Common errors in English writing

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Common errors in English writing
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• Contents
• Common Errors in English writing
• Definite Article the
• Clarity
• Dangling modifier and confusion
• Compound Adjectives
• Write as much as is appropriate

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Common Errors in English writing 10 sources
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• 1. using an incorrect or inappropriate word.
• Dont forget to eat your medicine.
• The rescuers drive helicopters to search
  the mountain.
• Doing exercises extremely could cause
  muscle sour.
• 2. the error results from a conflict between
  Chinese and English grammar.
• I very like English. I like English
  very much.
• Because the weather was nice today, so we
  decided to go out.
• Although I was busy, but I helped him
  anyway.
• We are difficult to find a job these days.
  

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• 3. confusing common pairs of words.
• He went aboard to study English.
• The curriculum contains courses in
  computing.
• 4. using literal (word-for-word) translation of
  a phrase or concept that does not exist in
  English.
• Wish you have a success on the job
  interview. good luck on your job interview.

Healthy foods that contain vitamin B1 include
lentils, peas, brown rice, spinach
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• 5. Using grammatically correct expressions
  that do not exist in English - the expression
  sounds strange in English.
• We hope you achieve a success with your
  new book.
• 6. Using mixed or incorrect levels of
  formality. (the tone of ones message must be
  consistent with the tone of the entire message as
  well as the purpose and the writers relationship
  to the reader)
• Should you have any further questions,
  please feel free to contact me immediately.

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• 7. Subject Verb agreement
• Some of the houses was destroyed in the
  battle.
• 8. Informal writing or colloquial language
• Off course, I think this area is so
  important for
• our current society.
• You can see from the table easily that.

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• 9. Definite article the
• The Mount Everest is the highest point of
  the world.
• 10. Confusion and unclarity Dangling or
  misplaced modifiers / pronouns
• Having arrived late for practice, a
  written excuse was needed.
• A survey in 1996 revealed that the
  anti-science tag and antitheism has been attached
  to many other groups, but they did not exist
  after year of 2000.

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How to make an improvement?

• The most effective way of overcoming these errors
  is by learning English in a natural way and not
  simply memorizing grammar rules and English words
  and phrase.
• find materials suitable for your level, and read
  as much as possible. Reading is the best way to
  acquire new words, phrases, and expressions and
  review and reinforce the ones you already know.
  It also helps you learn new grammatical
  structures and sentence patterns.
• try to apply what you learn. Copy words,
  expressions, and sentence patterns you like and
  use them in your emails to help to increase your
  fluency and accuracy.

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Proofread carefully

• 1. Spelling
• 2. Verb forms
• 3. Punctuation
• 4. Pronoun agreement
• 5. Subject-verb agreement
• 6. Fragment
• 7. Parallel structure
• 8. Possessives

• 9. Shifts
• (voice consistency with active or passive)
• (tense consistency with past, present, future)
• 10. Misplaced modifiers
• 11. Correct word usage
• 12. Wordiness
• 13. Outdated language or informal language

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Definite Article the
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• The definite article is used before singular and
  plural nouns
• when the noun is specific or particular. The
  signals that the
• noun is definite, that it refers to a particular
  member of a
• group.
• For example
• "The dog that bit me ran away."
• (Here, we're talking about a specific dog,
  the dog that bit me.)
• "I was happy to see the policeman who saved my
  cat!"
• (Here, we're talking about a particular
  policeman.)
• "I saw the elephant at the zoo."
• (Here, we're talking about a specific noun.
  Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.)

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Count and Noncount Nouns

• The can be used with noncount nouns, or the
  article can be
• omitted entirely.
• "I love to sail over the water" (some specific
  body of water) or "I love to sail over water"
  (any water).
• "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some
  specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought
  earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over
  the floor" (any milk).
• "A/an" can be used only with count nouns.
• "I need a bottle of water."
• "I need a new glass of milk."
• Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants
  a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle
  of water.

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Geographical use of the

• There are some specific rules for using the with
  geographical nouns.
• Do not use the before
• 1. names of most countries/territories Italy,
  Mexico, Bolivia however,
• the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the
  Philippines, the United States
• 2. names of cities, towns, or states Seoul,
  Taipei, Miami
• 3. names of streets Washington Blvd., Main St.

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• 4. names of continents (Asia, Europe)
• 5. names of lakes and bays Lake Titicaca, Lake
  Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great
  Lakes
• 6. names of mountains Mount Everest, Mount Fuji
  except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or
  the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
• 7. names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key
  West) except with island chains like the
  Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

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• Do use the before
• 1. names of rivers, oceans and seas the Nile,
  the Pacific
• 2. points on the globe the Equator, the North
  Pole
• 3. geographical areas the Middle East, the West
• 4. deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas the
  Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the
  Iberian Peninsula

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Omission of Articles

• Some common types of nouns that don't take an
• article are
• Names of languages and nationalities Chinese,
  English, Spanish, Russian
• Names of sports volleyball, hockey, baseball
• Names of academic subjects mathematics, biology,
  history, computer science

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Clarity

• Make sure every pronoun has a clear antecedent.

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Examples

• Norden picked up the wrench, removed the nut,
• and handed it to Robert.
• Norden picked up the wrench, removed the nut,
• and handed the tool to Robert.
• Complaining angrily, John wrote it up and sent it
  to the
• newspaper. (what is it?)
• Angrily, John wrote up his complaint and sent it
  to the
• newspaper.

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practice

• 1. I went with Brad to Phils place because he
  wanted company.
• 2. Peter spoke to the assistant, and he was
  very rude.
• 3. The division manger always favored Sam. This
  
• angered the other employees.
• 4. John showed the news reporter how to take
  good
• pictures, and his pictures turned out
  beautifully.

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• 5. Gail hired the waitress, which was a wise
  move
• on her part.
• 6. After the electrician installed new
  switches in the motors, some of them did not
  work.
• 7. Plant three-food azalea in front of the
  seven-food rhododendrons to make them stand out.
• 8. As the ferry boat approaches the tugboat,
  it blows a warning.

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Avoid the use of the indefinite it and they.

• In the college handbook, it lists the holidays we
  get in the
• winter quarter.
• The college handbook lists the holidays we get in
  the winter
• quarter.
• At DuPont, they provide very reasonable health
  insurance.
• DuPont provides very reasonable health insurance.

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Eliminate the vague it, they, is when, and is
where.

• 1. In Oregon, they have passed a law which
  encourages the recycling of waste materials.
• 2. In the instruction manual, it explains how
  to operate an chewing machine.
• 3. Inflation is when the dollar is worth less
  than previously.
• 4. At the Farmers Auction Block is where they
  have many buyers of truck crops.

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Dangling modifier and confusion
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Modifier Placement Dangling modifier

• 1 . When using participial phrases as modifiers
• Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, the car
  seemed to run  better. Changing the oil every
  3,000 miles, Fred found he could get  much better
  gas mileage.
• 2. Participial phrases cannot be combined with
  it or there
• Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, there is an
  easy way to  keep your car running smoothly.
• If we change the oil every 3,000 miles, we can
  keep our car  running smoothly.
• 3. Participial phrases cannot be combined with
  passive verbs either
• Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, the car was
  kept in  excellent condition.
• Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, we kept the
  car in  excellent condition.

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• 4. Infinitives (to verb) should clearly modify
  the doer
• To keep the young recruits interested in getting
  in shape, an  exercise program was set up for the
  summer months.
• To keep the young recruits interested in getting
  in shape, the  coaching staff set up an exercise
  program for the summer   months.
• 5. Squinting modifier adverb can be placed
  nearly everywhere in a sentence, thus causing
  ambiguity
• Students who seek their instructors' advice often
  can improve their grades.
• Student who often seek their instructors' advice
  can improve  their grades.
• Students who seek their instructors' advice can
  often improve their grades.

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Confusion Its Sources and Remedies

• 1. Adverbial phrases modify the subject, not
  serve as one
• Although the season has not yet begun has caused
  the public to get over anxious for information
  about the team.
• Although the season has not yet begun, the public
  is overly anxious for information about the team.
• 2. Prepositional phrases modify the subject, not
  serve as one
• In its attempt to spark sales of season tickets
  broke several rules about pre-season publicity.
• In its attempt to spark sales of season tickets,
  the basketball program broke several rules about
  pre-season publicity.
• The basketball program's attempt to spark sales
  of season tickets broke several rules about
  pre-season publicity.

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• 3. Two subjects in one sentence without
  subordination or modification
• The new system of student registration, we began
  to use it in the fall.
• We began to use the new system of student
  registration in the fall.
• 4. Adverbial phrases do not serve as the subject
  of a sentence
• By devising carefully worded forms ahead of time
  made the registrar's job much easier.
• Devising carefully worded forms ahead of time
  made the Registrar's job much easier.
• 5. Adverbial clauses do not serve as the subject
  of a sentence
• Even if students' records are lost in the shuffle
  of registration does not mean they will have to
  start the process over.
• Even if students' records are lost in the shuffle
  of registration, they will not necessarily have
  to start the process over.
• Students do not have to start the process over if
  their records are lost in the registration
  shuffle.

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• 6. Reason means why or because Do not use
  phrases such as the reason why is because or
  the reason is because
• The reason they were so eager to sell tickets is
  because they're trying to refurbish the old
  house.
• The reason they were so eager to sell tickets is
  that they're trying to refurbish the old house.
• They were so eager to sell tickets because
  they're trying to refurbish the old house.
• 7. Ambiguity in using pronouns
• To encourage the recruits to blend in with
  veteran players, the coaches let them play in
  summer leagues.
• The coaches let the recruits play in summer
  leagues so they'd be able to blend in with
  veteran players.

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• 8. Too many words between antecedent and relative
  pronouns
• The recruits seemed to blend in with the team's
  master strategies and make friends on the team
  who played during the summer months.
• The recruits who played during the summer months
  seemed to blend in with the team's master
  strategies and make friends on the team.
• 9. Adjective clauses should clearly point to the
  antecedent
• The new coach seemed to know nothing about his
  team's recent history, which reporters seem to
  pick up on quickly.
• Reporters quickly picked up on the fact that the
  new coach knew nothing about his team's recent
  history.
• 10. It must have a clear point of reference
• Coach Espinoza made several recruiting trips
  around the country, but it came to no avail.
• Coach Espinoza made several recruiting trips
  around the country, but her efforts were not
  successful.

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Practice eliminate confusion by repositioning
misplaced phrases or clauses next to the words
they modify.

• 1. Concerned about the grain market, a call was
  made to the broker.
• 2. Although writing for several years, no
  articles have been published.
• 3. I received instructions for operating the
  10-ton crane by mail.
• 4. Smiling courteously, her offer was accepted.

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Compound Adjectives ?????

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• A single adjective made up of two or more words
  is called a "compound adjective".
• The words in a compound adjective are linked
  together by a hyphen (or hyphens) to show that
  they are part of the same adjective.
• A compound adjective is a modifier of a noun.
  Compound adjectives do not always have hyphens. 
• They are hyphenated to avoid confusion.

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Types of hyphenated compound adjectives

• A???????????
• (1) Adjective (including comparatives and
  superlatives) Noun
• A red-light district.  A full-time
  employee.  A high-level requirement. 
• A large-scale development.  A shorter-term
  solution
•  
• (2) Numeric Noun (Singular)
• A seven-year itch.  A ten-storey building. 
  A five-minute walk
•  
• (3) Noun Noun (Adjectival phrases are often
  hyphenated to avoid confusion with nouns.)
• A parent-teacher conference.  Some food-web
  dependencies. 
• A crude-oil processing.  An ice-cream shop

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• B????????????
• (1) Adjective Adjective
• A dark-green dress.  A bitter-sweet memory.
• (2) Noun Adjective A water-proof jacket.  A
  nation-wide campaign. 
• A duty-free shop. 
• A world-famous player.

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• C????????????????????,???????????,??????
•  
• (1) Adjective (including comparatives and
  superlatives) Participle
• An ugly-looking goose A goose which looks
  ugly.
• A snow-covered mountain A mountain which is
  covered with snow.
• An eye-catching girl A girl who catches
  peoples eyes.
•  
• (2) Adverb Participle
• A never-ending story A story which never
  ends.
• A well-paid salary. 
• A well-respected teacher
•  

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• (3) Noun Participle
• An adventure-packed quest A quest which is
  packed
• with adventures.
• A home-made cookie. The cookie was made at
  home.
• A heart-broken story.
• A fun-loving person.
• (4) Numeric Past Participle A one-eyed bear. 
  A two-sided story
•  
• (5) Past Participle Adverb
• A laid-off worker A work who is laid off.
• A scaled-down operation.
•  
• (6) Past Participle Preposition
• An agreed-upon solution.

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• We should not place a hyphen in a compound
  adjective if
• the adjectives are capitalized, such as when they
  are part
• of a title.  
• (O) His book was entitled, "Gender Neutral
  Language in
• English Usage," and it revolutionized the
  way
• people think about sex roles.
• However His book on gender-neutral language
  revolutionized the way people think about sex
  roles.
• (O) The students were participants in
  Chicago-Kent's
• vaunted Legal Research and Writing Program.

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practice

• 1.This is a dress which was made by hand.
• This is a _________ dress.
• 2. It is a walk which takes just 7 minutes.
• It is just a ___________ walk.
• 3. I like the house which was painted brown.
• I like the ___________ house.
• 4. Can you see the star which is shining
  brightly?
• Can you see the _____________ star.
• 5. This is a cake which is made carefully.
• This is a ____________ cake.

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Write As Much As Is Appropriate

• the professional writer writes in plastic the
  amateur writer writes in concrete.
• this means that the professional works his
  sentences
• over and over, knowing that the first version is
  seldom
• the best.

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• One of the most common errors is using
  unnecessary words.
• What is the obvious problem of the following
  sentence?
• Many uneducated citizens who have never attended
  
• school continue to vote for better schools.

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Other examples

• Each and every employee will report in writing
  and complete and turn in form number 402 by
  August 31 not later.

The employers cooperated together and endorsed a
confirmation of the important essentials of the
concurring agreement.
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Meaningless and Ineffective Usages

• List of words/phrases that be made simpler

12 midnight midnight
3 am in the morning 3 am
a person who is honest an honest person
a total of 14 birds 14 birds
circle around circle
close proximity proximity
end result result
exactly the same the same
Important and basic essential
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in spite of the fact that although
in the field of economics in economics
shorter/longer in length shorter/longer
small/large in size small/large
blue in color blue
square/round/rectangular in shape square/round/rectangular
summarize briefly summarize
surrounded on all sides surrounded
surrounding circumstances circumstances
there is no doubt but that no doubt
the future to come the future
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and also and or also
basically, essentially, totally (try to avoid these words)
Due to the fact that due to, because
each every each or every
equally as (O) equally important (O) as important as (X) equally as important
Firstly, secondly, thirdly first, second, third
kind of or sort of somewhat, rather, slightly
lots or lots of many or much
plus and or moreover
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a considerable amount of much
The reason why is because The reason is / because
on account of because
a number of several
referred to as called
In a number of cases some
has the capacity to can
It is clear that clearly
obviously apparent apparently
It is apparent that apparently
employ use
fabricate make
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mix together mix
combine together combine
connect together connect
for the purpose of for. to.
noticeable to the eye noticeable
Visible to the eye visible
Audible to the ear audible
Alone all by himself alone
during the winter months during winter
In the month of May In May
In the city of Detroit In Detroit
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Past experience experience
Past history history
In the final analysis finally
Final conclusion conclusion
Whole entire entire
Might possible might
Here in this place here
Different variations variations
In this day and age today
Retrieve back retrieve
Return back return
Repeat again Repeat
Prior to the time that before
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practice

• 1. The clerk reviewed the statement for the
  purpose of checking for errors.
• 2. All the students must know the absolutely
  basic fundamentals of grammar.
• 3. The politician tried to make his influence
  felt among the citizens.
• 4. The bank teller asked the customer to endorse
  the check on the back.
• 5. The governors assistant gave a speech on the
  subject of the resources of Texas.
• 6. The patient was to take his medicine at
  regular intervals of time.

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Plague Words and Phrases
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• 1. All things considered
• All things considered, Connecticut's 
  woodlands are in better shape now than ever
  before.Connecticut's  woodlands are in better
  shape now than ever before.
• 2. As a matter of fact
• As a matter of fact, there are more 
  woodlands in Connecticut now than there  were in
  1898.There are more woodlands in Connecticut
  now than there  were in 1898.
• 3. At the present time
• This is because there are fewer farmers at
  the present time.This is because there are fewer
  farmers now.

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• 4. Because of the fact that
• Woodlands have grown in area because of the
  fact that farmers have abandoned  their
  fields.Woodlands have grown in area
  because farmers have abandoned their fields.
• 5. Exists
• The fear that exists among many people that
  we are losing our woodlands is uncalled for.The
  fear among many people that we are losing our
  woodlands is uncalled for.
• 6. For the most part
• For the most part, people's suspicions are 
  based on a misunderstanding of the
  facts.People's suspicions are based on a
  misunderstanding of the facts.

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• 7. In my opinion
• In my opinion, this wasteful policy ought 
  to be revoked.This wasteful policy ought to be
  revoked.
• 8. In the case of
• In the case of this particular
  policy, citizens of northeast Connecticut
  became very upset.Citizens of northeast
  Connecticut became very upset about his policy.
• 9. In the final analysis
• In the final analysis, the state would have
  been better off without such a policy.The state
  would  have been better off without such a 
  policy.
• 10. In the process of
• Legislators are already in the process
  of reviewing the statutes.Legislators are
  already reviewing the statutes.

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• 11. It seems that
• It seems that they can't wait to get rid
  of this one.They can't wait to get  rid of this
  one.
• 12. The point I am trying to make
• The point I am trying to make is
  that sometimes public policy doesn't 
  accomplish what it set out to achieve.Sometimes
  public policy doesn't  accomplish what it set out
  to achieve.
• 13. Type of
• Legislators need to be more careful of
  the type of policy they propose.Legislators need
  to be more careful of the policy they propose.