Common mistakes

1) “My friend recommended me buying this car.”

2)“My friend recommended that I buy this car.”
1. Neglecting to use the subjunctive
 Explanation: We use the subjunctive after certain verbs and
expressions that emphasize importance or urgency
(e.g. demand, insist, recommend, suggest, It is important…, It
is recommended…).
S+V
 My friend recommended (that) I drink coke

It’s recommended that you not eat spicy food.

 S+ recommend(ed) + Ving
I recommend reading a lot of books
Common mistake!!!the doctor recommended that
I avoid eating spicy food
The customer demanded that her money be
refunded
 1) “Can you explain me the grammar?”
2) “Can you explain the grammar to me?”
2. Using verbs like explain, recommend,
describe incorrectly
Explanation: We cannot follow the verbs explain, describe,
and recommend with an indirect object and then a direct
object. Instead we follow this word order:
Explain/describe/recommend/ suggest
SOMETHING to SOMEONE
Can you explain the topic to me
Can you suggest a good restaurant to us?
I recommend that restaurant to all of my friends.
1) “I’ll see you in class on next Saturday.”
2) “I’ll see you in class next Saturday.”
Adding the preposition on before expressions
like next Sunday, last Thursday, etc.
Explanation: If we use next or last plus a day of
the week, we do not use the preposition on.
“The last time I went to my college was last
Monday.”
Next Friday is my birthday.
“There are 21 millions residents in the state of
Florida.”

“There are 21 million residents in the state of

Florida.”
Explanation: If we
mention an exact
number, we don’t
add an ‘s’
after hundred, thous
However, we use an
‘s’ in these
expressions is if we
give a non-specific
number (hundreds of
 Examples of correct usage (exact number):

“Four thousand people have signed the petition so far.”

“The average price of a house in this neighborhood is

three million dollars.”
 Examples of correct usage (non-specific number):

“Thousands of people have signed the petition so far.”

“Houses in this neighborhood cost millions of

dollars.”
 “We always look forward to relax on the weekend.”

“We always look forward to relaxing on the weekend.”

Explanation: We
always use the
gerund form of the
verb after a
preposition. In the
Are you looking forward to seeing your family over the
holidays?”

“My friends are looking forward to the concert next

weekend.”