Make a mistake ‘He has made a serious mistake.’
Make a noise ‘How can one small child make so much noise?’
Make progress ‘I made very little progress at the start of the course.’
DO
Do your best ‘Don’t worry, Tim. Just do your best.’
Do (or cause) damage ‘The storm did a lot of damage to the crops.’
Do an exercise ‘Have you done your exercises today?’
Do an experiment ‘To do this experiment, you’ll need two eggs.’
Do (sb) good ‘The holiday has done him a lot of good.’
Do harm ‘A scandal would do his reputation a lot of harm.’
Do your homework ‘Have you done your homework yet?’
Do a job ‘I’ve got one or two jobs to do this evening.’
Do the/some shopping ‘Jake has gone into town to do some shopping.’
Do research ‘We need to do a lot more research.’
Do things ‘We’ve done lots of different things today.’
Do your training ‘Where did you do your training?’
Note also: do something/anything etc: ‘I can’t come now – I’m doing something.’ ‘He hasn’t done anything wrong.'
4
See PASS1
verb
1
BAD: I don't agree the people who say women should stay at home.
GOOD: I don't agree with the people who say women should stay at home.
BAD: In many ways I agree to his statement.
GOOD: In many ways I agree with his statement.
agree with sb/sth = have the same opinion as: 'You can't expect everyone to agree with you all the time.' 'I tend to agree with you that the proposal is too risky.'
2
BAD: I don't understand why he doesn't agree the divorce.
GOOD: I don't understand why he doesn't agree to the divorce.
BAD: Conservationists will never agree the building of the motorway.
GOOD: Conservationists will never agree to the building of the motorway.
agree to sth = be willing to accept or allow something: 'The bank manager has agreed to our request for a loan.'
3
BAD: I am agree that archaeological treasures should be protected.
GOOD: I agree that archaeological treasures should be protected.
BAD: In some ways I am agree with those who want stricter punishments.
GOOD: In some ways I agree with those who want stricter punishments.
Agree is a verb (NOT an adjective).
4
See FACT 4 (↑fact)
modal verb
1
BAD: People are not as careful as they must be and drop their litter in the streets.
GOOD: People are not as careful as they should be and drop their litter in the streets.
Use must (or have to ) when, for example, there is a law or rule and you are not free to choose or decide for yourself: 'Candidates must answer all the questions in Part A and two questions in Part B.'
Use should (or ought to ) when, for example, someone advises you to do something but you are free to choose or decide for yourself: 'At the end of the examination, you should check your answers.'
2
BAD: The pupils mustn't go to the meeting if they don't want to.
GOOD: The pupils needn't go to the meeting it they don't want to.
Use must not/never when you mean that it is essential that someone does not do something: 'The door to the X-ray room must never be opened when the red light is on.'
When you mean that it is not necessary for someone to do something, use needn't or don't need/have to : 'You needn't pay now. You can wait until the furniture has been delivered.'
3
BAD: You must be pleased to hear that I've already got the tickets.
GOOD: You'll be pleased to hear that I've already got the tickets.
When you inform someone of something, use will be + pleased/interested + to hear/know/learn (NOT must ): 'You will be pleased to know that your old friend Peter has been promoted to Associate Professor.'
4
BAD: If you can't find her, she must hide somewhere.
GOOD: If you can't find her, she must be hiding somewhere.
When you do not actually know where someone is or what they are doing, but certain facts allow you to guess, use must be or must be doing : 'If she isn't in her office, she must be in the canteen.' 'If she's in the canteen, she must be having her lunch.'
III
adverb
1
BAD: Inside the examination room we could neither smoke or talk.
GOOD: Inside the examination room we could neither smoke nor talk.
BAD: His parents neither shouted at him or smacked him.
GOOD: His parents neither shouted at him nor smacked him.
neither ... nor ... (NOT neither ... or ... ): 'The sales assistant was neither friendly nor helpful.'
Compare: 'You can either come with me or wait here.'
2
BAD: I have neither studied the language nor the culture.
GOOD: I have studied neither the language nor the culture.
Neither should be placed immediately before the first of the connected items and nor immediately before the second. Compare: 'I have neither studied nor experienced the culture.'
pronoun
1
BAD: Neither John's father nor mine couldn't understand the problem.
GOOD: Neither John's father nor mine could understand the problem.
After neither and neither ... nor ... the verb is affirmative (NOT negative): 'Neither applicant had the right qualifications.' 'Neither the teachers nor the students had been informed.'
2
BAD: Neither teachers are coming.
GOOD: Neither teacher is coming.
GOOD: Neither of the teachers is coming.
After neither + singular noun, the verb is singular: 'Neither player wants a transfer.'
After neither of + plural noun, careful users prefer a singular verb: 'Neither of the players wants a transfer.' Some people use a plural verb, especially in informal styles: 'Neither of the players want a transfer.'
adjective
1
BAD: She began to think she was becoming mad.
GOOD: She began to think she was going mad.
go mad (NOT become ) =: 'Eventually, rejected by Hamlet, Ophelia goes mad and drowns herself.'
2
BAD: I've always been mad for tennis.
GOOD: I've always been mad about tennis.
be mad/crazy about sth (NOT for ) = (informal) like something very much: 'Why are so many people crazy about computer games?'