Common Mistakes

[DEATH DRAGON]

come on...be serios....im not that good

and sorry i forgot that i should write in english...sorry

[Another_One]

serios

it is serious

.

u and ur mistakes r welcome

[Amanda.]

Thank u this wonderful lesson ..

thanx

[Another_One]

Amanda

Thank u this wonderful lesson ..

thanx

U R Welcome & ComeAgainDear

[Another_One]

=============borrow vs lend To lend=============

Meaning: to hand out usually for a certain length of time

Banks lend money

Libraries lend books

For example: "My mother lent me some money, and I must pay her back soon"

To borrow: Meaning: to take with permission usually for a certain length of time

You can borrow money from a bank to buy a house or a car

You can borrow books for up to 4 weeks from libraries in England

For example: "I borrowed some money off my mother, and I must pay her back soon."

! For a happy life - Never a borrower nor a lender be.

brought past tense of the verb to bring
For example: "She brought her homework to the lesson."

! There is an 'r' in brought and an 'r' in bring = they belong together.

==============by vs until=============

Both words until and by indicate “any time before, but not later than.”

If something happens until a particular time, you stop doing it at that time.

For example:

They lived in a small house until September 2003.
(They stopped living there in September.)

We also use until in negative sentences.

For example:

Details will not be available until January.
(January is the earliest you can expect to receive the details.)

If something happens by a particular time, it happens at or before that time.

For example:

You have to finish by August 31.
(August 31 is the last day you can finish; you may finish before this date.)

We also use by when asking questions.

For example:

Will the details be available by December?
(This asks if they will be ready no later than December.)

==============complement vs compliment ============

Complement is a verb, which means to make something seem better or more attractive when combined.

For example: "The colours blue and green complement each other perfectly."

Compliment is a noun, which means a remark that expresses approval, admiration or respect.

For example: "I am often complimented on this web site."

==============either vs too =============

Either is used with a negative verb when you are agreeing with something someone doesn't do or like etc.

For example:- B agrees with A in the negative

A - "I don't like cheese." B - "I don't like it either."
A- "I haven't seen Lord of the Rings." B - "I haven't seen it either."

Too is used with an affirmative verb when you are agreeing with something someone does or likes etc.

For example:- B agrees with A in the positive

A - "I love ice-cream." B - "I love it too."
A- "I've seen Gladiator." B - "I've seen it too."

==============fewer vs less=============

Use fewer for things you can count (individually), and less for things you can only measure

For example:

There were fewer days below freezing last winter. (Days can be counted.)

I drink less coffee than she does. (Coffee cannot be counted individually it has to be measured.)

See the grammar pages for more information on countable/uncountable nouns.

==============How do you do vs How are you=============

If I had a Euro for every time someone got this one wrong - I'd be a rich bunny!

How do you do?

This is not a question. It is another, very formal way of saying "Hello." It is also very British.

The correct response is; "Pleased to meet you." or "How do you do." or just "Hello."

We only really use it the first time we meet someone.

How are you?

This is a question.

A polite response is; "I'm fine thanks. And you?"

For more on this topic see here.

==============I vs me =============

Usually we choose the correct form by instinct.

For example;-

Give that to me. (not to I)

But there are still times when people make mistakes with these two pronouns. I/me is difficult when it is coupled with another pronoun or with a noun. This is when you have to think about the subject/object in a sentence.

For example;-

The teacher gave the homework to my friend and me. (not I)

! If you don't understand why the above sentence is correct, simplify the sentence by dealing with the two people separately.

The teacher gave the homework to my friend.
+
The teacher gave the homework to me.
=

The teacher gave the homework to my friend and me.

[BinMajed]

good lesson bro..

keep going..

[bosson]

how can i thank u for this hard working

waiting for next lesson

bosson

[Another_One]

Douse

Thank u brother

[Another_One]

==============look vs watch =============

In this context look is usually followed by the preposition at.

When you look at someone or something you are interested in the appearance.Generally we look at things that are static.

For example: Look at these photos, they're really good.
I went to the art gallery to look at the exhibition of paintings.

Watch is a verb.When you watch someone or something you are interested in what happens.Generally we watch things that move or change state.For example: I watch TV every night.
The security guard watched the shoplifter steal the clock.! If I say to you "Look at him!" I mean for you to check out his appearance. But, if I say to you "Watch him!" I mean it as a warning.

==============me vs my =============
As in I vs me we usually choose the correct form by instinct. Me is used as the object of a verb or preposition. You use me to refer to yourself.In short answers, we usually use this form.For example:- Knock at the door - "Who's their?" ~ "It's me!" "I want to buy that new DVD." ~ "Me too!"
My is a possessive adjective.For example:-My mother loves me. Now consider the following sentences:-"I'm going to me and Margaret's room." or "I'm going to my and Margaret's room." Which is correct? Me or my? Simplify the sentence by removing the second person:-"I'm going to my room." So, "I'm going to my and Margaret's room," is correct. A real point of confusion arises when considering the use of "my" or "me" as the "subject" of a gerund. The teacher didn't like me telling jokes in class. The teacher didn't like my telling jokes in class.But which is correct? Well they both are - sort of, but the use of the possessive, "my telling jokes in class " serves to isolate the telling of jokes as the object of my teacher's anger. It's hopefully not "me" at whom she/he has become upset, but the telling of jokes. In the sentence, "me telling jokes in class", it might seem as though the teacher doesn't like me personally. The rule is that the subject of a gerund is supposed to be in the possessive case. Remember though that this is a purists view. Both are now becoming acceptable through common usage. However, you can avoid any confusion by writing the sentence in a different way:- "The teacher didn't like the way I told jokes in class."

==============personal vs personnel =============
Personal is an adjective. It can mean relating to or belonging to someone.For example: Your personal belongings are the things that belong to you.It can relate to the private parts of someone's life, including their relationships and feelings.For example: If you have personal problems, it means you have problems that are private and sensitive to you. Perhaps problems in a relationship.It can also mean something that is designed for or used by one person.For example: a personal computer or stereo.And it can relate to your bodyFor example: when talk about personal hygiene.! If you are rude about or offensive towards someone it could be said that you are being personal.Personnel is a noun.The people who work for an organisation are the personnel.For example: military personnel are the members of an army.The department of an organisation that deals with finding people to work there, keeping records about them, etc is the Personnel Department. The head of that department is the personnel manager.
For example: "I need to speak to someone in Personnel."! Many businesses have renamed their Personnel Department to 'The Human Resources Department' or HRD for short.

==============practice vs practise=============
Practice is a noun For example: We need to put these ideas into practice..Practise is a verb...For example: To learn English well you have to practise.Note! This is only true in British English. ! Often in English the noun form ends in ...ice and the verb form ends in ...ise.

==============raise vs rise =============
When used as a verb they both have the same general meaning of "to move upwards", the main difference is that rise is an intransitive verb (it does not take an object), while raise is a transitive verb (it requires an object): As you can see from these examples, (nobody is pushing up the sun!), whereas (Mary moved her hand upwards/The government make laws to increase taxes). rise (v) Something rises by itself For example:-The sun rises in the east. The chairman always rises to the occasion.
I will rise tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. to walk the dog.Rise is an irregular verb: rise / rose / risen raise (v) Something else is needed to raise something.For example:-Lynne raised her hand. The government is going to raise taxes. They can't raise the Titanic.Raise is a regular verb: raise / raised / raised

==============say / said vs tell / told =============

Said v. is the past simple and past participle of to say. It can be used in direct speech:
For example: "I am sorry", said the criminal. It can be used in indirect (reported) speech (followed by that).For example: "The criminal said that he was sorry. Said adj. is used before the name of a person or thing you have already mentioned: For example: "The said party denied the charges" Told v. is the past simple and past participle of to tell.It is normally used in reported speech, i.e. it is used to talk about what people say (followed by an object + that: For example: I told him that I would be late. When told has the meaning of "instruct", it can be followed by an object and an infinitive.
For example: He told me to leave.

==============stationary vs stationery =============
Stationary means standing still or not moving For example: "The car was stationary."Stationery means the items needed for writing, such as paper, pens, pencils and envelopes.For example: "It is the secretary's job to order the stationery?"! 'e' is for envelopes 'a' is for automobiles.

==============there, their, they're =============
There can be used as an adjective of place:-For example: "The car is over there in the car park."There can also be used as the introductory subject in sentences:-
For example: "There are some grammar pages on this web site." They're is the a contraction of "they are".For example: "They're always surfing the Internet." Their is a possessive pronoun like "her" or "our".For example: "Have they done their homework?"Example: "There's a large family in this town. Look they're over there by their car."! If you've written "they're," ask yourself whether you can substitute "they are." If not, you've made a mistake. There" has "here" inside it to remind you it refers to a place, while "their" has "heir" buried in it to remind you that it has to do with possession.