COMMON ERRORS IN

ENGLISH

(RULES WITH EXAMPLES)

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 USAGE OF ARTICLES

• AS A GENERAL RULE THE INDEFINITE

ARTICLE ‘A’ IS USED WITH NOUNS IN
SINGULAR NUMBER ONLY, THE DEFINITE
WITH ANY NUMBER.
• WITH VOWEL SOUND THE INDEFINITE
ARTICLE ‘A’ IS USED
• WITH CONSONANT SOUND THE DEFINITE 2

ARTICLE ‘THE’ IS USED

 USAGE OF ARTICLES

• ‘A’ & ‘AN’ IS USED BEFORE SINGULAR NOUN.

• ‘A’ & ‘AN’ IS NECESSARY IN EXPRESSIONS
REFERRING TO NUMBERS, SPEED, PRICE AND
FREQUENCY.
AN HOUR A DAY.
THREE TIMES A DAY
• SOMETIMES THE USAGE OF ‘A’ & ‘AN’ BEFORE
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AN ADJECTIVE CHANGES THE MEANING
• DEFINITE ARTICLE ‘THE’ IS USED WITH THE
THINGS WHICH ARE ONLY ONE –
THE MOON, THE EARTH, THE SUN, THE SKY, THE
PRIME MINISTER ETC.
• ‘THE’ IS USED BEFORE THE SUPERLATIVES AS
ALSO BEFORE ‘ONLY’ WHEN IT IS USED AS AN
ADJECTIVE.
EG- THIS IS THE ONLY BOOK AVAILABLE.
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK ON THE SUBJECT. 4
• ‘THE’ IS USED BEFORE NAMES OF PERIODICALS
& NEWSPAPERS, IMPORTANT BUILDINGS,
NAMES OF RARE OR UNIQUE OBJECTS, RIVERS,
OCEANS, MOUNTAINS, RELIGIOUS GROUPS,
INSTITUTIONS ETC. –
THE TIMES OF INDIA, THE BIBLE
• ‘THE’ IS USED WHEN POINTING OUT A CLASS OR
A KIND OF A THING –
THE BRAVE DESERVES RECOGNITION. 5
CONFUSABLE NOUNS

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 INCORRECT CORRECT

1. LECTURERSHIP LECTURESHIP
2. FREE SHIP FREE-STUDENTSHIP
3. BOARDING BOARDING HOUSE
4. FAMILY MEMBERS MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY
5. ENGLISH TEACHER THE TEACHER OF ENGLISH
6. COUSIN-BROTHER/SISTER COUSIN
7. OUR’S/YOUR’S/HER’S/THEIR’S
7
OURS/YOURS/HERS/THEIRS
EXAMPLES:

1. THERE ARE TWENTY CANDIDATES FOR

LECTURESHIP.
2. RAMESH HAS APPLIED FOR FREE-
STUDENTSHIP.
3. MOHAN LIVES IN A BOARDING HOUSE.
4. VIVEK AND SURESH ARE THE MEMBERS OF
MY FAMILY.
5. SUDHA IS MY COUSIN. 8
SOME NOUNS ALWAYS TAKE A SINGULAR VERB

(SCENERY, ADVICE, MATHEMATICS,

POLITICS, ETHICS, ATHLETICS, CLASSICS,
FUEL, RICE, GRAM, INFORMATION,
MACHINERY, FURNITURE, NEWS , PHYSICS)

EXAMPLES:

1. THE SCENERY OF KASHMIR IS BEAUTIFUL.

2. HE HAS GIVEN AN ADVICE. (NOT ADVICES)
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3. MATHEMATICS IS A DIFFICULT SUBJECT.
 SOME NOUNS HAVE ONE MEANING
IN THE SINGULAR AND ANOTHER IN
THE PLURAL
• AIR – ATMOSPHERE AIRS – PROUD
• QUARTER – ONE-FOURTH QUARTERS – HOUSES ETC.

• EXAMPLES:
• 1. AIR IS NECESSARY FOR HUMAN LIFE
• 2. IT IS BAD TO PUT ON AIRS.
• 3. I LIVE IN THE GOVERNMENT QUARTERS. 10
SOME NOUNS ARE SINGULAR IN FORM, BUT
THEY ARE USED IN PLURAL FORM AND ALWAYS
TAKE A PLURAL VERB
[PEOPLE, CLERGY, CATTLE, GENTRY, COMPANY, POLICE ETC.]

EXAMPLES:

1. THE CLERGY ARE IN THE CHURCH.

2. THE CATTLE ARE GRAZING IN THE
GROUND. 11
SOME PLURAL FORM NOUNS ALWAYS TAKE A
PLURAL VERB

[TROUSERS, SCISSORS, SPECTACLES, STOCKINGS,

TIDINGS, THANKS, MEASLES, PREMISES ETC.]

EXAMPLES:

1. WHERE ARE MY TROUSERS?

2. SPECTACLES ARE NOW A COSTLY ITEM. 12
 COLLECTIVE NOUNS ARE USED
BOTH AS SINGULAR AND PLURAL
DEPENDING ON THE MEANING.

• [JURY, PUBLIC, TEAM, COMMITTEE, GOVERNMENT, AUDIENCE,

ORCHESTRA, COMPANY]

*********
• EXAMPLES:

• 1. THE JURY WERE DIVIDED IN THIS CASE.

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• 2. THE TEAM HAS NOT COME AS YET.
USAGE OF PRONOUNS

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 THE PRONOUN ‘ONE’ MUST BE FOLLOWED BY
‘ONE’S’.
ONE MUST FINISH HIS TASK IN TIME. [INCORRECT]
ONE MUST FINISH ONE’S TASK IN TIME. [CORRECT]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A PRONOUN MUST AGREE WITH ITS ANTECEDENT IN

PERSON, NUMBER AND GENDER.

EXAMPLES:
EVERY MAN MUST BRING HIS LUGGAGE.
ALL STUDENTS MUST DO THEIR HOME WORK. 15

EACH OF THE GIRLS MUST CARRY HER OWN BAG.

WHEN TWO OR MORE SINGULAR NOUNS ARE
JOINED TOGETHER BY:

1. ‘EITHER….. OR’

2. ‘NEITHERNOR’

AND

3. ‘OR’, THE PRONOUN IS SINGULAR.

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 EXAMPLES

EITHER RAM OR SHYAM WILL GIVE THEIR BOOK. [ INCORRECT]

EITHER RAM OR SHYAM WILL GIVE HIS BOOK.[CORRECT]

NEITHER RAMESH NOR RAJENDRA HAS DONE THEIR WORK.

(IC]

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NEITHER RAMESH NOR RAJENDRA HAS DONE HIS WORK. [C]
 ADJECTIVES
•WHEN COMPARING ONE PERSON OR A THING WITH A GROUP
OF WHICH IT IS A PART , WE USE THE COMPARATIVE FORM
AND THE WORD ‘ANY OTHER’ TO EXCLUDE THE THING
COMPARED.
EG-- ROBIN SINGH RUNS FASTER THAN ANY OTHER PLAYER
IN THE TEAM.
•WHEN COMPARING TWO QUALITIES OF THE SAME PERSON
OR THING USE ‘MORE’ AND WHEN COMPARING THE
QUALITIES OF TWO PERSON USE ‘-ER’
EG- SUJATA IS MORE CLEVER THAN WISE.
SUJATA IS CLEVERER THAN HER SISTER. 18
 FEW, A FEW, AND THE FEW

• FEW : NOT MANY

• A FEW : SOME AT LEAST. [POSITIVE] OPPOSITE OF NONE.
• THE FEW : WHATEVER THERE IS.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
• EXAMPLES

1. FEW MEN ARE FREE FROM FAULT. (NOT A FEW MEN)

2. A FEW BOYS WILL PASS IN THE EXAMINATION. (NOT FEW BOYS)
3. I HAVE ALREADY READ THE FEW BOOKS THAT ARE ON THE
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BOOK SHELF. ( NOT A FEW BOOKS)
CONCORD : GRAMMATICAL
CONCORD : NOTIONAL CONCORD
&
PRINCIPLE OF PROXIMITY

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WHEN:
AS WELL AS,
ALONG WITH,
TOGETHER WITH,
NO LESS THAN’
IN ADDITION TO,
NOT AND
WITH
- JOIN TWO SUBJECTS, THE VERB WILL
BE ACCORDING TO THE FIRST SUBJECT.
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• IF A SINGULAR SUBJECT IS SEPARATED BY A COMMA FROM
AN ACCOMPANYING PHRASE, IT REMAINS SINGULAR:
• THE CHILD, TOGETHER WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER AND HIS
PARENTS, IS GOING TO THE BEACH.

WRONG: FRANK, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS STUDENTS, WERE AT

THE STUDIO.
RIGHT: FRANK, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS STUDENTS, WAS AT THE
STUDIO.

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 EXAMPLES:
1. RAM, AS WELL AS HIS TEN FRIENDS, ARE GOING.
(INCORRECT)

• RAM, AS WELL AS HIS TEN FRIENDS, IS GOING. (CORRECT)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

2. THE TEACHER, ALONG WITH THE STUDENTS, WERE GOING.

(INCORRECT)

• THE TEACHER, ALONG WITH THE STUDENTS, WAS GOING.

(CORRECT) 23
• COLLECTIVE NOUNS, SUCH AS FAMILY, MAJORITY,
AUDIENCE, AND COMMITTEE ARE SINGULAR WHEN THEY
ACT IN A COLLECTIVE FASHION OR REPRESENT ONE
GROUP. THEY ARE PLURAL WHEN THEY ACT AS
INDIVIDUALS.

A MAJORITY OF THE SHAREHOLDERS WANTS THE MERGER.

HERE THE "MAJORITY" ACTS AS A SINGULAR AND

THEREFORE HAS A SINGULAR VERB, "WANTS."

THE JURY WERE IN DISAGREEMENT.

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THE JURY WAS UNANIMOUS IN ITS DECISION.
• IF THE SUBJECT IS:

• 1. ‘A NUMBER OF’ – THE PLURAL VERB IS USED

• EG.: A NUMBER OF BOOKS ARE MISSING (CORRECT)

• A NUMBER OF BOOKS IS MISSING. (INCORRECT)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. THE NUMBER OF – THE SINGULAR VERB IS USED.

EG.:
• THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ARE VERY SMALL. (INCORRECT)
• THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS IS VERY SMALL. (CORRECT)
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 ONE OF…..
• ONE OF ALWAYS TAKES A PLURAL NOUN AFTER IT

EG. : IT IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT DAY IN MY LIFE. [IC]

IT IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT DAYS IN MY LIFE. [C]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
• WHEN TWO SINGULAR NOUNS JOINED BY ‘AND’ POINT OUT THE SAME
THING OR PERSON, THE VERB WILL BE SINGULAR.

IC: BREAD AND BUTTER MAKE A GOOD BREAKFAST.

C : BREAD AND BUTTER MAKES A GOOD BREAKFAST.

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 EITHER…OR, NEITHER…NOR

• IF TWO SUBJECTS ARE JOINED BY ‘EITHER….OR’, ‘NEITHER…

NOR’,, THE VERB AGREES WITH THE SUBJECT THAT IS NEAR.

• EXAMPLES:

• EITHER RAMESH OR I AM TO DO THIS WORK. (NOT ARE)

• NEITHER HE NOR HIS FRIENDS ARE READING. (NOT IS)

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 INCORRECT CORRECT
(EXPRESSIONS)
• WHAT TO SPEAK OF 1. NOT TO SPEAK OF

• CENT PER CENT 2. HUNDRED PERCENT

• WORD BY WORD 3. WORD FOR WORD

• THE TWO FIRST 4. THE FIRST TWO

• EXAMPLES:
• NOT TO SPEAK OF RUNNING, HE CANNOT EVEN WALK.
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• YOU ARE NEVER HUNDRED PER CENT SURE OF YOUR SUCCESS
IN A COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION.
COMMON ERRORS TO BE AVOIDED

• CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN IN THE USE OF VERBS.

• AN INFINITIVE VERB SHOULD NOT BE SPLIT.

• ‘ONLY’ SHOULD BE PLACED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE WORD IT QUALIFIES.

• EG.: ONLY HE LOST HIS TICKET IN THE TRAIN.

• INCORRECT –HE ONLY LOST HIS TICKET IN THE TRAIN.)

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THAN, HOW/WHEN …. (USAGE)

THAN SHOULD BE USED AFTER ‘NO OTHER’.

EXAMPLE: I MET NO OTHER MAN THAN MR. RAJU. (NOT
BUT)

HOW (OR) WHEN SHOULD BE USED AFTER ‘KNOW’

EXAMPLES:

CORRECT :I KNOW HOW TO WRITE FRENCH.

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INCORRECT : I KNOW TO WRITE FRENCH.
S.No. Word(s) What
1. Many a Singular verb
2. A great many A plural NOUN and a
plural VERB
3. Though Yet
4. Not But
5. No sooner FOLLOWED Than
6. Lest BY Should
7. Such As
8. So That
9. Scarcely when

10. Hardly Not by than

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 EXAMPLES

• MANY A MAN WAS DROWNED IN THE SEA. (NOT WERE)

• A GREAT MANY STUDENTS HAVE BEEN DECLARED SUCCESSFUL. (NOT

HAS)

• THOUGH HE IS POOR, YET HE IS HONEST. (NOT BUT)

• NO SOONER HAD I ENTERED THE CLASS THAN THE STUDENTS STOOD

UP. (NOT WHEN)

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• READ REGULARLY LEST YOU SHOULD FAIL. (NOT WILL/SHALL)

 CONTINUES…

• HE IS SUCH A WRITER AS EVERYBODY SHOULD READ HIS

BOOKS. (NOT THAT)

•SARITA WAS SO POPULAR WITH HER CLASSMATES THAT SHE

ALWAYS HAD SOME PEOPLE COMING TO HER FOR ADVICE. (NOT
AS)

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• I HAD SCARCELY ENTERED THE ROOM WHEN THE PHONE
RANG. (NOT THAN)
1. Who The Subject
2. Whom
KNOW THESE ALSO…. The Object
3. Whose Living persons
Denotes
4. Which Lifeless Objects
5. Each other If there are 2
Subjects/Objects
6. One another More than 2
Subjects/Objects
7. Less (Five litres of Quantity
water)
8. Fewer (No fewer than Number
fifty persons)
9. Older (followed by than) Refers Persons (as well as
things)
10. Elder Members of the
family
11. When Indicates A general sense
12. While A Time during
34 the
process of doing a
work.
SOME & ANY
SOME IS USED TO EXPRESS QUANTITY/DEGREE (AFFIRMATIVE)

EG: I SHALL BUY SOME APPLES.

---------------------------------------

ANY IS USED IN NEGATIVE/INTERROGTATIVE SENSE.

EXAMPLES:
1. I SHALL NOT BUY ANY APPLES.
2. HAVE YOU BOUGHT ANY APPLES? 35
S.No. UNLESS/UNTIL/N Expresses/ what?
ot never used
with

1. Unless Expresses A
(Negative condition
sense)
2. Until Time

3. Not Is never Unless/

used with Until
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 USE OF NOT ONLY … BUT ALSO

HE NOT ONLY COMES FOR SWIMMING BUT ALSO

FOR COACHING THE LEARNERS. (INCORRECT)

HE COMES NOT ONLY FOR SWIMMING BUT ALSO FOR

COACHING THE LEARNERS.(CORRECT)

THIS EXPRESSION IS MEANT FOR SWIMMING AND NOT FOR

COMING.

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THANK YOU

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