Common Errors – Class 12 Alternative English Grammar

Common Errors

Note for Students: Mastering Common Errors in English

Welcome to the lesson on “Common Errors.” Writing correctly and clearly is one of the most important skills you can develop. Small mistakes in grammar can sometimes change the meaning of your sentences or make them confusing for the reader. This unit will help you identify and correct some of the most frequent errors made in English.

We will focus on five key areas:

1. Nouns and Noun-phrases: Using singular and plural forms correctly.
2. Pronouns: Ensuring pronouns agree with the nouns they replace and are used in the correct case (e.g., I vs. me).
3. Adjectives: Using the correct comparative (e.g., worse, cleverer) and superlative (e.g., best, bravest) forms.
4. Verbs: Making sure verbs agree with the subject and are in the correct tense.
5. Adverbs: Using adverbs correctly to describe actions.

By practicing these rules, you will be able to write with greater accuracy, clarity, and confidence. Pay close attention to the examples, as they show you exactly what to look for. Good luck!

Lesson: Common Errors in English Usage

This lesson covers common mistakes in five main areas of grammar.

1. Nouns and Noun-phrases

Mistakes are often made with countable and uncountable nouns, and singular/plural forms.

2. Pronouns

Errors often occur with pronoun case (subject vs. object) and agreement.

3. Adjectives

The correct degree of comparison (comparative/superlative) must be used.

4. Verbs

Verb errors can relate to tense, form, or agreement with the subject.

5. Adverbs

Adverbs describe verbs, and some words (like ‘fastly’) are not standard English.

Exercise: Correct the errors in these sentences and rewrite them.

Here are the beautifully written, corrected answers for the exercise questions.

1. Original: He is the braver of the three.
   • Corrected: He is the bravest of the three.
   • Reason: When comparing more than two people or things, the superlative degree (bravest) is used.
2. Original: She has submit the project on time.
   • Corrected: She has submitted the project on time.
   • Reason: With ‘has’ or ‘have’, the past participle form of the verb (submitted) is required.
3. Original: My teacher is unwell for five days.
   • Corrected: My teacher has been unwell for five days.
   • Reason: The present perfect continuous tense (‘has been’) is used to describe an action or state that started in the past and is still continuing.
4. Original: One of the team member has to take the responsibility.
   • Corrected: One of the team members has to take the responsibility.
   • Reason: The phrase “one of the” is always followed by a plural noun (members).
5. Original: He came latter than expected.
   • Corrected: He came later than expected.
   • Reason: ‘Latter’ refers to the second of two things mentioned, while ‘later’ refers to time.
6. Original: The luggages were loaded onto the conveyor belt.
   • Corrected: The luggage was loaded onto the conveyor belt.
   • Reason: ‘Luggage’ is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form. It also takes a singular verb (was).
7. Original: Each of the participants get a certificate.
   • Corrected: Each of the participants gets a certificate.
   • Reason: ‘Each’ is a singular pronoun and requires a singular verb (gets).
8. Original: She sings delightful.
   • Corrected: She sings delightfully.
   • Reason: An adverb (delightfully) is needed to describe the verb ‘sings’, not an adjective (delightful).
9. Original: Of all the eleven players Virat played more skillfully.
   • Corrected: Of all the eleven players, Virat played most skillfully.
   • Reason: When comparing more than two entities, the superlative form (most skillfully) is used.
10. Original: Mathematics are my favourite subject.
    • Corrected: Mathematics is my favourite subject.
    • Reason: Subjects like ‘Mathematics’ and ‘Physics’, although they end in ‘s’, are singular and take a singular verb (is).
11. Original: When asked for the reason for his absence, he said me a long story.
    • Corrected: When asked for the reason for his absence, he told me a long story.
    • Reason: The verb ‘tell’ is used to give information to someone, whereas ‘say’ is used to quote words. ‘Told’ is the correct choice here.
12. Original: The jury were divided in its opinion.
    • Corrected: The jury were divided in their opinion.
    • Reason: When a collective noun like ‘jury’ acts as a group of individuals (as implied by ‘divided’), it takes a plural verb (were) and a plural pronoun (their).
13. Original: Neither Sumit not his brother were present in court today.
    • Corrected: Neither Sumit nor his brother was present in court today.
    • Reason: The correct correlative conjunction is ‘neither…nor’. When two singular subjects are joined by ‘neither…nor’, the verb is singular (was).
14. Original: If you will approach the secretary, he will help you.
    • Corrected: If you approach the secretary, he will help you.
    • Reason: In the ‘if’ clause of a first conditional sentence, the simple present tense (approach) is used, not the future tense.
15. Original: I have received this email a week ago.
    • Corrected: I received this email a week ago.
    • Reason: When a specific past time is mentioned (‘a week ago’), the simple past tense (received) should be used instead of the present perfect.