An English Primer

Avoiding Common English Errors

Mahendra Palsule
No Spaces Before Punctuation Marks
 Incorrect:
 …will provide the following :
 …how does this interface with the other system ?
 …this solution is excellent !
 Correct:
 …will provide the following:
 …how does this interface with the system?
 …this solution is excellent!

Mahendra Palsule
Its vs. It’s
 Its is a possessive pronoun
 The system is scalable and flexible. Its features
are:
 Your laptop may not work. Its battery is very,
very low.
 It’s is a contraction of “it is”
 It’s not possible to do this!
 The system is scalable and flexible. It’s designed
that way.

Mahendra Palsule
Whose vs. Who’s
 Whose is a possessive pronoun
 Whose design is this?
 Whose problem is this?
 Who’s is a contraction of ‘who is’ or ‘who has’
 Do you know anyone who’s had the same
problem?
 Who’s standing at the door?

Mahendra Palsule
Non-existent Word: Updation
 ‘Updation’ is an imaginary word, not existing
in any English language dictionary
 ‘Update’ is both a verb as well as a noun, and
should be used instead
 Incorrect:
 Any additional updation is out of scope
 Data updation is performed automatically
 Correct:
 Any additional updates are out of scope
 Data update is performed automatically

Mahendra Palsule
Non-existent Word: Prepone
 ‘Prepone’ is a word invented by Indians.
However, it is not used and not understood by
the rest of the world.
 Unfortunately, most Indians don’t know this!
 See Wikipedia on Prepone:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepone
 It is ok to use it when communicating with
Indians; not ok with others
 There is no equivalent alternative. You need to
rephrase the sentence using other words:
 Bring the meeting forward
 Release date has been advanced to an earlier one
Mahendra Palsule
Using Periods Consistently
 Either end all list items with a period, or omit
the period from all list items
 Incorrect
 System will be scalable
 System will be flexible.
 System will be reliable
 When one of the list items contains more than
one sentence, period is required for all list
items
 System will be scalable.
 System will be flexible. It will be modular.
 System will be reliable.
Mahendra Palsule
Avoiding Acronym Redundancy
 ATM Machine = Automated Teller Machine
Machine
 PIN Number = Personal Identification Number
Number
 Incorrect:
 User will enter PIN Number
 ATM Machines will be installed
 Correct:
 User will enter PIN
 ATMs will be installed
 Same goes with CAT, SAT, GMAT – all are Tests
 Other: AC/DC current, ADSL line, LAN network,
Mahendra Palsule
GRE exam, LCD display
Avoiding Meaning Redundancy
 ‘real fact’ = ‘fact’
 ‘more better’ = ‘better’
 ‘and etc.’ = ‘etc.’
 ‘close proximity’ = ‘proximity’
 ‘end result’ = ‘result’
 ‘reason is because’ = ‘reason is’
 ‘sudden and unexpected surprise’ = ‘surprise’
 ‘join together’ = ‘join’
 ‘basic fundamentals’ = ‘fundamentals’

Mahendra Palsule
Using Case Correctly
 Uppercase
 THIS IS UPPERCASE
 Lowercase
 this is lowercase
 Title Case
 This Is Title Case.
 Use the correct case, avoid mixed case and
unnecessary capitalization
 Only exceptions are proper nouns, copyrights,
trademarks, special emphasis, where
capitalization is required

Mahendra Palsule
Other Errors
 Loose vs. lose
 Loose means not firm or not fitting: ‘the shirt is
loose’
 Lose means suffer defeat: ‘we don’t want to lose
this match’
 One of the file is not in CVS
 Correct: One of the files is not in CVS
 I have sent two xeroxes of the proposal
 Correct: I have sent two photocopies of the
proposal
 This road is called as “Law College Road”
 Correct: This road is known as “Law College Road”
 Correct: This road is called “LawPalsule
Mahendra College Road”
Some Fun: William Safire’s Rules
 A Pulitzer-prize winning columnist illustrated
these English rules by breaking each one in
itself!
 Remember to never split an infinitive.
 The passive voice should never be used.
 Do not put statements in the negative form.
 Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
 If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of
repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
 And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a
preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)
 Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular
nouns in their writing.
 If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
 Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
 Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!
Mahendra Palsule