You only have to FIND the error; you don’t have to correct it!
In the next 7 tips you will see the “Seven Common Errors”.
Seven Common Errors: Error #1
Verb Tense and Agreement
Make sure the subject and verb agree in tense and in number
**Countries are singular
Seven Common Errors: Error #2
Nouns
Singular and plural nouns:
- Many plural nouns are followed by an s.
- Singular nouns could be identified with a, an, or this.
- Plural nouns could be identified with the, those, these, two (or any number over two), or they.
- Groups of nouns listed together with “and” are plural.
For example, “Apple, orange, and grape are all fruit drinks.”
Noncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be counted, such as:
technology,
water,
justice,
family,
money,
honesty,
air,
politics,
faith,
furniture, etc.
These nouns are classed as singular and you can replace them with “it”.
Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted, such as:
cat, cats
knife, knives
child, children
cookie, cookies
can, cans, etc.
Seven Common Errors: Error #3
Pronouns
Pronoun agreement: Make sure the pronoun agrees with the noun it replaces in terms of number, case, and gender. For example, “I was sure I had the money because I remember counting it.” This sentence is correct; it would be incorrect to say, “I was sure I had the money because I remember counting them.” Missing pronouns, such as “He took the money from my purse but he promised to replace….”; This sentence should read, “He took the money from my purse but he promised to replace it.” Extra pronouns: If you see a noun and a pronoun right next to each other, one is probably unnecessary (especially as an unnecessary second subject). for example, “The child he is very stubborn” should read, “The child is very stubborn.”
Seven Common Errors: Error #4
Diction
Watch out for the use of a verb instead of a noun or vice versa! For example:
Wrong: “He is quick to reaction.”
Correct: “He is quick to react.”
Nouns and adjectives may sometimes sound alike. For example:
Wrong: “He is coldness.”
Correct: “He is cold.”
Adjective-Adverb (adverbs often end in -ly but there are many exceptions). For example:
“The puppy is big.” (”big” is an adjective and modifies “puppy”.)
“The puppy has grown bigger.” (”bigger” is an adverb and modifies the verb “has grown”.)
The normal rule for forming an adverb is to add ‘ly’ to the adjective, such as
“slow; slowly”, “beautiful; beautifully”, “shy; shyly”, etc. For example:
Adjective: “The slow train is late”.
Adverb: “The train moves slowly”.
Some words may appear misspelled. Some favorite errors on the TOEFL include using the word for a profession, such as “chemist”, instead of the word for the subject, “chemistry”.
Wrong: “He studies chemist.”
Correct: “He studies chemistry.”
Other typical mistakes for words that sound alike:
weigh/way
weather/whether
decent/descent
complements/compliments
principal/principle
basis/ base
except/accept
These words may sound the same but have very different meanings.
Seven Common Errors: Error #5
Parallelism
The rule is that items in a list must be in the same form. For example:
“Eileen loved to run, doing her homework, and to watch television.” You must change “doing her homework” to “do her homework.” You could also say, “Eileen loved running, doing her homework, and watching televison.”
Quantity and Comparison Words
Quantity:
When expressing a quantity of a countable noun, use fewer, number, and many.
When expressing a quantity of a noncountable noun, use “less, quantity, amount, little,and much.
Remember, much is used for quantity, many for number. Examples of these rules are:
“He hasn’t much money, but he has many friends.”
“He eats little chocolate and few sweets.”
Much before a noun or modifying a verb is rarely used in an affirmative statement or command. It is often replaced with “a lot of”, “a good deal of”, or “plenty of”. For example:
“I have spent a lot of money.”
“Bring a lot of cheese.”
“I enjoyed it a lot.”
However, “very much, too much, and so much” are used more commonly. For example:
“I have spent too much money.”
“I enjoyed myself very much.”
“There is so much to do.”
However, much is used in a negative or interogative sentence. It also can follow verbs of a negative meaning, such as “deny, forbid, or doubt.” For example:
“You won’t find much left.”
“Have you much to do?”
“I forbid you to bring much with you.”
Seven Common Errors: Error #6
Comparison:
When comparing two things, use the form that ends in -er, such as better, older, younger, prettier.
When you are comparing three or more things, use the form that ends in -est, such as best, oldest, youngest, prettiest.
When you have a group of two things, use between.
When you have a group of three or more things, use among. For example:
“The decision is between you and I.”
“The four men must make the decision among them.”
Seven Common Errors: Error #7
Idioms: An idiomatic expression is one that would not make sense if it were translated literally. Some examples:
“He kicked the bucket” means “He died”;
“She bought the farm” means “She has died”;
“He is full of himself” means “He has a great ego”;
“We see eye to eye” which means “We agree”.
The use of prepositions can be difficult in idioms, and are often tested. Examples are:
Worry about someone NOT worry of someone;
Envious of your coat NOT envious for your coat;
According to the plan NOT according with the plan;
Comply with rules NOT comply to rules;
In accordance with policy NOT in accordance to policy;
Jealous of others NOT jealous for others; etc.
Other common idiomatic expressions that are tested are in the use of conjunctions which connect equal parts of sentences, such as:
Not only…but also
“Not only was she late, but she also wasn’t prepared.”
Neither… nor
“He liked neither fruits nor vegetables.”
Either …or
“She is either going to college or she is getting a job.”
Remember the parts of the sentence that are NOT underlined are correct as written. You can look at these parts that you know are correct and use them to guide you. Articles and adjectives can tell you whether nouns are plural or singular.
Pronouns replace nouns.
Now look at the underlined parts.
Decide what part of speech they are and look for the seven common errors:
1. Verb Tense and Agreement
2. Nouns
3. Pronouns
4. Diction
5. Parallelism
6. Quantity and Comparison Words
7. Idioms
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