Correct the Mistakes

1. We are only five on our team.

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2. I would rather to work from home than come to the office.

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3. We’re used to have a lot of work to do, so meeting the deadline won’t be a problem.

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4. My client sent me an email but I haven’t replied her yet.

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5. Maybe I’m going to finish this today.

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6. Please borrow me your badge so I can get into the storage closet.

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7. I can’t finish this by the end of the day. Even though I spend all day on it, I won’t finish on time.

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8. Probably, I’ll go to the beach on Saturday.

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9. The Old Man and the Sea was written for Ernest Hemingway.

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10. Our office is near to the airport, so it will be easy for you to get here.

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11. We have many stuffs to do this week, so I don’t know if I can go to English class.

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12. Despite I was tired, I came to work today.

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13. If we had a gym here, I can work out after work.

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14. I always try to do things very careful and make sure I do them correct. (two mistakes)

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15. We have people from all over the world here: India, United States, Venezuela, Canada,
United Kingdom, Germany, and France. (two mistakes)

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16. Are we going to have to work overtime again this week? I hope no.

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17. Yesterday, he told me that he will send the email after lunch, but he didn’t do it.

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18. My schedule often changes, but I normally work since 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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19. I thought you were still with Microsoft. When did you stop to work there?

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20. I’m not pretty sure about what we should do.

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21. How long time did you work in the public sector?

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22. Do you know where is the restaurant?

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23. He is well-experienced, so we know that he can do the job.

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24. Who is in charge to decide which printer to buy?

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25. I had a hard time getting in touch with my supervisor. After calling for hours, I finally could
get in touch with her.

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Answers and Explanations

1. We are only five There are five of us on our team.

We say there are five of us, there are seven of them, there are three of you, etc. We don’t
normally say We are five, they are seven, etc.

2. I would rather to work from home than come to the office.

After rather, we use the base form of the verb (I’d rather go/work/eat/see, etc.).

 3. We’re used to have having a lot of work to do, so meeting the deadline won’t be a problem.
To talk about something that someone is accustomed to doing, we use the following formula:

Subject + verb to be + used to + gerund 

Examples:
I’m used to getting up early, so I don’t mind coming in at 7 a.m.
I’m used to get up early, so I don’t mind coming in at 7 a.m.
She’s not used to speaking English on the phone, so it sometimes makes her nervous.
She’s not used to speak English on the phone, so it sometimes makes her nervous.

4. My client sent me an email but I haven’t replied her yet.

We use reply without an object or followed by “to” + what/who we are replying to.

5. Maybe I’m going to I might finish this today.

We don’t use Maybe + subject + I’m going to to communicate a future possibility. Instead, we
use might and the base form of the verb.

6. Please borrow lend me your badge so I can get into the storage closet.

The person who owns the item lends it, and the person who uses the item for a short period of
time borrows it.

 7. I can’t finish this by the end of the day. Even though Even if I spend all day on it, I won’t finish
on time.
We use even though or although for something that is true. We use even if to talk about
a hypothetical condition.

Examples:
We’re going to the beach tomorrow even if it rains. (hypothetical condition)
We’re going to the beach tomorrow even though it rains. 
Even though it rained, we had a great time at the beach. (something that is true)
Even if it rained, we had a great time at the beach.

 8. Probably, I’ll probably go to the beach on Saturday.

Probably typically goes before the main verb or after the verb to be.
Note that the negative would be I probably won’t go to the beach on Saturday.

 9. The Old Man and the Sea was written for by Ernest Hemingway.
In the passive voice, we use by to talk about who created something (a painting, a book, a story,
etc.).

 10. Our office is near to the airport, so it will be easy for you to get here.
We say close to or near, but not near to.

 11. We have many stuffs a lot of stuff to do this week, so I don’t know if I can go to English class.
Stuff has no plural form. It is a non-count noun.

 12. Despite Even though/Although I was tired, I came to work today.

We use despite/in spite of before a noun or gerund.  We use even though/although before a
subject and a verb.

Examples:
Despite being sick, I came to work.
Despite I was sick, I came to work.
Although I was sick, I came to work.
Although being sick, I came to work.
In spite of being sick, I came to work.
In spite of I was sick, I came to work.
Even though I was sick, I came to work.
Even though my sickness, I came to work.

 13. If we had a gym here, I can could work out after work.

This is an unreal conditional (also called the second conditional). We use the unreal conditional
to talk about hypothetical or unreal situations in the present or future.

 14. I always try to do things very careful carefully and make sure I do

them correct correctly. (two mistakes)
In this sentence, we need to use adverbs instead of adjectives because we are modifying a verb.

 15. We have people from all over the world here: India, the United States, Venezuela,
Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. (two mistakes)

We use the in the names of certain countries:

the United States the United Kingdom the Czech Republic the
Dominican Republic the Netherlands the Philippines
the Bahamas the Maldives the United Arab Emirates the
Sudan

 16. Are we going to have to work overtime again this week? I hope no not.
The expression is I hope not, not I hope no.

 17. Yesterday, he told me that he will would send the email after lunch, but he didn’t do it.
In reported speech, will becomes would or was/were going to.

18. My schedule often changes, but I normally work since from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For schedules, we use from….to….

 19. I thought you were still with Microsoft. When did you stop to work working there?
We use stop + gerund to communicate that an action has finished.

Examples:
I stopped working at 6 p.m. last night.
I stopped to work at 6 p.m. last night.

20. I’m not pretty sure about what we should do.

We don’t use pretty sure in the negative. We can say I’m pretty sure, but I’m not pretty sure is
incorrect.

 21. How long time did you work in the public sector?

We say How long… for questions about duration of time, not How long time…

 22. Do you know where is the restaurant the restaurant is?

After expressions like Do you know…, Could you tell me,.. and I was wondering if… we use
statement order, not question order. These are called indirect questions.

Examples:
Could you tell me what time it is? Could you tell me what time is it?

 23. He is well-experienced He has a lot of experience, so we know that he can do the job.
We can’t use well before all adjectives. Sometimes it works (well-paid, well-educated), but
sometimes it does not (well-knowledgeable, well-interpreted).

 24. Who is in charge to decide of deciding which printer to buy?

We say in charge of + gerund.

 25. I had a hard time getting in touch with my supervisor. After calling for hours, I
finally could was able get in touch with her.  
We use was/were able to to talk about one successful event in the past. We
use could or was/were able to to talk about what was generally possible in the past.

Examples:
We were able to outbid out competitors. (we outbid them and won the contract)
We could outbid our competitors. (incorrect if we are talking about one successful event in the
past)
When I was younger I could work out every day. (generally possible in the past = was/were able
to or could)
When I was younger, I was able to work out every day. (generally possible in the past
= was/were able to or could)

Note that in the negative form we can use both forms.

Examples:
We weren’t able to outbid our competitors.
We couldn’t outbid our competitors.