common mistakes in business English
writing from espresso English net when
writing letters and emails for work it's
important to write correctly because
mistakes can make your English look
unprofessional in today's lesson you'll
learn how to avoid 10 common mistakes in
business English writing number one I am
writing in respect of our recent
purchase instead you should write I am
writing in reference to I am writing
with regard to or I am writing regarding
or concerning our recent purchase all of
these options are correct but you can't
use in respect of number two we would
like to regret the delay regret means
you feel bad for doing something wrong
so you need to say we regret the delay
or we would like to apologize for the
delay the word assure is followed by a
person it means to help remove the
person's doubt the word ensure is
followed by a fact ensure means to help
guarantee the fact so you should write I
assure you that our products are of the
highest quality we have a quality
control process to ensure that every
item is free from defects again assure
is followed by a person and ensure is
followed by a fact number four your
order will be shipped until Wednesday at
the latest when talking about events
that will be completed before a certain
day in the future
use by for a single specific event
use until for a continuous event
shipping the order is a single specific
event so we need to use by your order
will be shipped by Wednesday at the
latest here's an example of a continuous
action where you need to use until we
will be performing maintenance until the
25th the maintenance will be continuous
until stopping on the 25th number five I
would like to request some informations
about your services in English the word
information is an uncountable noun so it
is never plural this means we need to
write I would like to request some
information about your services number
six we accept all major credit cards the
word accept spelled with an A means to
receive willingly and the word accept
spelled with an e means to exclude when
speaking these words are pronounced the
same except when writing we need to make
sure to use the correct one the correct
sentence is we accept with an A all
major credit cards here's an example of
accept with an e used correctly we offer
free shipping to every US state except
Alaska and Hawaii
this means Alaska and Hawaii are not
included in the free shipping offer
number seven
we appreciate your cooperate after
articles like a and and the and
possessives like my your his her our and
their always use a noun not a verb
cooperate is a verb so the correct
sentence is
we appreciate your cooperation
cooperation is the noun form of
cooperate number eight I want you to
send me the files right now in
professional communications it's
important to be polite especially when
making a request giving an order or
expressing criticism a better way to
write this sentence is could you please
send me the files as soon as possible
the expression could you and including
the word please make the sentence sound
more polite number nine the conference
begins on Friday July 8th it will be
held in Los Angeles California not using
correct capitalization and punctuation
makes a very bad impression in
professional communications in English
we capitalize the first word of each
sentence proper names names of cities
states countries and languages names of
days of the week and months and the word
I so the correct way to write the
sentence is like this the conference
begins on Friday July 8th it will be
held in Los Angeles California we
capitalize the first word of each new
sentence the day of the week Friday the
month July and the city and state Los
Angeles California number 10 I look
forward to hear from you after the
expression look forward to always use a
noun or the ing form of the verb so the
correct sentence is I look forward to
hearing from you
here are two more examples you can write
I look forward to visiting your company
or I look
forward to the visit in the first case
we use the verb in the ing form visiting
and in the second case we use the noun
the visit visit espresso English dotnet
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emails and more thanks for watching
can you find the English grammar
mistakes in these sentences from
espresso English dotnet in today's
lesson you'll get to test your English
grammar skills can you find the mistakes
in the following sentences try to find
the mistake and then in a few seconds
I'll tell you the answer and give you
the explanation let's try it number one
here's the incorrect sentence we cleaned
all the kitchen while our parents were
out to dinner can you find the error
it's incorrect to say all the kitchen
the correct sentences we cleaned the
whole kitchen or the entire kitchen
while our parents were out to dinner we
use the word all four plural nouns like
all the students and for uncountable
nouns like all the furniture but we
don't use all four singular nouns like
kitchen when you want to talk about 100%
of one thing use the whole or the entire
the whole kitchen or the entire kitchen
number two here's the incorrect sentence
if I'm stressed out about something I
tend to have problem to fall asleep
can you find the mistake it's incorrect
to say I tend to have problem to fall
asleep it just doesn't sound natural
instead you should say I tend to have
trouble falling asleep or I tend to have
a hard time falling asleep we don't
usually use a verb after problem if you
want to talk about the difficult action
use trouble or a hard time and then the
ing form of the verb that's why we say I
have trouble falling asleep or I have a
hard time falling asleep both of those
sound more natural than I have problem
to fall asleep number three here's the
incorrect sentence one of the most
important issue is the lack of parking
spaces at the local mall can you find
the mistake it's incorrect to say one of
the most important issue the correct way
is one of the most important issues
issues is plural whenever you use the
expression one of the noun must be
plural but the verb must be singular for
example one of my friends is sick one of
these eggs was rotten the subject is one
so that's why the verb is singular but
you are talking about one of many things
one of my friends or one of these eggs
so the noun friends and eggs must be
plural
number four here's the incorrect
sentence if you don't mind I'd prefer
leave early tomorrow can you find the
mistake it's incorrect to say I'd prefer
leave the correct way is I'd prefer to
leave or I'd prefer leaving another
correct way to say it is I'd rather
leave after the word prefer use two plus
the verb or the ing form after the word
rather you can use the base form but you
can't use the base form after prefer so
we need to say I'd prefer to leave or I
to prefer leaving don't say I'd prefer
leave number five here's the incorrect
sentence do you have a few minutes to
discuss about this project can you find
the mistake it's incorrect to say
discuss about the word discuss is the
same as talk about therefore it's not
necessary to use about after discuss so
the correct sentence says do you have a
few minutes to discuss this project or
to talk about this project but don't say
discuss about it's not necessary number
six
here's the incorrect sentence the survey
we performed recently showed that most
of customers are satisfied can you find
the mistake it's incorrect to say most
of customers the correct way is most of
the customers or most of our customers
or most customers after most of then you
need to have an article like the most of
the customers or a possessive like my
his are etc most of our customers
however if you use only most without of
then you don't need anything and you can
go straight to the noun most customers
most people most houses but it's
incorrect to say most of customers again
you either need to remove the word of or
add the word the number 7 here's the
incorrect sentence although I've known
him for a while I still can't believe
how much stubborn he is
can you find the mistake it's incorrect
to say how much stubborn the correct way
is how stubborn before adjectives like
stubborn we use only how for example how
friendly how cold how expensive those
are all adjectives we use how much and
how many with nouns objects places or
people for example how much money how
many friends how much snow
because stubborn is an adjective a
descriptive word we use only how how
stubborn and not how much number eight
here's the incorrect sentence this is a
very simple procedure it will take less
of ten minutes can you find the mistake
it's incorrect to say less of ten
minutes the correct form is less than
ten minutes when comparing two things we
use the word then for example the city
is bigger than the town a bike is less
expensive than a car this procedure will
take less than ten minutes
number nine here's the incorrect
sentence
I've loved classical music ever since I
was child can you find the mistake it's
in
correct to say I was child instead you
should say I was a child or I was young
when using an adjective like young you
don't need an article you can say I was
hungry I'm tired
etc but when using a noun like child
than you need an article I was a child I
was a manager I'm a sports fan etc
number 10 here's the incorrect sentence
would you like to take part of this
activity can you find the mistake it's
incorrect to say take part of this
activity the correct way is take part in
this activity if you take part of
something it means you literally remove
a piece of it
for example he took part of the bread
and dipped it in the soup but the
expression take part in means to
participate for example I took part in
the chess tournament this question is
asking if the person would like to
participate in the activity so we need
to say take part in this activity not
take part of some English students are
really afraid to make mistakes but I
think mistakes are a good thing why
because you can learn from them making
mistakes is a natural part of the
learning process and when you get
corrected you are more likely to
remember the right way to say it if
you'd like me to correct your written
English then sign up for my advanced
English grammar course every lesson has
a writing task where you can send me
your text and I'll send you feedback
click on the link in the video for more
information about this course
speaking English expressions for
education let's continue speaking
September with some English expressions
related to education make sure to watch
this video to the end to learn about a
common error that a lot of students make
when talking about what they studied in
college
number one cover a lot of ground if a
class or a course covers a lot of ground
it means it teaches a lot of material
for example we covered a lot of ground
in the first two weeks of the course
we've already finished four chapters in
the textbook now it's your turn to use
this phrase
what's a class or course you've taken
that has covered a lot of ground
number two drew a blank or mind went
blank if you are asked a question and
you draw a blank or your mind goes blank
it means you cannot think of the answer
maybe you actually do know the answer or
have a response but you just can't think
of it in that moment for example I
totally drew a blank when it came to the
final question on the exam talk about a
time your mind went blank when faced
with the question
number three on campus the word campus
refers to the property of a college
university or school for example there
are three dining halls and two gyms on
campus say a few things that were on the
campus of your school or university
number four teacher's pet the teacher's
pet is the teacher's favorite student
who always behaves well studies hard and
tries to please the teacher for example
mark always helps clean up the classroom
he's a teacher's pet who in your class
was a teacher's pet number five
know by heart if you know something by
heart it means you have memorized it you
can remember it easily without having to
check a reference for example we studied
that poem so much that now I know it by
heart what is something that you know by
heart
number six goof off or goof around if
students are goofing off or goofing
around it means they are acting silly
and not being serious for example the
teacher scolded the boys who are goofing
off in the back of the classroom talk
about a time you were goofing off or you
saw someone else goofing off
number seven drop out of school to drop
out of school means to stop attending
school permanently if you just take a
break
but intend to go back then you are
taking a semester off or taking a year
off but when you drop out you don't go
back a person who does this can be
called a high school dropout or a
college dropout for example she had to
drop out because of some serious
financial problems now answer the
questions what are some reasons a person
might drop out of school and do you ever
think it's actually better for someone
to drop out
now that you've learned some phrases
about education let me correct a common
error that a lot of English learners
make when talking about what they
studied in college they say I am
graduated in sociology however that's
not the way native English speakers
express this idea we use graduate only
for the event of finishing high school
or college for example I graduated in
2010 he's going to graduate next year
the whole family attended her college
graduation the graduation is the
ceremony when you finish high school or
college but when talking about what you
studied we say I studied I majored in or
I have a degree in for example I
graduated in 2010 I studied sociology
I majored in Latin American literature I
have a degree in veterinary medicine
another very common problem that a lot
of students write to me about is this
Shana I can understand you but when I
listen to a conversation between other
native speakers I can't understand
anything if this describes you I have
good news this month you have the
opportunity to practice and improve your
understanding of real natural
conversations by listening to other
people speaking and not just me
espresso English is partnering with
elllo.org to offer a special combination
product the everyday English speaking
course with 45 lessons with practical
English phrases for daily life and a
hundred quick conversation lessons from
elllo.org where you'll listen to real
dialogues between different native
speakers remember the special price is
only available during the month of
September click on the link in the video
to see some sample lessons from both
programs
hi folks welcome back this is a lecture
about the 20 most common errors that
students make in their college-level
essays now some of these errors are
easier to understand than others but
I'll try my best to make this as simple
as possible and help you save lots and
lots of points on your essays now this
list of 20 errors was compiled by Bob
Connors and Andrea Lunsford two of the
shining luminaries of the composition
world and they did a study in which they
looked at 21,000 different student
essays and compiled this list based on
the areas that were the most frequent so
I think it's a very good idea to focus
in on these and of these are really
simple and you can like I said save
yourself sometimes a whole letter grade
if not two letter grades just by
following these rules okay we'll start
in the reverse order so number 20 is the
it's in its confusion problem and this
one is very simple because you all you
have to do to see if it's going to be
it's with an apostrophe or it's without
the apostrophe and see if you can
substitute it is or it has now if you
don't have the apostrophe that shows
possession and if you do it's that
contraction so let's look at an example
of a wrong one it's not a problem that
concerns me so that you is the
possessive form you need to put the
apostrophe s because you'd say it is not
a problem that it concerns me it's a
serious problem that affects all of us
it is a serious problem so you can hear
what I'm doing there
it's been fun knowing you that's one
where it has it has been fun knowing you
so just remember if you're not sure see
if you can put the it is or it has in
there the dog buried its bone behind the
auger would you say the dog buried it is
bone or it it has bone of course not so
you don't need that ' the cat buried its
feces in the litter box again you can't
say it is or it has so there's no
apostrophe okay number 19 the misplaced
or dangling modifier now these are a
little bit a tricky
but simple enough you just whatever you
have is you're modifying element I need
to put that next to the word that it
modifies and you also need to make sure
the word is actually in the sentence if
you don't have it in there at all that's
called the dangling modifier if it's
just in the wrong place it's called a
misplaced so here's an example of the
dangling sipping margaritas , the Ducks
swam gracefully across the lake now are
these ducks kicking back with their
cocktail glasses I don't think so so
what you've done here is actually left
out whatever is sipping margaritas so we
can fix that sipping margaritas , we
watched the ducks swim gracefully across
the lake so then we put the we in so you
know who's sipping margaritas we could
also rewrite it we sipped margaritas and
watched the ducks swim gracefully across
the lake all right number 18 the fused
sentence so this is independent clauses
must be separated with a comma and a
coordinating conjunction this will be
related later on to the comma splice
what we have here though is just a fused
or a run-on and the coordinating
conjunctions that's a bit of grammar
terminology but just remember fanboys
for and nor but or yet and so
fanboys if you can memorize that list
your life will be much easier okay
here's examples of fused sentences I
were wrong
the penguin moved to Wisconsin his
friend moved to Montana so you see how
those are just fused together there
that's two separate sentences they need
something in between them so the penguin
moved to - Minnesota comma but his
friend moved to Montana so you put the
comma and the coordinating conjunction
but okay number 17 the unnecessary comma
is with a restrictive element and
there's another partner to this one but
I guess this was slightly less common as
a rule here is don't put commas around
an element that restricts or defines the
meaning of another part of the sentence
so that's the fairly technical rule but
look at these examples would be easier
so it's wrong to say we went to the
theater last night
I saw the movie , gravity , in 3d so
what we're looking at is this gravity
there and do you need to put commas
around it you don't want to put commas
around it because of the it's defining
the word movie I saw the movie gravity
in 3d if you don't put the word gravity
in there then you don't know what movie
it is so that's an example of a restrict
development you're restricting the
meaning of that word movie to just the
one called gravity okay number 16 and
this is definitely getting a trickier
but just bear with me the pronoun and
anti-santa see disagreement problem and
there's a four different rules that
governs this the first one is that
pronouns must match their antecedent and
that just means the word that they
substitute for in number case and gender
and then the second rule is that
indefinite pronouns have their own rules
so an indefinite pronoun there's many of
them but the most common most common
ones are the ones that end embody one or
thing like something everybody someone
now those are always singular and this
is the one that comes up all the time so
if you say everybody
that's a singular so you'd say everybody
is and then you would have he or she and
his or her have to go with it
almost everyone though messes up and
puts the word there for everybody and
we'll see that's a wrong okay any all
more most some and none those are
particularly tricky because they can be
either singular or plural depending on
what they go with so if I said all the
apples that's plural if I said all of
the Apple that's singular and that's
just these so it's a good idea again to
memorize those unfortunately there's no
convenient Britton acronym like fanboys
for those you just have to memorize them
okay so let's look at some examples it's
wrong to say everyone is born with their
own unique fingerprints so we can't have
their and if you're confused about this
just look at the word is remember that
is guys with singular words so it
doesn't make sense to have is and then
later on to say there
is used for more than one thing so you
just want to keep it consistent most
trick if you have this on a quiz just
look at the verb and see if it's
singular or plural and make sure that
the antecedent lines up with that
everyone is born with his or her own
unique fingerprints that's correct
but it's also a little awkward to say
his or her he or she all the time and so
easy fixes just to replace it with
something like all babies so all babies
are born with their own unique
fingerprints now if you have a compound
subject or predicate and you got the
word or in there
that's another special case so if you
have something or something you have to
make sure that the at proverbs and the
pronouns line up with whatever's closer
so let's take a look at some of these
the girls or the boy forgot their lunch
box on the bus that's wrong because boy
is closer to their hi than girls so you
wouldn't say the boy and their and say
the boy forgot his lunch box on the bus
now if you flipped it around and had the
boy or the girls then you could say
their because girls is closer and that's
their ok the last rule for this is a the
collective nouns so if you have a
collective noun that just means
something like jury team group anything
like that now if it's singular or plural
it mean it depends on whether or not
those that noun is acting as a one unit
as then the jury reached its verdict or
if you're talking about the individual
members of the group doing their own
thing in which case you'd use a plural
form so the jury has reached their
verdict is wrong because you know they
had to work together to reach just one
verdict so you'd say the jury has
reached its verdict if you had them
arguing though maybe you could say the
jury are arguing among themselves about
the case well then there you know you
have to have more than one person to
argue right so you could think about it
logically okay number 15 the missing
comma in a series now this fortunately
is very easy just remember if you have
more than
if you have a little list of items going
and you hit that third item go ahead and
put the comma there sometimes doesn't
call the serial comma or the Oxford
comma so it's wrong to say please buy
mustard mayo lettuce and pickles
so you notice how they left off the
comma after lettuce there should be
please buy mustard mayo lettuce and
pickles now you will find people to
disagree with you about this including
some teachers but you know the more
common the standard rule is to go ahead
and put the comma there it doesn't cost
anything extra to put a comma so just go
ahead and do and you'll always be
correct at least in my book and most
other English teachers alright number
fourteen the subject and verb
disagreement so remember before we had
the pronoun and antecedent agreement so
if you have the boy now that goes with
he same thing with subject and verbs if
you have the boy is or the boy are you
know that has to go with is because it's
singular so the there's number in person
to worry about here okay so it's wrong
to say the point of these lectures are
to improve your scores on essays so this
is a little problem that you run into
sometimes of the head little phrase a
little prepositional phrase it comes
between the subject and the verb so the
subject of that sentence is the point
the verb is are so you wouldn't say the
point are you'd say the point is so you
just have to bracket out or ignore that
prepositional phrase it comes in between
of these lectures and then you'll know
which one to to use all right number 13
the wrong tense or verb form so again
this is a lot there's a lot of
irregularities a lot of quirks in the
English language you just have to
memorize but in general verbs should
match the timer order indicated by the
context and to memorize and apply the
correct forms for the irregular verbs
most of the time the regular verbs you
won't have any issues it's just those
sort of exceptions that cause confusion
so it's wrong to say after you hear the
beep please recorded your message
nobody's going to say that say please
record your message the same thing with
the Stuart Hall was builded in 1932
most of us know that should actually be
was built this can be a problem if you
have learned English from a book or by
taking classes because you may not have
heard these enough just do have it
memorized so again it's worthwhile just
to refresh yourself every now and then
on the irregular verb forms okay number
twelve the sentence fragment and this is
just what it sounds like you got it
punctuated like a complete sentence but
it's not maybe it's miss on the subject
maybe it's missing a verb and maybe
you've got a conjunction starting it you
know that a conjunction connects
sentences so you can't have it starting
a sentence so it's wrong to say after I
finished my homework no no doesn't you
sound like there's something missing
there right so that should be a little
clue another reason why you should
always read your essays out loud because
you'll catch a lot of these errors that
you wouldn't if you just looked at it so
after I finish my homework take out the
after I finish my homework that's
correct
you could also say after I finished my
homework calm up I went to bed okay
because the teacher offered bonus points
again in complete a fragment you need to
say the teacher offered bonus points or
because the teacher offer bonus points
comma I did something all right number
eleven the unnecessary shift in pronoun
now this is usually caused by lack of
proofreading more than people that don't
just don't understand the rule but
basically you don't want to switch to
you after you started off in third
person so don't start off by saying they
there and then suddenly use the word you
it's dead so here's a good example when
students are proofreading their work you
should read it aloud you know you see it
just suddenly shifted to you there it
should be when students are proofreading
their work they should read it oh wow
so you see what I'm talking about this
is some teachers will say never use you
at all in especially in a formal essay I
would say I only use it if you really do
want to talk to the reader instead of
other people on the senate's so more
than likely you're not going to want to
do that so I would agree just stay away
from the word you especially if you're
writing a formal essay
okay number 10 unnecessary shifts in
tents so this is a probably another
proofreading error maybe you go back in
and you change up a sentence or two in a
paragraph and then you don't reread the
whole paragraph to make sure that it
still works if you just put something in
and don't go back and look you probably
have this error so if you start off in
the past tense keep it in the past same
thing with all the other tenses so it's
wrong to say the snake hissed at the cat
the rat runs away in panic so you
started off and passed and then suddenly
switch to present it's looks a little
strange so you just say the snake hissed
at the rat the rat ran away in panic
okay number nine the lovely missing or
misplaced apostrophe posture fees caused
people all over the world to have a
conniption fits but it's a little
complicated but it's not that bad okay
so the general rule is you add
apostrophe s to show possession you know
if only were that simple but there are
some exceptions so if the word already
ends in s then you just put the
apostrophe at the end now if it's a name
though like Socrates then you still add
the apostrophe s Socrates's three do not
add an apostrophe to personal pronouns
so if it's something like hers you know
this is yours you don't put the
apostrophe there and so these are all
exceptions you know even the one with
the name you know some people don't like
that extra apostrophe s on their name so
if they say just put the apostrophe you
know that's sort of their choice to do
that alright number nine missing or
misplaced apostrophe examples so wrong
what is your problem so if you have you
apostrophe re that's a contraction for
you are what is you are problem that you
are problem is you've got that
apostrophe there so it should just be
what is your problem no apostrophe mr.
Jones class is going on a field trip we
need to put the apostrophe s there mr.
Jones's class is going on a field trip
all right so number eight the comma
splice this is very common error indeed
all the way up to number
rate so this is a the rule is simply do
not use a comma by itself to combine two
sentences so what's wrong to say the
elevator is broken take the stairs
sounds okay but if you listen carefully
you do need an extra word in there
something like the elevator is broken
comma so take the stairs you can also
put make two separate sentences you
could use the - lots of different ways
to fix it but you can't just have the
comma by itself alright number seven the
wrong or missing preposition now this is
another one of those rules that you just
have to memorize a list basically so
look at the has the most textbooks will
have a list of prepositions and common
errors that people make with them and
suddenly on ones that I've listed here
that I tend to see a lot of my own
students writing beside and besides so
you'd say beside if you mean by the side
of like ice I will sit beside you but
besides with an S if you mean in
addition to so I have three other
problems besides this one between use
that if you've only got two things like
let's just keep this between you and me
but you would say among if you've got
more than two so let's just keep this
among the four of us and then we have
two - wo is the number I have two apples
t oo - means also or too much I have too
much on my plate or I like you too and
then T o the preposition form is used
for everything else so here's some wrong
prepositions we promise to keep the
secret between the three of us we just
said you have to use among if you've got
more than two so that should be a ma do
you mind if I sit besides you and that
should be beside so hopefully this isn't
too tricky
all right wrong we're missing verb
ending up to number six now this again
it happens when you revise so you go
back in you change up some stuff and
earlier and you're at earlier in your
essay and you might accidentally put the
wrong verb in this in slot so for
example the painter apply the techniques
she learned in Venice should be the
painter applied the techniques she
learned in Venice so again you have to
be very mindful when you're revising to
go back and proof for you to make sure
that you haven't put the wrong verb
ending on some of your verts all right
number five the missing commas with non
restrictive elements so you might
remember the earlier error where was uh
the unnecessary comma so this is just
the opposite so you put commas around an
element if you don't need it there to
restrict or define the meaning of
another part so for example my
birthstone peridot is a yellowish green
gem so you can only have one birthstone
so it should say my birthstone comma
peridot comma is a yellowish green gem
you know same thing with anything if
it's obvious if you said something like
my oldest brother and you put his name
you would put commas around it because
you can only have one oldest brother and
so that'd be making non-restrictive if
however you have you just had my brother
and you've got three brothers well then
you need the name to know which brother
you're talking about so it's say my
brother Luke or my brother David no
commas alright number four the wrong
word again you just have to memorize a
list of these is usually you can find
these online all over the place I got a
couple that I notice a lot in student
writing Oh
allusion there with a allusion that
means you refer to something so I said
that is an allusion to Shakespeare that
then you have allusion with the eye and
that means you're in disguise so it's a
robot in disguise
okay then stationary with a a versus
stationary with the e the stationary
with a means it's fixed in place let's
say stationary antenna versus stationary
with the e which would be that
some really nice colorful stationery
that you wrote the letter on okay except
with a versus except with the e so
except is you know I accept that accept
means you're excluded so I'll take
everything except pickles alright effect
with an A versus effect with the e this
is probably the most common of all these
here so a fag means you had flew in
something so this policy will not affect
me or I was affected by your performance
then you have e it means a result and
it's a now informed so I think about the
special effects in the film so you know
that's a noun form or you could say the
effect of this policy will be that we
can no longer smoke on campus so using
it as a noun versus as an object I say
the policy does not affect you that's
using it as a verb so it's a effect a if
I say the effect of the policy that's a
noun form so you go with e little tricky
okay then we have then and then so then
with the e means time so we we will do
the homework then we will go out versus
then with a a which is a comparison so
you are taller than I am
alright so some examples
my phone was less expensive than yours
it should be my phone was less expensive
than yours this remedy had no effect on
me should be this remedy had no effect
on me okay moving along then number
three missing commas in a compound
sentence so if you have two sentences
that you combine together remember you
need two things to do that one the comma
two is the coordinating conjunction aka
the fanboys so let's look at the example
the girl likes oatmeal but her brother
prefers toast it's missing a comma so
the girl likes Haute male comma but her
brother prefers toast now if you're not
sure about this just look at the
separate parts of the sentence and see
is that a complete sentence is that a
complete sentence do you have a
coordinating conjunction one
the fanboys in between them if so you
know you need to have the comma there as
well alright number two the vague
pronoun reference now remember the
pronoun he she they everybody whatever
it is you need to make sure it's clear
to the reader what that pronoun stands
in for what is it substituting for so
usually no problem if you have he it's
you know people know to put the name
there but the thing that confuses you
most often will be a demonstrative
pronoun so these are words like this
that these and those and then the
relative pronouns who whom who's which
in that so those are the ones that are
so you're always you know double chat if
you use a word like this or which or
these go back in look again make sure
it's very clear what it goes with so
there are some examples of errors sarah
julie dakota and Wynonna arrived last
night she forgot her passport at home so
you see you got all those girls there
and you just say she is no I know the
reader has no idea who it was
so just take out she put the name there
another error the embargo shut down
shops raised inflation and bankrupted
businesses this damaged the Kings
reputation so again we have a list of
three different things and then you just
say this it's not clear which of those
items that refers to so you can correct
it by saying these events damage the
Kings reputation if you want to talk
about all of them or you could just
mention the specific one
all right then finally the most common
error of all the missing commas after
the introductory element and it is so
simple to fix if you have something that
comes in front of your main clause you
put a comma after it
anything could be one word could be a
whole clause so let's look at some
examples according to my watch it is now
six o'clock so if you listen if you read
it out loud you'll hear that there's a
little gap in between there according to
my watch it is now six o'clock so when
you hear that little gap it should be a
clue that you need to put something
there
in this case a comma according to my
watch comma it is now six o'clock
however I agree that you make some good
points so if again if you read it out
loud and listen you will hear that
there's a little pause so you need to
put a comma there however comma I agree
that you make some good points all right
so those are the 20 most common errors
hope this was helpful to you also keep
in mind if you didn't get some of the
jargon I have two earlier lectures on
grammar where we go over you know
defining things like clauses and phrases
and all that sort of thing but anyway if
you do have questions about this lecture
feel free to post them in the youtube
comments or back on canvas have a good
day
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