PRONUNCIATION/GRAMMAR ©

COMMON ‘MISTAKES’
In this lesson, we will take on linguistic snobbery by highlighting common
'mistakes' in English that aren't actually mistakes. English is a dynamic
language with varying rules that adapt to the times. Let's break down some
of these 'mistakes' so you can gain confidence in your language skills and
embrace the fluidity of English.

PRONUNCIATION
Before we get started, I want to remind you that English is an official language
in over 50 countries worldwide, so there is a wide variety of pronunciation
differences between countries and regions. As you may already know, I speak
with a Modern RP accent, so I’m going to focus on pronunciation ‘mistakes’ in
my specific accent.

THE
Let’s kick things off with our first word: the. You might already be familiar with
the different pronunciations of this common word. But here’s a quick summary:

We typically pronounce ‘the’ as /ðiː/ when it comes before a vowel sound

the enormous building

We say /ðə/ when ‘the’ comes before a consonant sound

the delicious cupcake

Here is where we get into our first ‘mistake’. You will often hear English
speakers use the first pronunciation /ðiː/ to add emphasis to what is being
said, regardless of the sound that follows it.

It’s not just going to be an ordinary rugby match. It’s going to be THE rugby
match of the year!

So, whenever anyone tries to correct your pronunciation in these situations,

remind them of this little fact.

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English speakers also tend to extend /ðə/ into /ðiː/ when they haven't decided
on what to say next. This happens quite often at restaurants when thinking
about what one wants to order.

I'm going to have the... salad, please!

COMMON WORDS WITH MULTIPLE PRONUNCIATIONS

In British English, we also have loads of words that have multiple
pronunciations, and because of that, you might have your pronunciation
corrected by someone who thinks they know the ‘correct’ way. Well, let’s look at
a few of these words so you can hit them with a bit of truth because these are
words you can pronounce ‘wrong’.

Word Accepted Pronunciations

controversy /ˈkɒntrəvɜːsi/ /kənˈtrɒvəsi/

either /ˈaɪðər/ /ˈiːðər/

neither /ˈnaɪðər/ /ˈniːðər/

envelope /ˈɒnvləʊp/ /ˈenvləʊp/

privacy /ˈprɪvəsi/ /ˈpraɪvəsi/

data /ˈdeɪtə/ /ˈdɑːtə/

zebra /ˈzebrə/ /ˈziːbrə/

often /ˈɒfn/ /ˈɒftən/

harassment /ˈhærəsmənt/ /həˈræsmənt/

garage /ˈɡærɑːʒ/ /ˈɡærɑːdʒ/ /ˈɡærɪdʒ/

finance /ˈfaɪnæns/ /faɪˈnæns/ /fəˈnæns/

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Please remember, if your pronunciation and accent aren’t perfect when using
these or any words in English, don’t worry! Even attempting to pronounce some
of these rather difficult words is a feat in and of itself.

GRAMMAR
This is where things start to get fun because people on the internet love to
show off their English skills by calling out others on their poor use of
grammar. But lucky for you, I am about to set the record straight on a few of
the most common ‘errors’ that really grind my gears.

I’m good!
Has this ever happened to you? You’re talking to someone, and this happens:

How
How are
are I'm good! Don't you
you?
you? mean 'well'?

I think it’s time to look at the facts.

‘Good’ is an adjective that modifies a noun. So, in the response, ‘I am good’,
‘good’ is simply describing that ‘I’ as the subject, am free of problems and
everything is fine.

We often use adjectives after the verb ‘to be’; they are called predicative
adjectives.

For example:
I am hungry.
not
I am hungrily.

Meredith is angry.
not
Meredith is angrily.

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So, the response, ‘I’m good.’ is perfectly acceptable but often incorrectly
considered a ‘mistake’. But why?

I think this unnecessary correction stems from the fact that some people
assume that ‘I’m well’ is a shortened form of ‘I’m doing well’. In this case, ‘well’
is more grammatically correct because we are modifying the verb ‘doing’.
The response, ‘I’m doing good’, would not be appropriate for grammar snobs
because we don’t use an adjective to describe a verb. Though, it is still
commonly used in some dialects of spoken English. So, keep that in mind!

But, as a response to “How are you?”, ‘I’m good’ is totally fine, so use it with
confidence!

Less vs Fewer
Have you ever been at the shops and seen a sign that says ‘10 items or less’?
And have you ever stopped to consider that ‘less’ isn’t actually the correct word
to use?

A snooty grammar critic would claim the correct word is ‘fewer’. This is because,
according to traditional grammar rules, ‘fewer’ should be used when referring to
countable nouns - things that can be physically counted like books, cups,
stuffed animals and other ‘items’, while ‘less’ should be used for non-countable
nouns - those that represent concepts or substances that cannot be easily
separated or counted, such as water, knowledge and beauty, to name a few.

In everyday English, many people tend to disregard the rules and use ‘less’ in
situations where ‘fewer’ would technically be more appropriate. I think some of
this disregard comes from the fact that it’s not always obvious if a noun is
countable or not. Plus, replacing ‘fewer’ with ‘less’ almost always creates a
sentence that is perfectly understandable.

We had fewer customers today than yesterday.

We had less customers today than yesterday.

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This type of word switching is a common linguistic phenomenon where language

evolves and adapts to the usage patterns of its speakers. As a result, the
distinction between ‘fewer’ and ‘less’ has become blurred in colloquial English,
and the sign hanging up in your local supermarket is just an example of that.

Whom or Who?
Nothing seems to get grammar purists more riled up than someone using ‘who’
when they should have used ‘whom’. Well, unfortunately for them, ‘whom’ has
been on a steady decline in use since the 1800s, and we may see it vanish
before our very eyes!

Let’s do a quick review so you can see the traditional rule of thumb:

‘Who’ is used as a subject pronoun. It is used to refer to an unknown subject of

a sentence performing the action or being described, like in these examples:

She is the one who won the award.

Who ate the last slice of cake?

'Whom' is used as an object pronoun. It is used to refer unknown object of a

verb or preposition. It typically follows a preposition or a verb that takes a
direct object. For example:

To whom are you speaking?

Whom did you invite to the company picnic?

These days, it is often considered too formal to use ‘whom’ in everyday

conversation. You are much more likely to hear:

Who are you speaking to?

Who did you invite to the company picnic?

For this reason, ‘whom’ is rapidly losing its popularity, so don’t feel too down if
you get corrected for using ‘who’ instead of ‘whom’. You probably won’t have to
worry about it for too much longer.

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Prepositions in their Proper Places

You may have noticed another common error in one of my examples in our
previous section:

Who are you speaking to?

In spoken English, and honestly, in most written communication, it is absolutely

fine to end a sentence with a preposition.

I’d never been there before.

What are you up to?
We’ll try to stop by.

So, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise unless it is some sort of formal test;
then, you might want to consider restructuring your sentences to appease the
grammar perfectionists.

‘They’ and ‘Their’ are Singular

Let’s finish up today’s lesson with a relatively new one: ‘they’ and 'their’ as
singular pronouns.

It is acceptable to use ‘they’ and ‘their’ as singular pronouns to refer to an

individual whose gender is unknown, irrelevant or who prefers not to be
identified by a specific gender.

Traditionally, ‘they’ has been used as a plural subject pronoun, referring to

multiple individuals. However, as English has evolved, the 'singular they’ has
gained widespread acceptance and usage. It helps to provide a gender-neutral
alternative when referring to a singular person without making assumptions
about their gender.

The traditional use of ‘his or her’ as an object pronoun placeholder is seen as

slightly outdated. We now see ‘their’ used more frequently.

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Here are a few examples of the singular they:

Someone left their umbrella in the office.

Your new patient said they would call back.

If someone tries to correct you about ‘they’ and ‘their’ and how they should only
be used as plural pronouns, just kindly remind them that you prefer to adapt to
changes in language rather than remaining stuck in the old ways.

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QUIZ!
Choose the correct answer for each question.
1) How is the word "the" typically pronounced before a vowel sound?

a. /ðə/
b. /ðiː/
c. /ðæt/

2) When should the word "fewer" be used?

a. when referring to countable nouns

b. when referring to non-countable nouns
c. both a) and b) are correct

3) What is the traditional use of "whom" in a sentence?

a. as a subject pronoun
b. as an object pronoun
c. as a possessive pronoun

4) English pronunciation rarely changes from country to country.

a. True
b. False

5) Which pronunciation of "the" is often used to add emphasis, regardless of the sound that follows?

a. /ðə/
b. /ðiː/
c. /ðæt/

6) Which pronoun is commonly used as a singular pronoun to refer to an individual without assuming their
gender?

a. he
b. she
c. they

7) What is the more commonly used alternative to "his or her" as a gender-neutral pronoun?

a. their
b. its
c. whose

8) Using "who" instead of "whom" is acceptable in informal contexts.

a. True
b. False

The End!
1) b 2) a 3) b 4) b 5) b 6) c 7) a 8) a

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