Common Mistakes
Brother is studying for exam. Noun Groups: A very simple thing to do during the editing stage is to look for all singular countable nouns and make sure they have an appropriate determiner: Brother is studying for exam. a brother? the brother? this brother? my brother? [Possessive] brother an exam? the exam? this exam? my exam? exams?
[but these can be vocatives in Korean!] Vocatives in English Vocative: used to address a person: These are not usually vocatives in modern English: Address: speak to someone – the vocative names them in the speech. For example: Mom, can I have another piece of cake? Where are you going, Dad? Hi, Grandma! Brother Sister Aunt Uncle Teacher [but these can be vocatives in Korean!]
Vocatives in English This is why I find it very awkward when younger students say, ‘Hello, teacher!’ Or ‘Tim teacher! How are you?’ ‘Teacher’ is not used as a formal address in modern English (although ‘professor’ is).
Vocatives in English Unless you are directly addressing the person (talking to them), don’t use the vocative. Back to our example, ‘Brother is studying for exam.” In this sentence, it just doesn’t make sense to think of this as a vocative. If the speaker were addressing the listener (brother), we would say, “You are studying …’ So, this means that ‘brother’ is a singular, countable noun, so it must have a determiner. And don’t forget about ‘exam’!
Participial Adjectives: ~ ed versus ~ing endings What’s the difference between: He was excited. She was interested in the lecture. -ed endings are usually used to describe how someone feels He was exciting. She was interesting in the lecture. -ing endings are usually used to describe the person, thing, or situation that causes that feeling.
Participial Adjectives: He was excited, because something was exciting. The exciting thing caused him to be excited. She was interested because the lecture was interesting. The interesting lecture caused her to be interested. Other frequently misused word forms: Bored/boring; Confused/confusing http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/participle-adjectives.html
Sentence adverbials: however and therefore I was tired, however I couldn’t sleep. I was tired, therefore I went to bed. The simplest way to understand why these are wrong is that neither ‘however’ nor ‘therefore’ are conjunctions. Therefore, they cannot be used to join two clauses! They can be used at the beginning or the end of a sentence, however. They can also be used as intensifiers within a clause. That is, therefore, why you sometimes see them in the ‘middle’ of a sentence.
“With + ~ing” I was so sad that I walked home with crying. I was so sad that I walked home while crying. … that I cried while I walked home. … that I walked home, crying. (sometimes without the comma) I ate lunch with talking to my friend. … while talking … … while I talked … … , talking …
with Let’s look at the dictionary and see if we can find anything helpful… http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-cobuild-learners/with Now, what can we say about ‘with’?
“With + ~ing” There are, of course, examples of phrase structures that contain ‘with + ~ing’ For example, some common VERB/participial adjective + with + ~ing are: Charge(d) with ~ing (stealing, kidnapping, assaulting, etc.) (see Collins 6) Concern(ed) with ~ing (getting, making, being, keeping, doing, etc.) Credit(ed) with ~ing (achieving, attracting, bringing, helping, changing, etc.) Associate(d) with ~ing (smoking, aging, eating, drinking, growing, etc.) This list is not complete. The point is that you can only use ~ing after certain verbs in very specific constructions.
Word meanings: How are these two different? Hope Wish I hope I win the lottery. I want to win I have a ticket I really could win, even though the chances are very, very small. I wish I could win the lottery. I want to win. I don’t (necessarily) have a ticket). I might have one, or I might not have one. I don’t believe I can/will win. This is pure imagination.
Hope and Wish: more examples I wish I could fly. I hope I can fly. I want to … But I know I can’t … I know I can’t and I know that I won’t ever be able to. I want to … And I believe it is possible! I might be insane!
One more example When my daughter was born, one of my students emailed me. She wrote: “I wish your daughter would grow up to be smart, healthy, and kind.” Some people would be offended by this. Why? I just laughed because I know my student did not intend to be rude.
Word Meanings: These are different! Remind Remember cause (someone) to remember someone or something. “He would have forgotten the boy's birthday if you hadn't reminded him“ She reminded me to take my phone. My mother reminded my father to take his medicine. have in or be able to bring to one's mind an awareness of (someone or something that one has seen, known, or experienced in the past). "I remember the screech of the horn as the car came toward me“ I will always remember my first day of school. She doesn’t remember her password.
Meanings: Come and go Come Go to a place that is near the speaker to a place that is far from the speaker Try to think about the relationship to reality: The little girl’s father was sitting at home, looking out the window at the snow covered city. He was waiting for his daughter to come / go home. There is no ‘speaker’, but since the father is at home, the girl will come to where he is.
Results and Codas: Be very careful! The results for many of the narratives were very weak! Imagine that you are telling the story to a friend in person. Try to imagine how they would react when they heard the result. Never forget that the worst thing a listener/reader can say when the narrative is finished is, “So what?” Many codas seemed “tacked on” just because the students thought that they had to include them. You don’t get marks for having a coda; you get marks for having a good narrative. If your story doesn’t need a coda, don’t add one. But if it needs one, make sure it makes sense!
Pronouns – it I bought a new jacket. I like that. My room is small, but I like there. Of course you can guess that in both of these sentences, the correct word is it. It is very difficult to explain why, though!
Pronouns – it Put very simply: “We use it to refer back to things or situations that have just been talked or written about. It does not [necessarily] give any particular emphasis [but emphasis can be added].” – we might think of it as a ‘simple’ pronoun; it just takes the place of a noun phrase. “We use this or that to refer to something [usually a situation, usually not a noun] with special emphasis – indicating an interesting new fact has been mentioned.” “The war is over. This is great news!” (It is great news sounds too ‘flat’ and boring) – This and that are also demonstrative pronouns (think of ‘pointing’ to indicate which one your are referring to).
Another way of thinking about it… But the situation is much more complex than that: See https://www.englishforums.com/English/ItVsThat/wbgd/post.htm For a very long explanation and examples (although not even all of these are perfectly clear!)
It versus That This website also has a good summary of the differences. http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/it-this.html
In, into, in to First: In: inside, within (collinsdictionary.com) Into: to the interior or inner parts of So: “She walked in the coffee shop,” is probably not what is meant. “She walked into the coffee shop,” means that she walked from outside to inside the shop.
In, into, in to “in to” is potentially a little trickier: Sometimes “in” is part of a phrasal verb; sometimes “to” is part of an infinitive verb: “We all chipped in for a birthday present.” “We all chipped in to buy a birthday present.” Obviously (?) “We all chipped into buy a birthday present,” is incorrect.
In, into, in to “Your homework is due this afternoon. Hand it into me by 5:00.” Hand it in to me by 5:00.
Could+Verb As the sun set, I could feel calm because my busy day was over. “You use could to indicate that someone had the ability to do something.” “You use could to indicate that something sometimes happened.” “You use could have to indicate that something was a possibility in the past, although it did not actually happen.” “You use could to indicate that something is possibly true, or that it may possibly happen. ” “You use could to talk about a possibility, ability, or opportunity that depends on other conditions.” There are many more usages, but none of them fit this kind of sentence. If something actually happens, don’t use could. “… I felt calm …” https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/could
Could+VErB Could + know is the worst! After seeing how hard she worked, I could know that my mother loved me very much. “… I knew that …”