Pitfalls 2.0 Frequently made mistakes

Who – That – Which  Susan, who is 18, is going to university next year.  The boy that looks tired hasn’t slept all night.  Who and that are relative pronouns for people – ‘that’ NEVER follows a comma!  The book, which is borrowed, is a nice read.  The book that was bought in 1802 is now old and smelly.  Which and that are relative pronouns for things – ‘that’ NEVER follows a comma!

Its – It’s  The cat went crazy. Its toy mouse was getting away from him.  Possessive pronoun – it denotes possession/qualities of things (books, cars) and animals.  It’s a lovely day today, isn’t it?  ‘It’s’ is a contracted form of ‘it is’.

Loose – Lose  Shane’s tooth was loose.  /lu:s/  Niet vast / los  He didn’t want to lose that match.  /lu:z/  Verb: to lose – verliezen

There – Their – They’re  They’re there with their books waiting for you!  Zij zijn / daar met hun boeken…  They’re – contracted form of they are  There – always denotes a place (daar)  Their – denotes possession

Whose – Who’s  Whose book is that?  ‘Whose’ denotes possession  Who’s on the phone?  ‘Who’s’ is a contracted form of ‘who is’  Who’s done that?  ‘Who’s’ is a contracted form of ‘who has’

Which Witch had the Wit to go With White?  Which – die of welke  Witch – heks  With – met  Wit – humor, geestigheid, scherpzinnigheid  White – wit

–ed or –ing?  Susan was bored because she thought the film was immensely boring.  Adjectives ending in –ed are about someone’s feelings  Adjectives ending in –ing inspire/cause such feelings