General English Programs

_{Common English language errors ( for examination English )}

PRONOUN ERRORS

A pronoun is a word that stands for a noun, known as the antecedent of the pronoun. The key point for the use of pronouns is this: pronouns must agree with their antecedents in both number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third).

Example:
Steve has yet to receive his degree.

Here, the pronoun his refers to the noun Steve.

Following is a list of the most common pronouns:

PRONOUNS

Reference

• A pronoun should be plural when it refers to two nouns joined by and.

Example:
Jane and Katarina believe they passed the final exam.

The plural pronoun they refers to the compound subject Jane and Katarina.

• A pronoun should be singular when it refers to two nouns joined by or or nor.

Faulty Usage

Neither Jane nor Katarina believes they passed the final.

Correct: Neither Jane nor Katarina believes she passed the final.

• A pronoun should refer to one and only one noun or compound noun.

This is probably the most common error on the ITP. If a pronoun follows two nouns, it is often unclear which of the nouns the pronoun refers to.

Faulty Usage

The breakup of the Soviet Union has left nuclear weapons in the hands of unstable, nascent countries. It is imperative to world security that they be destroyed.

Although one is unlikely to take the sentence to mean that the countries must be destroyed, that interpretation is possible from the structure of the sentence. It is easily corrected:

The breakup of the Soviet Union has left nuclear weapons in the hands of unstable, nascent countries. It is imperative to world security that these weapons be destroyed.

Faulty Usage

In Somalia, they have become jaded by the constant warfare.

This construction is faulty because they does not have an antecedent. The sentence can be corrected by replacing they with people:

In Somalia, people have become jaded by the constant warfare.

Better: The people of Somalia have become jaded by the constant warfare.

• In addition to agreeing with its antecedent in number, a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person.

Faulty Usage

One enters this world with no responsibilities. Then comes school, then work, then marriage and family. No wonder, you l ook longingly to retirement.

In this sentence, the subject has changed from one (third person) to you (second person). To correct the sentence either replace one with you or vice versa:

You enter this world with no responsibilities. Then comes school, then work, then marriage and family. No wonder, you look longingly to retirement.

One enters this world with no responsibilities. Then comes school, then work, then marriage and family. No wonder, one looks longingly to retirement.

Example:

In the following sentence, part or all of the sentence is underlined. The answer-choices offer four ways of phrasing the underlined part.

Had the President's Administration not lost the vote on the budget reduction package, his first year in office would have been rated an A.

(A) If the Administration had not lost the vote on the budget reduction package, his first year in office would have been rated an A.
(B) Had the President's Administration not lost the vote on the budget reduction package, it would have been rated an A.
(C) Had the President's Administration not lost the vote on its budget reduction package, his first year in office would have been rated an A.
(D) If the President had not lost the vote on the budget reduction package, the Administration's first year in office would have been rated an A.

Choice (A) changes the structure of the sentence, but retains the same flawed reference.

In choice (B), it can refer to either the President's Administration or the budget reduction package. Thus, the reference is ambiguous.

Choice (C) adds another pronoun, its, but still retains the same flawed reference.

Choice (D) corrects the flawed reference by removing all pronouns. The answer is (E).

_{SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT}

Within a sentence there are certain requirements for the relationship between the subject and the verb.

• The subject and verb must agree both in number and person.

Example:
We have surpassed our sales goal of one million dollars.

Here, the first person plural verb have agrees with its first person plural subject we.

Note, ironically, third person singular verbs often end in s or es:

He seems to be fair.

• Intervening phrases and clauses have no effect on subject-verb agreement.

Example:
Only one of the President's nominees was confirmed.

Here, the singular verb was agrees with its singular subject one. The intervening prepositional phrase of the President's nominees has no effect on the number or person of the verb.

• When the subject and verb are reversed, they still must agree in both number and person.

Example:
Attached are copies of the contract.

Here, the plural verb are attached agrees with its plural subject copies. The sentence could be rewritten as

Copies of the contract are attached.

_{MISPLACED MODIFIERS}

• As a general rule, a modifier should be placed as close as possible to what it modifies.

Example:
Following are some useful tips for protecting your person and property from the FBI.

As written, the sentence implies that the FBI is a threat to your person and property. To correct the sentence put the modifier from the FBI next to the word it modifies, tips:

Following are some useful tips from the FBI for protecting your person and property.

• When a phrase begins a sentence, make sure that it modifies the subject of the sentence.

_{FAULTY PARALLELISM}

• For a sentence to be parallel, similar elements must be expressed in similar form.

• When two adjectives modify the same noun, they should have similar forms.

Example:
The topology course was both rigorous and a challenge.

Since both rigorous and a challenge are modifying course, they should have the same form:

The topology course was both rigorous and challenging.

• When a series of clauses is listed, the verbs in each clause must have the same form.

Example:
During his trip to Europe, the President will discuss ways to stimulate trade, offer economic aid, and trying to forge a new coalition with moderate forces in Russia.

In this example, the first two verbs, discuss and offer, are active. But the third verb in the series, trying, is passive. The form of the verb should be active:

During his trip to Europe, the President will discuss ways to stimulate trade, offer economic aid, and try to forge a new coalition with moderate forces in Russia.

• When the first half of a sentence has a certain structure, the second half should preserve that structure.

Example:
To acknowledge that one is an alcoholic is taking the first and hardest step to recovery.

The first half of the above sentence has an infinitive structure, to acknowledge, so the second half must have a similar structure:

To acknowledge that one is an alcoholic is to take the first and hardest step to recovery.

_{FAULTY VERB TENSE}

A verb has four principal parts:

1. Present Tense

a. Used to express present tense.

He studies hard.

b. Used to express general truths.

During a recession, people are cautious about taking on more debt.

c. Used with will or shall to express future time.

He will take the ITP next year.

2. Past Tense

a. Used to express past tense.

He took the ITP last year.

3. Past Participle

a. Used to form the present perfect tense, which indicates that an action was started in the past and its effects are continuing in the present. It is formed using have or has and the past participle of the verb.

He has prepared thoroughly for the ITP.

b. Used to form the past perfect tense, which indicates that an action was completed before another past action. It is formed using had and the past participle of the verb.

He had prepared thoroughly before taking the ITP.

c. Used to form the future perfect tense, which indicates that an action will be completed before another future action. It is formed using will have or shall have and the past participle of the verb.

He will have prepared thoroughly before taking the GMAT.

4. Present Participle (-ing form of the verb)

a. Used to form the present progressive tense, which indicates that an action is ongoing. It is formed using is, am, or are and the present participle of the verb.

He is preparing thoroughly for the ITP.

b. Used to form the past progressive tense, which indicates that an action was in progress in the past. It is formed using was or were and the present participle of the verb.

He was preparing for the ITP.

c. Used to form the future progressive tense, which indicates that an action will be in progress in the future. It is formed using will be or shall be and the present participle of the verb.

He will be preparing thoroughly for the ITP.

PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice removes the subject from the sentence. It is formed with the verb to be and the past participle of the main verb.

Passive: The bill was resubmitted.

Active: The Senator has resubmitted the bill.

Unless you want to de-emphasize the doer of an action, you should favor the active voice.

Example:
In the past few years and to this day, many teachers of math and science had chosen to return to the private sector.

.
(A) having chosen to return to the private sector.
(B) chose to return to the private sector.
(C) have chosen to return to the private sector.
(D) have chosen returning to the private sector.

Choice (A) is incorrect because it uses the present progressive tense having chosen, which describes an ongoing event. Although this is the case, it does not capture the fact that the event began in the past.

Choice (B) is incorrect because it uses the simple past chose, which describes a past event. But again, the sentence implies that the teachers are continuing to opt for the private sector.

Choice (C) is the correct answer because it uses the present perfect have chosen to describe an event that occurred in the past and is continuing into the present.

Choice (D) is incorrect because it leaves the thought in the sentence uncompleted.

_{IDIOM & USAGE}

Accept/Except:

Accept means "to agree to" or "to receive." Except means "to object to" or "to leave out."

We will accept (receive) your manuscript for review.

No parking is allowed, except (leave out) on holidays.

Account for:

When explaining something, the correct idiom is account for:

We had to account for all the missing money.

When receiving blame or credit, the correct idiom is account to:

You will have to account to the state for your crimes.

Adapted to/for/from

Adapted to means "naturally suited for." Adapted for means "created to be suited for." Adapted from means "changed to be suited for."

The polar bear is adapted to the subzero temperatures.

For any "New Order" to be successful, it must be adapted for the continually changing world power structure.

Lucas' latest release is adapted from the 1950 B-movie "Attack of the Amazons."

Affect/Effect:

Effect is a noun meaning "a result."

Increased fighting will be the effect of the failed peace conference.

Affect is a verb meaning "to influence."

The rain affected their plans for a picnic.

All ready vs. Already

All ready means "everything is ready."

Already means "earlier."

Among/Between:

Between should be used when referring to two things, and among should be used when referring to more than two things.

Sophear, who is a pretty lady, must choose between two suitors.

The fault is spread evenly among the three defendants.

Beside/Besides:

Adding an s to beside completely changes its meaning: Beside means "next to." Besides means "in addition."

We sat beside (next to) the host.

Besides (in addition), money was not even an issue in the contract negotiations. .

Conform to (not with):

Stewart's writing does not conform to standard literary conventions. ."

Correspond to/with:

Correspond to means "in agreement with":

The penalty does not correspond to the severity of the crime.

Correspond with means "to exchange letters":

He corresponded with many of the top European leaders of his time.

Different from/Different than:

The preferred form is different from. Only in rare cases is different than acceptable.

The new Cadillacs are very different from the imported luxury cars.

Double negatives:

(Faulty) Scarcely nothing was learned during the seminar.

(Better) Scarcely anything was learned during the seminar. .

Fewer/Less:

Use fewer when referring to a number of items. Use less when referring to a continuous quantity.

In the past, we had fewer options.

The impact was less than what was expected.

Not only . . . but also:

In this construction, but cannot be replaced with and.

(Faulty) Peterson is not only the top salesman in the department and also the most proficient.

(Correct) Peterson is not only the top salesman in the department but also the most proficient.

One another/Each other:

Each other should be used when referring to two things, and one another should be used when referring to more than two things.

The members of the basketball team (more than two) congratulated one another on their victory.

The business partners (two) congratulated each other on their successful first year.

Regard vs. Regards:

Unless you are giving best wishes to someone, you should use regard.

(Faulty) In regards to your letter, we would be interested in distributing your product.

(Correct) In regard to your letter, we would be interested in distributing your product.

Speak to/with:

To speak to someone is to tell them something:

We spoke to Jennings about the alleged embezzlement.

To speak with someone is to discuss something with them:

Steve spoke with his friend Dave for hours yesterday.

Whether vs. If

Whether introduces a choice; if introduces a condition. A common mistake is to use if to present a choice.

(Faulty) He inquired if we had decided to keep the gift.

(Correct) He inquired whether we had decided to keep the gift.

Example:
The studio's retrospective art exhibit refers back to a simpler time in American history.

(A) The studio's retrospective art exhibit harkens back to
(B) The studio's retrospective art exhibit refers to
(C) The studio's retrospective art exhibit refers from
(D) The studio's retrospective art exhibit looks back to

Choice (A) is incorrect because harkens back is also redundant.

Choice (B) is correct. Dropping the word back eliminates the redundancy.

Choice (C) is incorrect because the preposition from is non-idiomatic.

Choice (D) is incorrect because looks back is also redundant

Remember do not panic, look for the easy mistake first, you have an advantage in that you know the sentence you have been given is wrong, so you are looking only for the right answer. Check basic grammar as stated above when trying to be sure of the answer. Also be careful for

1. Adjectives which are also adverbs

hard, hardly : change meaning

He works hard

He hardly works ( is wrong )

Late, lately

He is late

I have not seen him lately

1. Always check subject, verb agreement
2. Remember about relative pronouns

Who : people

Which, that : things

The Cambodians, who are hard-working, are also friendly, peaceful and kind.

The book, which I gave to Sophear, was fantastic

1. Remember that Compound pronouns, someone, everyone, anyone, no-one, everyone are SINGULAR
2. watch out for IRREGULAR PLURALS, one man, two men