This is an area where the students do not perform very well.

This is because of their ignorance of

basic rules of grammar. Unfortunately, in our educational institutions, grammar does not receive the
attention it deserves. Students are advised to acquire the basic knowledge of grammar especially the
parts of speech. Grammar provides valuable information about the language and the patterns of
English sentences. Students who wish to speak and write correct English should be rightly concerned
with grammatically correctness. Here we shall correct certain sentences containing common errors and
pitfalls that our students are generally prove to.

It has been observed that ‘Correction of Errors’ poses difficulties for the students. The reason is that the
students don’t know even the bare essentials of English grammar. Therefore, they are advised to acquire
a good knowledge of grammar. In this regard, I would recommend Sonia Bokharis’ book ‘Spoken and
Functional English’.

1. Incorrect: No sooner he saw me, he ran away.

Correct: No sooner did he see me. Than he ran away.
Reason: No sooner is always followed by ‘did’ and ‘than’.

2. Incorrect: The committee comprises of five members.

Correct: The committee comprises five members.
Reason: The verb ‘comprise’ is not followed by a preposition in the active voice “Of” is used in the
Passive Voice (The committee is comprised of five members).

3. Incorrect: I do not want to part from you.

Correct: I do not want to part with you.
Reason: ‘With’ is used to show separation.

4. Incorrect: I shall return after four days.

Correct: I shall return in four days.
Reason: When we mean ‘at the end of’ in future, we use ‘in’.

5. Incorrect: Talking is not allowed in the library.

Correct: Talking in the library is not allowed.
Reason: The subject of the verb “is not allowed” is not ‘talking’. It is talking in the library.

6. Incorrect: Smoking is injurious for health.

Correct: Smoking is in injurious to health.
Reason: Wrong use of the preposition.

7. Incorrect: Though old, he is hail and hearty.

Correct: Though old, he is hale and hearty.
Reason: Wrong spelling.

8. Incorrect: But not for you, I would have failed.

Correct: But for you, I would have failed.
Reason: When we mean ‘Had you not been there’, we say ‘But for you’.
9. Incorrect: It is a very repeated story.
Correct: It is a much repeated story.
Reason: When Past Participle (i.e. the third form of the verb) is used as an Adjective, it is preceded
by ‘much’.

10. Incorrect: I have worked very hard all the month long.
Correct: I have worked very hard all the month over.
Reason: ‘All the month long’ is not idiomatic.

11. Incorrect: I don’t know why has he not come.

Correct: I don’t know why he has not come.
Reason: In the indirect form of speech, an interrogative sentence in changed into an affirmative
sentence by using the helping verb (has) after the subject (he).

12. Incorrect: Such boys who have not done their home-work should stand up.
Correct: Such boys as have not done their home-work should stand up.
Reason: ‘Such’ is followed by ‘as’ not ‘who’.

13. Incorrect: I have met him last month.

Correct: I met him last month.
Reason: When definite time is given. We use the Past Indefinite Tense’ not Present Perfect.

14. Incorrect: This is not a house worth-living.

Correct: This is not a house worth living in.
Reason: The verb ‘live’ has to be followed by the preposition “in”.

15. Incorrect: One must keep one’s words.

Correct: One must keep one’s word.
Reason: The correct idiom is: ‘to keep one’s word’.

16. Incorrect: Although he is my friend yet I don’t trust him.

Correct: Although he is my friend, I don’t trust him.
Reason: ‘Although’ is not followed by “yet”.

17. Incorrect: This woman has five off-springs.

Correct: This woman has five off-spring.
Reason: ‘Off-spring’ in the plural form remains ‘off-spring’.

18. Incorrect: My head pains

Correct: My head aches.
Reason: ‘Pains’ in this sense is unidiomatic.
19. Incorrect: He is very keen to go abroad.
Correct: He is very keen on going abroad.
Reason: ‘Keen’ is always followed by preposition ‘or’ which, in turn, is followed by ‘ing’ form of the
verb.

20. Incorrect: We have ordered for many books.

Correct: We have ordered many books.
Reason: No preposition is used after ‘order’.

Some More examples

1. Incorrect: The child has broken his toy.

Correct: The child has broken its toy.
Reason: ‘Child’ is a common gender. Hence we cannot use Masculine or Feminine gender.

2. Incorrect: Pakistanis are very hard-working peoples.

Correct: Pakistanis are very hard-working people.
Reason: People means nation. Peoples means nations.

3. Incorrect: Do you know English alphabets?

Correct: Do you know English alphabet?
Reason: ‘Alphabet’ does not have a plural form.

4. Incorrect: I made her to cry.

Correct: I made her cry.
Reason: when ‘make’ is followed by an object and verb, we use the infinitive without “to”.

5. Incorrect: She entered into the room.

Correct: She entered the room.
Reason: When enter means ‘come/go into’, it is used without a preposition.

6. Incorrect: Where are those fifty rupees I lent you?

Correct: Where is that fifty rupees I lent you?
Reason: When we talk about ‘fifty rupees’ we consider it to be a single thing (an amount) not
fifty separate things.

7. Incorrect: Scarcely had the rain ceased than the sun shone.
Correct: Scarcely had the rain ceased when the sun shone.
Reason: ‘Scarcely’ is followed by ‘when’.

8. Incorrect: He has been either educated at home or at a private school.

Correct: He has been educated either at home or at a private school.
Reason: Here ‘either-or’, is intended to oppose alternatively the phrases ‘at home’ and ‘at a
private school’.

9. Incorrect: Twice three are six.

Correct: Twice three is six.
Reason: Twice three means the product of three multiplied by two. The subject is therefore,
singular and ‘are’ should be ‘is’.

10. Incorrect: I am sick from yesterday.

Correct: I have been ill since yesterday.
Reason: ‘Sick’ should be ‘ill’. The present indefinite tense should be changed into the present
perfect because the illness continues to the time of speaking. ‘from’ should be ‘since’.

11. Incorrect: The army was defeated and fled.

Correct: The army was defeated and made to flee.
Reason: ‘Was defeated’ is passive voice which must be followed by passive voice i.e. ‘made to
flee’ or ‘put to flight’.

12. Incorrect: Neither of these four boys was present yesterday.

Correct: None of these four boys was present yesterday.
Reason: ‘Neither’ is used when we are talking of two persons. None is used when we talk of
mere than two person.

13. Incorrect: This box is too much heavy for me.

Correct: This box is much too heavy for me.
Reason: ‘Too much’ is always followed by a noun e.g. too much money. ‘Much too’ is used to
qualify an adjective e.g., much too hot.

14. Incorrect: If I were him, I wouldn’t do it.

Correct: If I were he, I wouldn’t do it.
Reason: The complement of the verb ‘to be’, when expressed by a pronoun, should be in the
subjective case.

15. Incorrect: Between you and I, he is not dependable.

Correct: Between you and me, he is not dependable.
Reason: The object of a preposition, when it is a pronoun, should be in the objective case.

16. Incorrect: There were less than twenty boys in the class.
Correct: There were fewer than twenty boys in the class.
Reason: ‘Less’ refers to quantity only, whereas ‘fewer’ denotes number.

17. Incorrect: The two first chapters of the novel are missing.
Correct: The first two chapters of the novel are missing.
Reason: The two first is a meaningless expression; for it implies that two things may be first.

18. Incorrect: The boy was sent with a verbal message to the doctor.
Correct: The boy was sent with an oral message to the doctor.
Reason: ‘Verbal’ means ‘of or pertaining to words’. Oral means delivered by word of mouth, not
written.’ Hence the opposite of written is oral i.e. not written.

19. Incorrect: Haseeb is our mutual friend.

Correct: Haseeb is our common friend.
Reason: ‘Mutual’ means (two or more person or groups) feeling the same emotion or doing the
same thing to or for each other, e.g., mutual respect. It does not mean common.

20. Incorrect: What kind of a man are you?

Correct: What kind of man are you?
Reason: ‘A man’ refers to a particular person. In the given sentence ‘man’ has been used in a
general sense. Hence ‘a’ should not be used.