COMMON MISTAKES

Revising punctuation

Punctuation is essential if your work is to make sense.

• Do not use commas instead of full stops. If in doubt, put a full stop.
• Remember to put a question mark at the end of a question.

Incorrect version

He was in a hurry, he quickly pushed the newspaper into the rubbish bin, Maria watched him, what was he doing.

Correct version

He was in a hurry. He quickly pushed the newspaper into the rubbish bin. Maria watched him. What was he doing?

Sentence construction

Sentences must make sense. Each sentence must contain at least one subject (noun or pronoun) and one finite verb. If there is more than one finite verb, there are two clauses and these should either be separated by a full stop or semi-colon or linked by a conjunction. There are three clauses in the following piece but they are not linked:

He crept round the corner she followed him she was very suspicious.

There are several ways in which this could be corrected:

As he crept round the corner, she followed him; she was very suspicious.

He crept round the corner; she followed him because she was very suspicious.

As he crept round the corner, she followed him because she was very suspicious.

The correct use of verbs

Always make sure that the nouns and the verbs ‘agree’. If the noun is singular, the verb should also be singular.

The government is hoping to win the vote of confidence. not

The government are hoping to win the vote of confidence.

Pronouns

There is often confusion in the use of the words: ‘I’ and ‘me’, ‘she’ and ‘her’, ‘he’ and ‘him’, ‘we’ and ‘us’, ‘they’ and ‘them’.

‘I’, ‘she’, ‘he’, ‘we’ and ‘they’ are personal pronouns and are usually the subject of the sentence. That means they are the instigators of the action in the sentence:

I like travelling.

She went on holiday.

He has been made redundant.

We have no milk.

They are moving today.

‘Me’, ‘her’, ‘him’, ‘us’ and ‘them’ are usually the objects of the sentence. That means that something is ‘done’ to them:

The ball struck me.

The prize was given to her.

The tree fell on him.

The audience applauded us.

The teacher scolded them.

Confusion often arises when there is a name as well as the pronoun. It is sometimes thought that ‘I’ sounds better than ‘me’ but it is actually incorrect:

Tracy and I are going to London.

not

Tracy and me are going to London.

Mrs Jones gave some sweets to John and me.

not

Mrs Jones gave some sweets to John and I.

To check which is correct, it is often useful to remove the proper noun. The following examples are obviously wrong.

Mrs Jones gave some sweets to I.

Me is going to London.

However, when a verb is ‘understood’ at the end of the sentence, it is the personal pronoun that is used:

He is taller than I (am).

She was angrier than he (was).

Neither ‘am’ nor ‘was’ needs to be included at the end of the sentences. They are both ‘understood’. The following examples are therefore incorrect:

He is taller than me.

She was angrier than him.

If the verb was added instead of being ‘understood’, it would sound quite wrong:

He was taller than me am.

She was angrier than him was.

Spelling

• Learn the most commonly misspelled words. Revise the list on pages 69-70.
• Learn the correct spelling of homophones:

hear	–	here
their	–	there	–	they’re
sea	–	see
too	–	two	–	to
your	–	you’re

The words ‘practise’ and ‘practice’ are often confused and so are ‘advise’ and ‘advice’. ‘Practise’ and ‘advise’ are the verbs and ‘practice’ and ‘advice’ are the nouns:

You must practise the piano if you are to improve.

There is a cricket practice in the nets today.

I advise you to behave yourself.

She always refused to take advice.

Other words that are often confused are ‘council’ and ‘counsel’, ‘compliment’ and ‘complement’, ‘principle’ and ‘principal’ and ‘stationery’ and ‘stationary’.

Council/counsel

• 1.A council (noun) is an administrative group which has power to make decisions.
  A councillor (noun) sits on a council (noun).
• 2.To counsel (verb) someone is to help them by listening to them and giving them advice.
  A counsellor (noun) counsels (verb) clients.

Compliment/complement

• 1.A compliment (noun) is an expression of praise. ‘He paid me a compliment today.’
• 2.To complement (verb) means to complete the whole. ‘Your scarf complements that dress beautifully.’

Principal/principle

• 1.A principal (noun) is the head of a college.
  ‘The Principal was very pleased with the students’ work.’
• 2.Principal can also be an adjective meaning main or chief. ‘The principal (adjective) boy in the pantomime was played by Joan.’
• 3.A principle (noun) is a standard you maintain.
  ‘In spite of difficulties, she always kept to her principles (noun).’

Stationery/stationary

• 1.A stationer (noun) sells writing paper so stationery (noun) is writing paper and envelopes.
  I ran out of stationery (noun) so I had to buy some.
• 2.Stationary (adjective) means fixed in one place.
  The train was stationary (adjective) at the platform.

Another common mistake

A mistake that is frequently heard is the following:

He is very different to his brother.

This is wrong. It should be:

He is very different from his brother.

Apostrophes and abbreviations

• Do not put an apostrophe every time there is a plural word ending in ‘s’.
• The abbreviation of ‘could have’ is ‘could’ve’ not ‘could of’.
• Do not put a full stop after a contraction:

Doctor	–	Dr
Mister	–	Mr

UNNECESSARY REPETITION

• Remember that nouns do not usually need to be repeated within the same sentence.
• Replace them with pronouns:

He tried on his new boots. The boots were too tight.

This should be:

He tried on his new boots. They were too tight.

Tautologies

A tautology is where the same thing is said twice over in different ways, for example:

The last chapter will be at the end of the book.

The people applauded by clapping their hands.

These two sentences are repetitious. ‘The last chapter’ will obviously be at the end so it is not necessary to say so. ‘Applause’ is usually shown by clapping so ‘by clapping their hands’ is unnecessary.

Sentence variation

If sentences frequently begin with the same word, the word becomes monotonous. Avoid the temptation to start consecutive sentences in the same way.

She cautiously opened the door. She saw who stood on the doorstep so she hurriedly closed it. She ran back to the dining room. She started to cry. She was distraught.

These five sentences all start with ‘she’ so the passage does not flow. Is the following example better?

Cautiously opening the door, Tina saw who stood on the doorstep so she hurriedly closed it. Running back to the dining room, the child started to cry. She was distraught.

Sentences 3 and 4 have been combined and only the last sentence starts with ‘she’ while two of the pronouns have been replaced with nouns. The writing is much ‘tighter’.

COMPARISONS

When using adjectives to compare two things or people ‘-er’ is usually added to the base word. This is known as the comparative. The base word is ‘positive’.

positive	comparative
big	bigger
happy	happier
slow	slower
tall	taller

She is taller than I am.

He is slower than she is.

When more than two things or people are involved, ‘-est’ is added to the adjective. This is known as the superlative:

positive	comparative	superlative
big	bigger	biggest
happy	happier	happiest
slow	slower	slowest
tall	taller	tallest

Adrian is the biggest of all the boys.

Mary is the tallest of the four girls.

Some words are so constructed that to add the suffix ‘-er’ or ‘- est’ would produce clumsy words. In this case ‘more’ and ‘most’ are put before the adjective instead:

beautiful	more beautiful	most beautiful
excitable	more excitable	most excitable
intelligent	more intelligent	most intelligent
irritable	more irritable	most irritable

Joanne was the most beautiful girl Frank had ever seen.

Gail was the most intelligent student in the class.

‘Bad’, ‘good’ and ‘little’ do not follow the rules and have their own words for comparison:

bad	worse	worst
good	better	best
little	less	least

The patient is worse today.

Clive is the best pupil I have ever taught.

That is the least of my worries.

JARGON

Looking at the origin

The word ‘jargon’ derives from a Middle English word meaning ‘meaningless chatter’. The derivation suggests a very good reason why jargon should be avoided. Anyone who is a member of a group uses jargon that is intelligible only to other members of the same group. Lawyers have their own jargon and so do politicians, schoolteachers and nurses.

Today we are bombarded with words ending in ‘ise’. Privatise, normalise, prioritise, nationalise are all words that are now embedded in our language. But they are jargon and should be avoided, as should all forms of jargon. Use words and expressions that will be easily understood by anyone who reads your work. Strive always for originality and simplicity in your writing. Look at the following example:

The local council is producing a programme to normalise the work experience schedule of students in its employ. Any input from department heads to finalise this should be submitted by the due date.

It’s full of jargon. But it is an internal note so should be understood by its readers. The following example is very pompous:

Louis had fed in the appropriate information before finalising his entry. Now he hurtled along the race track hoping to maximise his potential.

Here is the simplified version:

Louis had given all the appropriate information before entering the race. Now he hurtled along the track, hoping to win.

IMAGINATIVE WRITING

Clichés

Clichés are phrases that are heard over and over again. We all use them and they are often very apt. Of course, they were original when they were said for the first time. Many of their origins have been lost but a number owe their existence to the Bible and Shakespeare. The following expressions are probably familiar although the original words have sometimes been changed slightly:

All that glistens (glisters) is not gold. (Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare)

My mind’s eye. (Hamlet, Shakespeare)

Don’t hide your light under a bushel. (The Bible)

Here are some more common examples:

He stopped dead in his tracks.

She went as white as a sheet.

He ran like the wind.

Similes

The last two examples were similes. These are comparisons between two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, Many clichés are similes and they are often very vivid. However, they are not original and you should avoid them. It is much better to create your own ‘images’ so that your reader will be struck by the originality of your writing. If you want to create a simile using a colour, try to think of something unusual which is that colour. The face of someone who is seasick might be said to be ‘as green as grass’ but ‘as green as the mould at the bottom of an unwashed milk bottle’ is far more original if not very pleasant.

‘My legs felt like jelly’ is not original although it is apt. The following suggests the same feeling but is more vivid because it is original:

My legs felt like spaghetti that had just been dipped into boiling water.

Metaphors

Metaphors are also comparisons but they are ‘implied’ and do not use ‘like’ or ‘as’. We use metaphorical language a great deal in everyday speech. It is language that is not literally true but cannot be classified as a lie as everyone knows what is meant. Look at the following examples:

I’m starving.

He says he’s freezing.

She’s dying of thirst.

All of the above examples are clichés and all are metaphors. The language is metaphorical – not literally true. If it were true, all three characters would be dead and we know that is not what is meant.

The moon is a silver ball in the dark sky.

This is a metaphor but if ‘like’ is added, it becomes a simile:

The moon is like a silver ball in the dark sky.

Metaphors and similes both add interest to your writing but they should be used sparingly.

Personification

To personify means to give an inanimate object human characteristics. Look at the following examples:

The sun walked across the sky in her golden shoes.

The table groaned under the weight of the food.

Both use personification. The sun ‘walks’ and wears ‘golden shoes’. The table ‘groans’. They are also metaphors as they are not literally true.

The use of the figures of speech we have just discussed, is common in prose writing and adds to the interest. Prose is written and spoken language that does not have a regular beat or rhyme as some poetry does.

STYLE OF WRITING

Economising on words

Good writing is simple and easy to understand. Unnecessary words should be eliminated. If one word can replace four, use it. Look at the following ‘wordy’ example:

All of a sudden, he ran quickly to the computer. He knew it was absolutely essential to eliminate completely his very unique work which, although extremely excellent, could put him in bad danger. In the event that his enemies found and discovered what he had done, he would try to give advance warning of the catastrophic disaster that would follow.

A number of the words and phrases in this example are tautologies. They repeat what has already been said and are quite unnecessary. ‘Unique’ and ‘excellent’ cannot be qualified. They stand alone. Other expressions could be shortened to make the work flow. The passage could be tightened up by the removal of many extra words. Why use ‘all of a sudden’ when ‘suddenly’ will do? ‘Eliminate’ and ‘essential’ do not need to be qualified. ‘Absolutely’, ‘completely’, ‘very’, and ‘extremely’ therefore should be deleted. ‘Bad danger’, ‘advance warning’ and ‘catastrophic disaster’ are also wrong. ‘Danger’ is ‘bad’, a ‘warning’ always refers to the future and a ‘disaster’ is ‘catastrophic’. Look at the revised version:

Suddenly, he rushed to the computer. He knew it was essential to eliminate his unique work, which, although excellent, could put him in danger. If his enemies discovered what he had done, he would try to give warning to the world of the disaster that would follow.

The active and passive voice

The active voice is more positive than the passive voice. In the active voice a subject does something. In the passive voice something is done to him.

Active voice

The father struck his son.

The teacher gave the class a detention.

Passive voice

The son was struck by his father.

The class was given a detention by the teacher.

In the second version there are two extra words; the first sentences have more vigour.

Negatives

Using positive statements instead of negative ones also economises on words.

For example:

He did not remember his wife’s birthday.

Clare was not present in the afternoon.

would be better as the following:

He forgot his wife’s birthday.

Clare was absent in the afternoon.

Avoid double negatives which make a positive:

There isn’t no one there.

I haven’t got no lunch.

The ‘not’ and the ‘no’ cancel each other out and therefore the first example means there is someone there and the second means I have got some lunch.

There is a choice of two correct versions. Only one negative should be used if the sense is to be kept:

There isn’t anyone there.

or

There is no one there.

I haven’t got any lunch.

or

I have no lunch.

IN CONCLUSION

Always check your work to make sure that it makes sense. Avoid vagueness and expressions which add nothing to your sentence. Some expressions to be avoided are: ‘to tell you the truth’, ‘in fact’, ‘actually’.

Make sure your phrases and clauses are in the right order so there is no confusion:

She put the letter on the desk which had been opened.

In the above, ‘which had been opened’ refers to the letter not the desk so it should follow ‘letter’. The following is the correct version:

She put the letter, which had been opened, on the desk.

Here’s another example:

The knife was very sharp which he used.

The correct version is:

The knife, which he used, was very sharp.

Aim to develop your own individual style of writing. Read widely so you can appreciate others’ writing but do not copy them. Always check your work carefully to make sure your sentences make sense, are well-constructed and do not contain any careless mistakes.

Avoid repeatedly using words like ‘and’, ‘very’, ‘nice’ and ‘got’. All of them are very overworked. Change your sentence structure or find a synonym to replace them. Don’t begin sentences with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘also’.

Nothing is more monotonous than the repetition of the same sentence pattern. Vary it by changing the length of your sentences and by placing clauses and phrases in a different order. There is a variety of different sentence structures you can use. Look at the following examples:

• 1.The bride looked radiant. (One main clause.)
• 2.The match was cancelled because of the weather. (Main clause followed by dependent clause.)
• 3.Because of the weather, the match was cancelled. (Dependent clause followed by main clause.)
• 4.Peeping into the bedroom, she saw that her daughter was still asleep. (Phrase followed by main clause.)
• 5.The Crown Prince, who should have succeeded his father on the throne, was assassinated last week. (Dependent clause inserted in the middle of a main clause.)
• 6.I had a shower, put on my new evening dress, dabbed some perfume behind my ears, picked up my handbag and rushed downstairs. (List of main clauses with subject ‘I’ ‘understood’.)
• 7.Julie was playing the piano, Mark was doing his homework, Colin was in the kitchen and Karen was reading her library book. (List of main clauses each with a different subject.)

These are just a few of the sentence variations you can use.

CHECKLIST

• Remember to use commas in the correct places when more than one clause is used.
• Always check your work.
• Avoid unnecessary repetition and tautologies.
• Check spellings of frequently misspelled words.
• Vary your sentence structure.
• Avoid the use of jargon.
• Clichés are frequently used phrases. Avoid them.
• A simile is a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
• A metaphor is an implied comparison without the use of ‘like’ or ‘as’.
• Personification gives human characteristics to things that are not human.
• Use similes and metaphors to ‘colour’ your language.
• Delete unnecessary words.

EXERCISES

• 1.Correct the following:
  • (a)The school are hoping to raise enough money to build a new drama studio.
  • (b)He gave packages to both John and I.
  • (c)Me and June is going out.
  • (d)The cat licked it’s whiskers while the dogs’ ate there dinner.
  • (e)Her work was very excellent.
  • (f)He hasn’t got no coat.
  • (g)She could of gone to London.
• 2.Stimulate your imagination by creating similes or metaphors to describe the following:
  • (a)The sun setting over the sea.
  • (b)Thick fog.
  • (c)An empty room.
  • (d)A worried woman.

See page 176 for suggested answers.