List of Common English Errors in Everyday Situations
*WRONG: “Please SWITCH your mobile phone to silent mode.”
RIGHT: “Please PUT your mobile phone on silent mode.”
*WRONG: “Children, please OFF the lights when you leave the room.”
RIGHT: ” … Please SWITCH OFF the lights …”
*WRONG: “I will APPRECIATE if you can keep your voice down.”
RIGHT: “I will APPRECIATE IT if you can keep your voice down.” or
“I will appreciate your keeping your voice down.”
(EXPLANATION: The word “appreciate” must be followed by an object.)
*WRONG: “Sorry, I am really busy with work right now. Can we discuss tomorrow?”
RIGHT: ” … Can we discuss IT tomorrow?”
*WRONG: “You BETTER apologise to him as he is really mad.”
RIGHT: “IT WILL BE GOOD if you apologise…”
*WRONG: “I used to love durians, but NOT SO MUCH nowadays.”
RIGHT: ” … but LESS SO nowadays.
*WRONG: ” The Japanese numbers game, Sudoku, is very popular among my friends. I, MYSELF, like it
too.”
COMMENT: Drop “myself”.
*WRONG: “No idea.”
RIGHT: “I don’t know.”
*WRONG: “I like my eggs HALF-BOILED.”
RIGHT: “I like my eggs SOFT-BOILED.”
(EXPLANATION: So far there is no cooking equipment for boiling only half of an egg while it is still in the
shell.)
*WRONG: “I go MARKETING only once a week.”
RIGHT: “I go TO THE MARKET only once a week.”
(EXPLANATION: “Marketing” is done only by the marketing executives of a company.)
*WRONG: “This restaurant operates on a ‘first come, first SERVE basis.”
RIGHT: ” … ‘first come, first SERVED basis.”
*WRONG: ” No fish? Prawns ALSO CAN.”
RIGHT: “No fish? Prawns ARE FINE TOO.”
*WRONG: “I see a conflict of INTEREST as Mr A is our financial consultant and his firm is selling
financial products to us.
RIGHT: “I see a conflict of INTERESTS as …”
(EXPLANATION: It takes more than one interest to conflict.)
*WRONG: “Last month, I INFORMED that our production cost had been rising.”
RIGHT: “… I INFORMED ALL OF YOU that …” or “… I REPORTED that …”.
(EXPLANATION: The word “inform”, unlike the word “say” or “report”, must be followed by an object.)
*WRONG: “We should meet soon to discuss ABOUT the reception for our foreign visitors.”
RIGHT: “… to discuss the reception for …”.
(EXPLANATION: “To discuss” means “to talk ABOUT”. So the word “about” is redundant.)
*WRONG: “With regards to Project A, can you update me on its progress?”
RIGHT: “WITH REGARD TO …”
RIGHT: “AS REGARDS to Project A …”
*WRONG: “Our team COMPRISES OF people from various disciplines.”
RIGHT: “Our team COMPRISES people from various disciplines.”
*WRONG: “Please do not repeat the mistake again.”
RIGHT: “Please do not repeat the mistake.”
(EXPLANATION: “Repeat” means “do again”. So to “repeat again” means “to do again again”.)
*WRONG: “Although Jane’s report is not exactly a well-written one, we can consider it AS completed
since it serves the purpose intended.”
RIGHT: Drop the word “AS”.
*WRONG: “I must catch HOLD OF the boss before he goes on vacation.”
COMMENT: The phrase “hold of” is redundant.
*WRONG: “We spent half a day SEARCHING for a missing document.”
RIGHT: “… SEARCHING THE OFFICE for a missing document.”
RIGHT: “… LOOKING for a missing document.”
(EXPLANATION: “To search” means “to check or examine”. It must therefore be followed by a word
depicting a place or an area.)