COMMON

MISTAKES IN
WRITING/WRITING
TIPS
OPENING & ENDING
• Start your email with :

Dear (Name), / Hi (Name), / Hello (Name),

Thank you for your email. / It was nice to hear from you.

• End your email with:

Kind regards, / Regards,

(Your first name)

IF/WHEN TO/TOO A/AN

• If - voorwaarde
• When – says something about time

• To before a verb – to play, to go

Or as preposition I went TO the mall.
• Too is té : she is too loud.

• A for words that start with a consonant – a table.

• an for words that start with a vowel – an apple
LET OP! Uitspraak! ( uniform, hour etc.)
THIS/THAT/THESE/THOSE

• This aanwijzend voornaamwoord dichtbij

this book enkelvoud
These – mv: These books

• That gebruik je als aanwijzend ver weg

that book – enkelvoud
those books
SOMETHING / ANYTHYING

• Anything gebruik je in een ontkenning en in vraagzinnen

Isn’t there anything left?
He didn’t have anything anymore

• Something gebruik je bij bevestigende zinnen.

I want something nice for my birthday.
WORD ORDER

• (TIJD) OND GEZEGDE MEEWVW LIJDVW HOE? PLAATS TIJD

John saw Scream Three times In the theater In Utrecht Last year.

• Yesterday we Went fishing In a boat On the lake

ADVERBS & ADJECTIVES

• A beautiful flower – zelfst. Nw. (noun)

• She sings beautifully - ww (verb)
TENSES
• Feiten over jezelf of andere zaken – Present Simple
I play football / she likes dogs

• Iets nu aan het doen? I am doing the dishes right now.

• tijdsbepaling in verleden tijd? He graduated two weeks ago.

• Resultaat/ nog steeds zo? – We have lived here for 3 years. She
has just passed her driving test, that is why she is so happy.

• Toekomst – Will + full verb

plannen: going to
SPELLING / PLURALS

• I / names/ days / Months always with a capital letter: That is why I really like Saturdays.

• Plural is NEVER with ‘s.

• ‘s is possesion: Christie’s dress
- Let op! James’s car / The cats’ food / the colour of the wall.
GERUND/ INFINITIVE

• I would like TO KNOW

• I love PLAYING tennis (not I love to play tennis)

 MISPLACED APOSTROPHES

• The rules:
• Apostrophes indicate possession – something belonging to something or someone
else.
• To indicate something belonging to one person, the apostrophe goes before the ‘s’.
For instance, “The girl’s horse.”
• To indicate something belonging to more than one person, put the apostrophe after
the ‘s’. For example, “The girls’ horse.”
• Apostrophes are also used to indicate a contracted word. For example, “don’t” uses
an apostrophe to indicate that the word is missing the “o” from “do not”.
• Apostrophes are never used to make a word plural, even when a word is in number
form, as in a date.
MISPLACED APOSTROPHES

H O W N O T TO D O I T: H O W TO D O I T P R O P E R LY:

• The horse’s are in the field • The horses are in the field
• Pen’s for sale • Pens for sale
• In the 1980’s • In the 1980s
• Janes horse is over there • We didn’t want to do it
• The girls dresses are ready for them to • Jane’s horse is over there
collect • The girls’ dresses are ready for them to
collect
YOUR/YOU’RE

• The rules:
• “Your” indicates possession – something belonging to you.
• “You’re” is short for “you are”.
 YOUR/YOU’RE

H O W N O T TO D O I T: H O W TO D O I T P R O P E R LY:

• Your beautiful • You’re beautiful

• Do you know when your coming over? • Do you know when you’re coming over?
• Can I have one of you’re biscuits? • Can I have one of your biscuits?
ITS/IT’S

• The rules:
• “It’s” is only ever used when short for “it is”.
• “Its” indicates something belonging to something that isn’t masculine or feminine (like “his”
and “hers”, but used when you’re not talking about a person).
• If it helps, remember that inanimate objects can’t really possess something in the way a human
can.
ITS/IT’S

H O W N O T TO D O I T: H O W TO D O I T P R O P E R LY:

• Its snowing outside • It’s snowing outside

• The sofa looks great with it’s new cover • The sofa looks great with its new cover
THERE/THEIR/THEY’RE

• The rules:
• Use “there” to refer to a place that isn’t here – “over there”.
• We also use “there” to state something – “There are no cakes left.”
• “Their” indicates possession – something belonging to them.
• “They’re” is short for “they are”.
THERE/THEIR/THEY’RE

H O W N O T TO D O I T: H O W TO D O I T P R O P E R LY:

• Their going to be here soon • They’re going to be here soon

• We should contact they’re agent • We should contact their agent
• Can we use there boat? • Can we use their boat?
• Their is an argument that says • There is an argument that says
THERE/THEIR/THEY’RE

• There betekent DAAR

• Their is het bezittelijk voornaamwoord bij they (their bike/their house)

your bike

• They’re is short for they are

you’re – you are
TO/TWO/TOO

• The rules:
• “To” is used in the infinitive form of a verb – “to talk”.
• “To” is also used to mean “towards”.
• “Too” means “also” or “as well”.
• “Two” refers to the number 2.
TO/TWO/TOO

H O W N O T TO D O I T: H O W TO D O I T P R O P E R LY:

• I’m to hot • I’m too hot

• It’s time two go • It’s time to go
• I’m going too town • I’m going to town
• He bought to cakes • He bought two cakes
THEN/THAN

• The rules:
• “Than” is used in comparisons.
• “Then” is used to indicate something following something else in time, as in step-by-step
instructions, or planning a schedule (“we’ll go there then there”).
THEN/THAN

H O W N O T TO D O I T: H O W TO D O I T P R O P E R LY:

• She was better at it then him • She was better at it than him
• It was more then enough • It was more than enough
• We’ll go to the baker first, then the coffee
shop