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HOW TO IDENTIFY AND RECTIFY COMMON MISTAKES

This section of the course points out some of the numerous grammatical mistakes we have making in our everyday writing and conversation. The hope however is that a very thorough research has been done to offer the needed solution and explanation to rectify such grammatical blunders.

The following symbols are the keys purposely provided to open your understanding to the problems.

W ---- Wrong	C ---- Correct

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W: This problem is trickish
C: This problem is tricky

NOTE: There is nothing like "trickish" in English, the correct word or adjective is "tricky".

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W: Adwoa is a world-class gossiper
C: Adwoa is a world-claass gossip

NOTE: A person who gossips is a gossip and not "a gossiper". Also see "a cheat" there is nothing like a cheater in English.

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W: I am a cooker at the Alisa Hotel
C: I am a cook at the Alisa Hotel

NOTE: Cooker is an appliance for cooking. "Cook" is a person who cooks food, especially as a job.

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W: You had rather/better done for cooking
C: You had rather/better do the work

NOTE: The phrase had rather/better always goes with the tense in the present form.

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W: It is high time we see him
C: It is high time we saw him

NOTE: The phrases "It is high time" "It is about time", "It is time" should always be followed by verbs in the past when they are followed by a subject as in: It is time we bought the book It is about time we brought the book It is high time we bought the book.

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W: The whole members support him
C: All the members support him

NOTE: Use "the whole" for: Uncountable nouns eg: Bread, milk, water, etc. Countable singular nouns: town, book, etc.

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W: I paid ¢100 for the shoes and I had ¢10 balance.
C: I paid ¢100 for the shoes and I had ¢10 change.

NOTE: Balance and change are not synonymous. For example if you buy a book for ¢400 and you give a ¢500 for it, you will get ¢100 back as your change. It is not your balance. Balance is the money you have in your bank account.

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W: I can be able to do the work
C: I can do the work
C: I shall/will be able to do the work

NOTE: "Can" and "Be able" have the same meaning, so they cannot be used together.

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W: The new iPhone X is costive
C: The new iPhone X is costly

NOTE: Costive and Costly are two different words meaning different things. Costive means (1) constipated (2) mean; stingy. Costly on the other hand means (1) involving much (2) expensive Both costive and costly are all adjectives and the noun form of costly is costliness. Finally, the correct use of costly as seen above should always be observed.

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W: The boy wave his father
C: The boy waved at his father

NOTE: "Wave" must always be followed by "at" the preposition should not be omitted.

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I hope you enjoyed this section of the course and also learnt something from it. Check my blog daily for updates and new topics.

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Thanks for reading!

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--- Reference ---
Yates Yean (1996) Master The Basics. First Edition, USA.

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