COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH

Have you ever made mistakes while speaking in English? Perhaps we all do. English mistakes are perfect opportunities to learn the language. Let’s look at few common mistakes made while speaking in English.

We often ask a person “What is your good name? What we have done is translated a sentence directly from Hindi to English. The common mistake here is that there is nothing called as a good or bad name. Name is just a name. So the right question is – What is your name?

Once, Neha introduced Reema saying, “She is my cousin sister” to her friends.. The correct form here is – “She is my cousin” Once we say “She” we have already described her gender. We need not add sister or brother after the word cousin.

My colleague requested me “Please put your sign here”. I was confused between the two words “ Sign and Signature”.  To sign means to write one’s name on a letter/ card/ document to identify oneself as the writer or sender. A signature means a handwritten often stylized depiction of someone’s name or nickname. It is shorter version of my full name. We incorporate our signature and not sign on a letter/card or document.

How come you have committed such a big blunder? The word blunder itself means a big mistake.  The correct sentence here is “How come you have committed such a blunder?

Last night my friend saw a very bad dream. The correct word here is Nightmare. Nightmare is defined as a “terrifying dream” which is more intense and vivid than a bad dream.

The strong breeze blew her hat off. Do we know that the breeze is never strong? Breeze is always light and gentle. Only the winds can be strong. The correct sentence here is “The strong winds blew her hat off”.

According to me English is an easy language.”” This happens due to literal translation from Hindi to English. In “According to me” “me” is used when it is an authority. When we want to state our point of view, we must say – In my opinion. The correct sentence here is “In my opinion, English is an easy language to learn.”

“The TV crew arrived at the scenery”. “The scene in Cyprus is beautiful”.  Just look at the two words scenery and scene in the sentences which give a wrong meaning to it. A scene refers to one particular place where an incident occurs while scenery refers to the general appearance of the country. The correct usage here is “The TV crew arrived at the scene” and “The scenery in Cyprus is beautiful”.

Rachel Wolchin says – “It’s not how we make mistakes but how we correct them that defines us.” So friends, remember to keep correcting your mistakes and learning from them, leading you to become the confident person you want to be.