Appendix 1
Appendix 1 Language Difficulties and Types of Error
The purpose of this Appendix is to
examine some of the common types of
error that are often made by students when
writing formal or academic English. The
first step is to be aware that an error has
been made; t~e second step is to recognise
or identify it; the third step is to correct it.
Of course, it is far better not to make an
error in the first place! If you look
carefully at what follows it should help
you not to make some of the mistakes in
your wntmg.
Section 1
Errors and Causes
A Some common causes of error
1 Probably the biggest cause of error is literal translation from
your own language into English. If you try to translate word
for word you will make mistakes. .
For example) in Nepali, the sentence John said nothing
would be rendered as (translated) John nothing spoke. It is
easy to see that when translating into English the word order
and the sentence structure could cause difficulties, and also the
vocabulary.
Advice;' .'Tryto remerrib~i: English~~~tence patterns when you read them;
then usethem'inyourwriting'.. ,;~, ", ,.;:~".. ,q '. "
.' ,", . . "'."'.',.,." "'"
2 If you write in long complex sentences, it is easier to make
mistakes: the sentence becomes complicated and the subject
and verb tenses may become confused.
Advice: TrYto write !n fai~lyshort sentel1ce~'~r,haps at most about three
lin:~) until y~u are confidenq~i3~ t~~rei3{~!'I° ~i~a~es., . ".' . ".,' , ""'-" '. ",' ,_. .., .
3 If you try to write English in the same way as you speak it, you
will probably write in the wrong style. Spoken language is
often informal. Academic writing is normally rather formal.
. ., , " . . .-.;,..." ..,-, . . '. ,., "
Advice: . TrY'torecognise a formal style'of'Writi'ng and use it. Do not mix it
',,; , \Nit~an informal style., ,C;:'L'~r(i!,~(\":::, :> .
B Some common types of error
1 Subject and verb agreement (i.e. concord); particularly singular
and plural subject with the correct verb form. E.g. they were
(not they was). (See Section 2 below.)
2 The use of s at the end of the third person singular, present
simple tense (i.e. stem + s). E.g. the writer says (not the writer
say),
3 - This + singular noun, these + plural noun;
- Other and another differences.
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Appendix 1
Uncountable nouns. are often wrongly used (as if they were
countable nouns). E.g. This information is useful (not These
informations are useful). '
When the impersonal It or There subject should be used, it is
often wrongly omined. E.g. It seems we should. . . (not
Seems that we . . .).
4
5
6 Verb tense uses are confused, particularly the present
continuous (used tOo frequently) and present simple. E.g.
I work in the library every day (not I am working in . . .).
The formation of some verb forms is not known, particularly
the present passive. The formation of the past tenses of
irregular ver?s also callses difficulty.
7
8
9
No and not differences in negative structures.
The formation and use of some of the comparative and
superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs are not known.
(See Unit 8, and below.)
- some prepositions: (e.g. in, on, at, for)
- the articles: a/an/the
- relative pronouns: who, which
- possessive adjectives: his, her, their
11 Confusion over the choice of vocabulary, e.g. make and do.
The choice of synonyms will often depend on usage (or
context) as much as on meaning. (See Section.4 below.)
10 The correct use of
12 Spelling mistakes. (See Unit 18.)
C Practice in areas of language difficulty
1 Each time you do an exercise and practise the language you
should be as accurate as possible: copy carefully.
2 If you make a mistake, learn from it. Try not to repeat an
error.
3 Do not forget the seemingly simple or obvious elements of
writing, e.g. write as legibly or clearly as possible. Remember,
if someone cannot read your writing, it does not matter how
accurate it is!
4 Check your punctuation: if you have used a full-stop (.) it
indicates the end of a sentence and immediately after it the
next sentence will begin with a capital letter.
Do not mix capital letters and small letters within a word: it
gives the impression that you are uneducated!
5
6 Remember to divide your writing into paragraphs: it makes it
easier to read and creates a better impression.
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o,ndix 1
Section 2
Subject-Verb Concord
A The s is often wrongly forgotten in the 3rd person singular of the
present tense, i.e. the stem + s, e.g. not The student attend the
language course and he study hard. It should be attends and
studies.
B Frequently has and have are used wrongly, e.g. not The course
have taught me a lot. Here it should be has.
C Mistakes are also made with is and are, and was and were, e.g.
not Jose and Eduardo is from Mexico; not Some students was .Iate
this morning. It should be are and were.
D Another common mistake is with do and does, especially in
negative sentences, e.g. not He don't study Chemistry, he study
Physics. It should be doesn't (or does not) study and studies.
, I
You must be careful to look at the subject of the verb, decide if it
is singular or plural and then choose the appropriate verb form:
Stem + s, has, is, was or does, if singular (all end in s). Stem, have,
are, were or do, if plural. .
Other points to note
E look at this sentence:
The number of students on the course is less than last year.
Here the ~ubject is the number of students on the course but
the main word is number. Therefore the verb must be singular is.
Often a mistake is made by using the plural verb (are in this case)
because of the influence of a plural noun (students).
F Some nouns which are grammatically singular may be followed
by a plural verb form. These are often called collective nouns.
E.g. The government have taken an important decision. The
England football team were beaten by Italy. The class have a test
on Friday.
With collective nouns in their singular form it is usually
possible to use either a singular verb or a plural verb. Therefore,
The government has taken. . . The England football team was
beaten. . . The class has a test. . .
G learn by heart these examples:
1 Almost always singular
(i.e. verb in singular form): news, information, music,
mathematics, phonetics, the United States, advice, evidence,
accommodation, equipment.
e.g The news was very good.
2 Usually singular
aid, research
e.g. His research is progressing very well.
3 Always plural
(i.e. verb in plural form): people, police, cattle.
e.g. The police are doing their best to control the traffic.
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Appendix 1
4 Singular and plural
(i.e. these words do not change; bur the verb may be singular
or plural according to the meaning): means, series, species,
sheep, aircraft.
e.g. The series of experiments that he conducted was very
successful.
Several species of butterfly are in danger of dyi~g out.
Section 3
Comparisons
A Formation
1 The regular comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
ana adverbs are formed as follows:
a by adding the endings -er and -est to words with one
syllable.
b by placing the words more and most in front of words with
three or more syllables.
c words with tWosyllables may be like a or b above:
. Generally they will add the ending -er and -est if they
end in:
-y or -ly e.g. funny (funnier, funniest); friendly
(friendlier, friendliest)
But adverbs ending in -ly take more and most.
e.g. quickly (more quickly, most quickly)
-ow e.g. narrow (narrower, narrowest)
-le e.g. able (abler, ablest)
-er e.g. clever (cleverer, cleverest)
. Most of the remaining words take more and most:
e.g. careful (more careful, most careful)
. Some common tWo-syllable adjectives can have either
type of comparison: common, handsome, polite, quiet.
e.g. polite politer politest
more polite most polite
2 Irregular comparison is made by:
a a small group of very frequent adjectives:
e.g. bad worse worst
far further/farther furthest/farthest
good better best
many more most
b a small group of adverbs:
e.g. badly worse
little less
much more
worst
least
most
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a
word lengrh adjective or comparative superlative
adverb
one syllable new newer newest
soon sooner soonest
three syllables easily more easily most easily
or more convenient more convement most
convenient
Appendix 1
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B Use in sentence coostruction
There are a number of constructions using cqmparisons. Some of
the commonest ones are shown below in sen,tences:
1 Showing equivalence (i.e. the same)
a' Ann is as clever as Tom.
b This book is 'the same price as that one. ,
c There are as many students in this room as in the other
one. '
d There is as much liquid in the first test-'tube as in the
second. '
2 Showing non-equivalence (i.e. not the same)
a The medical library is not as/so big as the science Iibrary.
b John's essay was longer than Peter's. ,"
c However, Peter's essay was more carefully written than
John;s'and contained fewer mistakes (than John's). '
d There were not as many students in the seminar as at the
lecture. '
e The student did not do as much homework as his teacher
had hoped.
f This problem is less difficult than the previous one.
3 Showing one iterh compared with a number (i.e. the
superlative)
a He scored the highest marks in the annual examination.
b The most convenient time for him to see his tutor was in
the early afternoon.
c Some economists find that the least interesting part of their
subject is statistics.
4 Showing parallel increase (i.e. two comparatives)
The bigger the problem (was), the more interesting he found
It.
, . Note:.), A common, mistake is to confuse and mix some of the
';,1 ,}:.!.:~~:;::constructions. ~roducing. for example. the wrong construction
, ." , more. . . as whICh should be more. . . than.
':" ."':,,, Jr';': ~:':-': ,
See the list of recommended books for further expla~ation and
practice at the end of this Appendix.
Section 4
Vocabulary
Vocabulary is a very large subject. It really requires a book to
itself; in other words a dictionary. In fact, a good monolingual
English dictionary is the best book that you, as a student of
English, can buy. Recommended ones, specially compiled for the
student of English are listed in Unit 8. A dictionary of synonyms
(or a thesaurus) can also be helpful, if used with care.
Often a wrong word is used because a wrong choice has been
made between similar words or synonyms. The choice of
synonyms will often depend on usage, or context, as much as on
meaning. A good English dictionary will give examples of usage or
context that will help you to choose the correct word.
Some attention is given below to a few words that frequently
cause difficulty to students. Read the information and examples
carefully.
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A Verbs
I Make and Do
The basic meanings are:
make: construct, produce, form, shape, create~
do: perform, carry out, act.
However, there are large lists of idiomatic expressions
containing these rwo verbs; they can be found in the
dictionaries referred to above.
look at these examples.
Considerable progress has been made with the experiment.
He found that he could not do the research.
He made a number of attempts to finish the work.
She had some difficulty in doing her homework.
Many discoveries have been made this century.
2 Rise, Arise, Raise, Increase
rise: (intransitive, i.e. without direct object) go up, get up, go
higher.
, e.g. Prices continue to rise.
The cost of living index rose by'lO% last year.
The sun usually rises at 5 a.m. in the summer.
" ..,... '; ,
N6te:\1 Rise is also a>Roun. meaning increase.
';Hf;k,p\i;, e.g. There was a rise in prices caused by a'rise in wages.
arise: (intransitive) come into existence, appear.
e.g. A new problem has arisen in the college.
An unexpected difficulty arose when he was analysing the
results.
raise: (transitive, i.e. takes a direct object) lift up, make higher,
cause to flse.
e.g. Bus fares were raised three times last year.
The landlord said he is going to raise the rent.
Also - to bring up for discussion or attention.
e.g. He raised a new point in the seminar.
- to manage to get; obtain.
e.g. He raised a loan. He tried to raise money for a
new project.
increase: (transitive and intransitive) make or become greater
in size, number, degree, ete.
e.g. The Chancellor of the Exchequer increased the tax on
petrol in his last Budget.
The population has increased by 200,000 to a total of 50
million.
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'Note:' :',
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1 'Increase can 'sometimes be used instead of raise or rise.
e.g. In the above two sentences raised could be used in the
first and has risen in the second.
2 Increase is also a noun, meaning rise. e.g. There was a steady
increase in population.
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'pendix 1
B Pairs of words often confused
VERB
practise
advise
affect
choose
NOUN
politics
mathematics
statistics
logic
economics
ADJECTIVE
political
mathematical
statistical
logical
economic
NOUN
practice
advice
effect
choice
~
11
~
11
11
11,
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ADJECTIVE
loose
VERB
lose
C British words and American equivalents
Occasionally confusion can be caused by being unaware that there
are some differences between British and American words. GoodI
English learners' dictionaries give the American equivalents of the
British words. Some examples are given below.
11
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Section 5
Recommended Books
The following books are recommended for further explanation and
practice:
Longman Dictionary of Common Errors N.D. Turton & J.B. Heaton
(Longman).
Right Word Wrong Word L.G. Alexander (Longman).
An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage G. Leech (Longman).
Practical English Usage M. Swan (Oxford University Press).
English Grammar in Use R. Murphy (Cambridge University Press).
Oxford Practice Grammar J. Eastwood (Oxford University Press).
A University Grammar of English R. Quirk & S. Greenbaum
(Longman).
A Communicative Grammar of English G. Leech & J. Svartvik
(Longman).
An Introduction to English Grammar S. Greenbaum (Longman).
Longman Essential Activator (Longman).
132
UK USA UK USA
aeroplane airplarie rubbish garbage/trash
autumn fall tap faucet
chemist's drugstore timeta ble schedule
cityltown tin can
centre downtown torch flashlight
flat apartment trousers pa nts
full stop period vest undershirt
pa vement sidewalk waistcoat vest
rubber eraser