⚠️ 10 Grammar Mistakes You Should Avoid ⚠️ ( PART 3 )
Mistake 5️⃣ : Incorrect use of object pronouns
❌ INCORRECT:
Me and my brothers all have college degrees in business.
✅ CORRECT :
My brothers and I all have college degrees in business.
Several English pronouns retain different forms that indicate their function in a sentence.
Me is an object form. In the example, it is incorrectly used as the subject of the verb have. Other object forms often used incorrectly are him, her, us, them, and whom.
Mistake 6️⃣ : Incorrect use of subject pronouns
❌ INCORRECT:
The owner was most kind to my wife and I as we toured the grounds.
✅ CORRECT :
The owner was most kind to my wife and me as we toured the grounds.
I is a subject pronoun form. It is correctly used as the subject of a verb. Its object form is me, which is used as the object of a verb or, as in this example, the object of a preposition (to).
Not all English pronouns retain an object form. The pronouns that do have subject and object forms are he/him, she/her, we/us, they/them, and who/whom.
#Grammar
Mistake 5️⃣ : Incorrect use of object pronouns
❌ INCORRECT:
Me and my brothers all have college degrees in business.
✅ CORRECT :
My brothers and I all have college degrees in business.
Several English pronouns retain different forms that indicate their function in a sentence.
Me is an object form. In the example, it is incorrectly used as the subject of the verb have. Other object forms often used incorrectly are him, her, us, them, and whom.
Mistake 6️⃣ : Incorrect use of subject pronouns
❌ INCORRECT:
The owner was most kind to my wife and I as we toured the grounds.
✅ CORRECT :
The owner was most kind to my wife and me as we toured the grounds.
I is a subject pronoun form. It is correctly used as the subject of a verb. Its object form is me, which is used as the object of a verb or, as in this example, the object of a preposition (to).
Not all English pronouns retain an object form. The pronouns that do have subject and object forms are he/him, she/her, we/us, they/them, and who/whom.
#Grammar
📚Most Common American idioms
❗️We're in the driving seat.
▪️We control the situation.
❗️Our new project will soon take off.
▪️It will be a great success.
❗️You have to take your medicine.
▪️If you did wrong you must pay.
❗️You can take the floor.
▪️It is your turn - speak.
❗️You run with it.
▪️The project is yours to make it a success.
❗️Take your hat off to no one.
▪️You are a good as anyone else.
❗️We won't take sides.
▪️We will be neutral on this.
❗️That is a tall story.
▪️I don't believe your explanation.
❗️We'll throw the book at them.
▪️If they did wrong they must pay.
❗️We will throw in the towel.
▪️We give up.
❗️We'll throw in the sponge.
▪️We give up.
❗️We'll throw a party.
▪️We will have a party.
❗️She'll throw a fit.
▪️She will be extremely upset.
❗️We'll hold them to the letter.
▪️They will have to follow all the rules.
❗️Remember that time marches on.
▪️You are wasting time.
❗️I think they will tie the knot.
▪️They will get married.
❗️We're tickled to death about it.
▪️We are very pleased.
#Idioms
❗️We're in the driving seat.
▪️We control the situation.
❗️Our new project will soon take off.
▪️It will be a great success.
❗️You have to take your medicine.
▪️If you did wrong you must pay.
❗️You can take the floor.
▪️It is your turn - speak.
❗️You run with it.
▪️The project is yours to make it a success.
❗️Take your hat off to no one.
▪️You are a good as anyone else.
❗️We won't take sides.
▪️We will be neutral on this.
❗️That is a tall story.
▪️I don't believe your explanation.
❗️We'll throw the book at them.
▪️If they did wrong they must pay.
❗️We will throw in the towel.
▪️We give up.
❗️We'll throw in the sponge.
▪️We give up.
❗️We'll throw a party.
▪️We will have a party.
❗️She'll throw a fit.
▪️She will be extremely upset.
❗️We'll hold them to the letter.
▪️They will have to follow all the rules.
❗️Remember that time marches on.
▪️You are wasting time.
❗️I think they will tie the knot.
▪️They will get married.
❗️We're tickled to death about it.
▪️We are very pleased.
#Idioms
💠 At a snail’s pace
Meaning: Moving very slowly
This idiom is pretty self-explanatory because we know that snails and slugs move very slowly.
Example: Traffic is moving at a snail’s pace.
#Idioms
Meaning: Moving very slowly
This idiom is pretty self-explanatory because we know that snails and slugs move very slowly.
Example: Traffic is moving at a snail’s pace.
#Idioms
💠 Busy as a bee
Meaning: Extremely busy ,but working with a purpose in a pleasant manner.
Example: My son is working on his science project. He’s been as busy as a bee all day.
#Idioms
Meaning: Extremely busy ,but working with a purpose in a pleasant manner.
Example: My son is working on his science project. He’s been as busy as a bee all day.
#Idioms
⚠️ 10 Grammar Mistakes You Should Avoid ⚠️ ( PART 4 )
Mistake 7️⃣ : Inappropriate use of reflexive pronoun forms
❌ INCORRECT: Jack and myself built the company from scratch.
✅ CORRECT : Jack and I built the company from scratch.
A pronoun that ends in -self or -selves is called a reflexive pronoun. This type of pronoun refers to a noun or personal pronoun that occurs elsewhere in the sentence. For example, “He cut himself shaving.” In this example, himself refers to the same person as the one meant by He. A typical error is to use a reflexive pronoun in place of a personal pronoun:
❌ INCORRECT: Thank you for everything you did for myself and my family.
✅ CORRECT : Thank you for everything you did for me and my family.
Note: A more polite usage is to put me last in the phrase: Thank you for everything you did for my family and me.
Mistake 8️⃣ : Incorrect use of did instead of had in certain “if clauses”
One use of the conjunction if is to introduce a clause that states an action that would have changed an outcome. For example, “If I hadn’t missed the train, I would be in London now.” A common error is to use did instead of had, as in this headline:
❌ INCORRECT: [Celebrity] thinks he would be dead now if he didn’t give up alcohol and drugs.
✅ CORRECT : [Celebrity] thinks he would be dead now if he hadn’t given up alcohol and drugs.
The person mentioned in the headline actually said (correctly), “I honestly don’t think I’d be alive if I hadn’t stopped drinking.” The tense required is the past perfect (had + past participle).
#Grammar
Mistake 7️⃣ : Inappropriate use of reflexive pronoun forms
❌ INCORRECT: Jack and myself built the company from scratch.
✅ CORRECT : Jack and I built the company from scratch.
A pronoun that ends in -self or -selves is called a reflexive pronoun. This type of pronoun refers to a noun or personal pronoun that occurs elsewhere in the sentence. For example, “He cut himself shaving.” In this example, himself refers to the same person as the one meant by He. A typical error is to use a reflexive pronoun in place of a personal pronoun:
❌ INCORRECT: Thank you for everything you did for myself and my family.
✅ CORRECT : Thank you for everything you did for me and my family.
Note: A more polite usage is to put me last in the phrase: Thank you for everything you did for my family and me.
Mistake 8️⃣ : Incorrect use of did instead of had in certain “if clauses”
One use of the conjunction if is to introduce a clause that states an action that would have changed an outcome. For example, “If I hadn’t missed the train, I would be in London now.” A common error is to use did instead of had, as in this headline:
❌ INCORRECT: [Celebrity] thinks he would be dead now if he didn’t give up alcohol and drugs.
✅ CORRECT : [Celebrity] thinks he would be dead now if he hadn’t given up alcohol and drugs.
The person mentioned in the headline actually said (correctly), “I honestly don’t think I’d be alive if I hadn’t stopped drinking.” The tense required is the past perfect (had + past participle).
#Grammar
Almost or nearly?
⚠️We use almost and nearly to refer to the progress of things, especially if we are measuring and counting things. In these examples, almost and nearly can both be used:
✨Don’t give up! You’re almost there.
✨It’s time for bed. It’s nearly 10 o’clock.
✨Their CD has sold almost 90,000 copies in the last week.
✨Nearly all my friends were in the photograph.
⚠️We also use almost and nearly with extreme adjectives such as perfect, impossible or frozen:
✨That guy is almost impossible.
✨The chicken is still nearly frozen. I thought you’d taken it out of the freezer.
⚠️We use almost (but not nearly) to soften statements:
✨I almost wish I hadn’t offered to pay his fine.
⚠️We use almost before any and before negative words such as no, none, never, nobody, nothing. We don’t use nearly in this way:
✨Using this special software, you can find the history of almost any building.
✨They’ve almost no confidence that they can use the new phone properly.
✨She almost never raises her voice.
📍Not: She nearly never raises her voice.
#Vocabulary
⚠️We use almost and nearly to refer to the progress of things, especially if we are measuring and counting things. In these examples, almost and nearly can both be used:
✨Don’t give up! You’re almost there.
✨It’s time for bed. It’s nearly 10 o’clock.
✨Their CD has sold almost 90,000 copies in the last week.
✨Nearly all my friends were in the photograph.
⚠️We also use almost and nearly with extreme adjectives such as perfect, impossible or frozen:
✨That guy is almost impossible.
✨The chicken is still nearly frozen. I thought you’d taken it out of the freezer.
⚠️We use almost (but not nearly) to soften statements:
✨I almost wish I hadn’t offered to pay his fine.
⚠️We use almost before any and before negative words such as no, none, never, nobody, nothing. We don’t use nearly in this way:
✨Using this special software, you can find the history of almost any building.
✨They’ve almost no confidence that they can use the new phone properly.
✨She almost never raises her voice.
📍Not: She nearly never raises her voice.
#Vocabulary
Grateful or thankful?
⚠️ We use “ grateful “ to talk about how we feel when someone is kind to us or does us a favour:
✨ I would be very grateful if you could send me more information about your company for my school project.
Not: I would be thankful …
⚠️ We usually use “ thankful “ when we are relieved that something unpleasant or dangerous didn’t happen:
✨ A: I heard you were in an accident. Are you okay?
B: I’m fine. There was some damage to the car. I’m just thankful that no one was injured.
#Vocabulary
⚠️ We use “ grateful “ to talk about how we feel when someone is kind to us or does us a favour:
✨ I would be very grateful if you could send me more information about your company for my school project.
Not: I would be thankful …
⚠️ We usually use “ thankful “ when we are relieved that something unpleasant or dangerous didn’t happen:
✨ A: I heard you were in an accident. Are you okay?
B: I’m fine. There was some damage to the car. I’m just thankful that no one was injured.
#Vocabulary
💠 ( 1 ) Synonyms:
The semantic qualities or sense relations that exist between words (lexemes) with closely related meanings (i.e., synonyms).
Contrast with antonymy.
#Word_relationships
The semantic qualities or sense relations that exist between words (lexemes) with closely related meanings (i.e., synonyms).
Contrast with antonymy.
#Word_relationships