Common mistakes in English: If you are somebody who uses the English language quite frequently, it is most likely that you would feel the language is easier than you would have ever thought. Well, here’s a bummer! It is not.
While communicating, we tend to make common mistakes in english that we don’t even realize. However, these mistakes are ones that can change the meaning of sentences completely and might even bring a negative side to your positive statement. For instance, if you wish to say, “I am sorry for your loss” and unknowingly you say, “I am sorry that you are loss”- you would be making a huge mistake. Both these statements mean completely differently and hold the power to change your intention.
Let’s first understand the difference between both these statements and then move on to more such mistakes-
Your and You’re
- “I am sorry for your loss”- This means that you feel bad that the other person lost something
- “I am sorry that you are loss”- This statement means that you feel bad that the other person IS a loss (in this case you might mean that the other person is a failure)
There and Their
- “I will meet you there”- This sentence means that you will meet the person at a specific place, which is here, explained by THERE. THERE refers to a place, which is far from where you are, in the moment.
- “I will meet you at their house”- This statement on the other hand, means that you will meet the other person at somebody else’s house. THEIR refers to something that belongs to some other people.
Its and It’s
- “It’s her calendar”- This statement tells that this calendar belongs to her. Apostrophe S (’s) is used when you want to say IS. For example, this statement could be rephrased as- IT IS her calendar.
- The bird is eating its food”- This sentence means that bird is eating the food. To avoid confusion in such statements, you must try replacing the apostrophe with IS. If the meaning feels right, go ahead. In this case, if I would say, “The bird is eating IT IS food” the sentence would make absolutely no sense.
And and But
- “Radha is beautiful and intelligent”- This statement implies that Radha is both a beautiful and intelligent girl at the same time.
- “Radha is not beautiful but an intelligent girl”- This sentence means that Radha is only an intelligent girl and not beautiful.
Between and Among
- “Rahul is standing between them”- The sentence means that Rahul is standing in the center of 2 other people. The word, BETWEEN is used when we are talking about somebody or something which is ideally in the middle of two other things.
- “Rahul is standing among them”- This statement tells that Rahul is one of the many people who are standing. AMONG is used in situations when we are talking of a single person or thing out of many others.
To and Too
- “Since she was crying, Rahul went to her”- The statement says that because the girl was crying, Rahul went near her. In this context, the word TO refers to going or being close to somebody or something.
- Since she was crying, Rahul cried too”- This sentence implies that because the girl was crying, Rahul also started crying. The word TOO can be used as a replacement for also, in some cases.
Into and In to
- “The man fell into the well”- This statement means that the man fell inside the well. The term INTO can be defined as a preposition that is used to express the movement of something towards the other.
- The man went in to meet his wife”- This sentence tells that the man went inside in order to meet his wife. In this case, IN is referred to an adverb which is followed by the preposition TO. Both these words, IN and TO have been combined in order to put sense in the sentence.
Then and Than
- “Ram then talked to her”- This means that Rahul talked to her only after a certain event happened. In most cases, the term, THEN is used to explain an action that took place after another action. Such a term is mostly followed by a verb.
- “Ram chose to talk to Nisha than Meena”- The statement says that Ram decided to talk to Nisha instead of Meena. In such cases, the usage of THAN implies a difference between two things or people; where one is chosen over the other.
Recognize any of these common mistakes in English? Whether you’ve tripped over homophones like “there,” “their,” and “they’re,” or grappled with the labyrinth of apostrophe confusion, these linguistic pitfalls are more prevalent than you might think. Subject-verb agreement, preposition perplexities – we’re diving deep into the realm of grammatical nuances.
Fret not, though, because our journey doesn’t end here. We’re committed to unraveling the intricacies of language and empowering you to navigate through the maze of English errors. Stick with us as we decode the secrets of grammar and syntax, all centered around the common mistakes in English. Until then, stay connected with English Medium for more insights into refining your language skills!
