List of common mistakes by very advanced learners.
See below:
Don’t say/write |
Say/write |
||
| 1 | No doubt the world is getting warmer. | There is no doubt that the world is getting warmer. | |
| 2 | I can’t think of anybody whom to invite. | I can’t think of anybody to invite. | |
| 3 | My father, whom we hope will be out of hospital soon, … | My father, who we hope. . . | |
| 4 | Would you follow me wherever I would go? | … wherever I went? | |
| 5 | We all have to live in the society. | … in society. | |
| 6 | The number of the unemployed is going up. | The number of unemployed. . . | |
| 7 | She was showing tiredness signs. | … signs of tiredness. | |
| 8 | She works the hardest when she’s working for her family. | She works hardest. . . | |
| 9 | I’m thankful for your help. | I’m grateful. . . | |
| 10 | We talked about if it was ready. | … about whether it was ready. | |
| 11 | What live in those little holes? | What lives . . . | |
| 12 | Some people are interested, but the majority doesn’t care. | … the majority don’t care. | |
| 13 | It mustn’t be the postman at the door. It’s only 7 0′ clock. | It can’t be the postman. . . | |
| 14 | A third of the students is from abroad. | … are from abroad. | |
| 15 | Except Angie, everybody was there. | Except for Angie . . . | |
| 16 | I wish you felt / would feel better tomorrow. | I hope you feel . . . | |
| 17 | The train may be late, as it happened yesterday. | … as happened yesterday. | |
| 18 | When I wrote my letters, I did some gardening. | When I had written . . . | |
| 19 | When I had opened the door, the children ran in. | When I opened. . . | |
| 20 | Stefan can never return back to his country. | … return to his country. / … go back to his country. | |
| 21 | Will you go and see me when I’m in hospital? | … come and see me . . . | |
| 22 | May you go camping this summer? | Do you think you’ll go . . . | |
| 23 | My cousin works for the NATO. | … for NATO. | |
| 24 | My wife will be angry unless I’m home by 7.00. | … if I’m not home. . . | |
| 25 | We were poured water on. | We had water poured on us. / Water was poured on us. |
Source: Practical English Usage, Michael Swan
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