... tour of the most commonerrors involving them. The first thing to note is that the comma often marks a brief pause inthe flow of a sentence, and it helpfully marks off one phrase from another. ... that they are setting off a phrase, so they begin with the first comma but omit the second, which should conclude the parenthetical matter. Check for this sort of thing in your proofreading. ... means they can summon you whenever they want: either by gesture (beck) or speech (call). FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME Stephen Hawking writes about the beginning of time, but few other people...
... * that/which * that kind * theirselves * them * they’re/their/there * therefor/therefore * there’s * these are them * these kind * these ones * they/their (singular) * think on * though/thought/through ... CommonErrorsin English CommonErrorsin English Go to list of errors. What is an error in English? The concept of language errors is a fuzzy one. I’ll leave to linguists the technical ... 15:36:40 CommonErrorsin English CommonErrorsin English Read about the book version of this site.Coming soon: the 2006 CommonErrorsinEnglish Usage page-a-day calendarPreparing to review...
... Ťound the city. The following symbols are used:t a sentence containing an erorI a sentence that is not incorrect but is oftenused incorrectlyy' a correct ... anothersection.. Do the R€vi€w exercises and check the Answeiss€ction at the back ofthe book.. Go to the Index and w te down the examples in your own language.I hope you find ... really sýngwhen they make them! This helps you round€ntand why they're wrong' and to stopmaking them.What's in this book? The e are ten chapters covering different areas,such...
... 'owned'. the dog's tail The smile of the princess The princess's smileWho 'owns' the smile? the princessPut the apostrophe after the owner. the princess'Add ... are permitted).caning or canning?cane + ing = caningCANING is now banned in all schools.Can + ing = canning The CANNING factory is closing down.See ADDING ENDINGS (i) and (ii).canister(not ... gardeningtools and he bought both of them. In the case of possible confusion, always replace:He bought the gardening tools and also the DIY kit.He bought the two gardening tools...
... decidewhether you need to mark them off in yourown work by matching them against theseexamples.Can you see the difference in meaning that apair of commas makes here? Read the ... the superlative form when comparing threeor more:John is the TALLEST of all the engineers.John works THE MOST ENERGETICALLY of all the engineers.(ii) There are two ways of ... you CERTAIN that he apologised?CURTAINS are window drapes.Do draw the CURTAINS.Note that the c sounds like s in certain and like k in curtain.See SOFT c AND SOFT G.changeable(not...
... INTERESTINGinhuman or inhumane?INHUMAN = lacking all human qualitiesINHUMANE = lacking compassion and kindnessinnocentinnocenceinnocuousinnuendo (singular) innuendoes or innuendos ... (iv).inoculate(not -nn-)inquirySee ENQUIRY OR INQUIRY?.instal/installBoth spellings are correct. installed, installing, installment/instalmentinsuranceSee ASSURANCE OR INSURANCE?.intelligence(not ... within, on the inside (e.g.intravenous).interesting(four syllables, not intresting)117 INEFFECTIVE OR INEFFECTUAL?Use INDICES in mathematical, economic andtechnical contexts.indirect...
... snooze)loping or lopping?lope + ing = lopingHe was LOPING along with long strides,lop + ing = loppingLOPPING the trees will just encourage them togrow taller.See ADDING ENDINGS ... BlakelyIpswichSweden The TimesWednesdayBlazing Fireplaces Ltd.Note that months of the year begin with acapital letter but the seasons generally do not:April, the spring, but the Spring term.Do ... lucky.(iii) There is a slight difference between the meaning of 'may' and 'might' in the present tense whenthey are used in the sense of 'asking permission':MAY...
... PERIOD.pigmy/pygmy (singular) pigmies/pygmies (plural)pining or pinning?pine +ing = piningpin + ing = pinningSee ADDING ENDINGS (i), (ii).plateau (singular) plateaus or plateaux (plural)See ... a king or queen; resembling the behaviour of a king or queenROYAL = having the status of a king or queen, orbeing a member of their familyregretregretted, regretting, ... PENICILLINpenicillinpeninsula or peninsular?PENINSULA is a noun meaning a narrow piece of land jutting out from the mainland into the sea. It isderived from two Latin words:...
... Evidence [there was] no contradiction. I directed the Jury from the Injustice ofthe Demand upon the State of it to find against the Plain-tiff,buttheyfoundforthewages,&thennamedthesum.TherecanbenoNewTrial.’’Further,inBruckshaw ... that Ihave examined since 1992, mainly sources held by the libraries of three of the Inns of Court in London—Lincoln’s Inn, the Middle Temple, and the Inner Temple.I am grateful to the many colleagues ... for the Cityof West-minster, fourteen courts ‘ inthe part ofthe Metropolis, lying within the County of Middlesex,’’ and eight courts inthe Borough of Southwark in Surrey.1Functionally, other...