Common

Mistakes in
Writing
Prepared by
Shakila Akter
Lecturer in English, BUP Lecture 4
Mistakes in Preposition

1. The man was absorbed ___ his

work.

Absorbed in = very much interested in

The answer will be-The man was absorbed in
his work.
Mistakes in Preposition

2. She accused the man ___ stealing.

The answer will be- She accused the man of

stealing.
Mistakes in Preposition

3. We must conform ___ the rules.

The answer should be- We must conform to the

rules.
Mistakes in Preposition

4. I congratulate you ___ your success.

The answer should be- I congratulate you on your

success.
Mistakes in Preposition

5. Many people have died ___ malaria.

So the answer should be- Many people have died of

malaria.
Mistakes in Preposition

6. Philip was disappointed ___ the low

mark he got in the test.

The answer will be- Philip was disappointed

at/by/about the low mark he got in the test.
Mistakes in Preposition

7. Jane was disappointed ___ her son.

The answer should be- Jane was disappointed with/in

her son.
Mistakes in Preposition

8. The woman was dressed ___ black.

So the answer should be- The woman was dressed in

black.
 Mistakes in Preposition

9. This is an exception ___the rule.

10. She liked all subjects with the exception ___ maths.

The answer will be- This is an exception to the rule.

She liked all subjects with the exception of maths.
Mistakes in Preposition

11. Francis was glad ___ receiving your

letter.

The answer will be- Francis was glad about receiving

your letter.
 Mistakes in Preposition

12. Clare is independent ___ her parents.

The answer will be- Clare is independent of her

parents.
 Mistakes in Preposition

13. They are leaving ___ England soon.

So the answer should be- They are leaving for

England soon.
 Mistakes in Preposition

14. Angela was married ___ a rich man.

The answer will be- Angela was married to a rich man.

 Mistakes in Preposition

15. He plays regularly ___ that team.

The answer will be- He plays regularly for that team.

 Mistakes in Preposition

16. John is popular ___ his friends.

The answer will be- John is popular with his friends.

 Mistakes in Preposition

17. I prefer a blue pen ___ a red pen.

So the answer should be- I prefer a blue pen to a red

pen.
 Mistakes in Preposition

18. He repented ___ his crime.

Repentance/repentant takes ‘for’, but repent as a

verb takes ‘of’.

The answer will be- He repented of his crime.

 Mistakes in Preposition

19. I suspect Kate ___ stealing the pen.

The answer will be- I suspect Kate of stealing the pen.

 Mistakes in Preposition

20. The man was trembling ___ cold.

So the answer should be- The man was trembling

with cold.
 Mistakes in Preposition

21. I have written the letter ___ ink.

So the answer should be- I have written the letter in

ink.
 Mistakes in
Singular and Plural
Mistakes in Singular and Plural

1. Susan is wearing ___ black jeans.

 Trousers, pyjamas, glasses, binoculars, scissors- these

words are plural. So they take plural verbs. But we can
also use a pair of + these words.

 Susan is wearing black jeans/a pair of black jeans.

Mistakes in Singular and Plural

2. Some words ending in -s can be both singular

and plural. For example- means, series, species

 A means of transport/many means of transport

 A television series/ two television series
 A species of bird/200 species of bird
Mistakes in Singular and Plural

3. The government ___ decided to increase tax.

4. Italy ___ playing Brazil right now.
5. Pran RFL ___ increased the price of plastic
products.
Mistakes in Singular and Plural

Some singular nouns are often used with plural verbs. For
example- audience, committee, company, family, firm,
government, staff, team

 The government have decided to increase tax.

 Italy are playing Brazil right now.
 Pran RFL have increased the price of plastic products.
Mistakes in Singular and Plural

6. The police ___ investigating the crime.

 The police are investigating the crime.

Mistakes in Singular and Plural

7. He is a nice person.
8. They are nice people.
 We need to use ‘person’ in case of singular
expression and ‘people’ in case of plural
expression.
Mistakes in Singular and Plural

9. Fifty thousands ___ stolen in the robbery.

10. Three years ___ a long time.
11. Two miles ___ not very far to walk.

 Sum of money, a period of time, a distance etc.

are always singular.
Mistakes in Singular and Plural

 Fifty thousands was stolen in the robbery.

 Three years is a long time.
 Two miles is not very far to walk.
Mistakes in Singular and Plural
12. The class ___ divided in their opinions.
 A collective nouns usually takes a singular verb.
But when it denotes the individual members of the
group and not the group as a whole, then it takes a
plural verb.
 The class were divided in their opinions.
Mistakes in Singular and Plural
13. The number of people ___ increasing.
14. A number of pupils ___ absent today.
 When we precede number by ‘the’, it denotes a
unit and is singular. When it’s preceded by ‘a’, it
means several or many and is plural.

 The number of people is increasing.

 A number of pupils are absent today.
Further Reading

Developing vocabulary
◎ Synonym and Antonym
◎ Homonym
◎ Problems in vocabulary
◎ Selecting the right word
 Thanks!

Any questions?
You can find me at @ shakila39ju@gmail.com