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Grammar Series # Error Spoting (List of Common Errors)

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List of Common Errors Following is the list of common errors that can be seen in "spotting the error" questions in competitive exams 1.  words beginning with ‘h’ like, honour, honest, heir etc. are considered to be silent. Hence the vowel following it takes ‘an’, instead of 'a' for the article. Hence, the correct usage is "an hour", "an heir", "an honour" etc. 2. In case of using prepositions , you need to keep in mind the following definitions - between (to be used for only two) 3.  Always check for subject-verb agreement - if a subject is singular, then its verb should also be singular. On similar grounds, if a subject is plural, then its verb should also be plural. Furthermore,  if you write in the present tense, both the noun and the verb take plural forms in opposite ways. For instance, the noun adds an "s" to its singular form, on the other hand, the verb removes the "s" from its singular fo...
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What is Nominalization?

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Nominalization (Creating Nouns)   What is Nominalization? Nominalization refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or adjectives. Most of the time, nouns are created from other parts of speech through the use of suffixes. In other cases, the word remains the same but is simply used a different way; this is known as conversion or zero derivation. Suffixes Verbs Suffixes are certain groupings of letters that can be attached to the end of words to change their meaning. Most verbs and adjectives that become nouns are changed using suffixes. (Be aware, however, that the examples below only show some of the common ways of using suffixes to change verbs and adjectives to nouns; they are not all concrete rules, and the lists of possible suffixes are not exhaustive ones. The best way to learn the spellings of such nouns is by using a good dictionary, or by encountering them in everyday speech and writing.) Gerunds There are certain patterns that we follow to dec...
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What is a dangling preposition?

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Dangling Prepositions   What is a dangling preposition? A dangling preposition (also called a hanging preposition or stranded preposition) refers to a preposition whose object occurs earlier in the sentence, or else does not have an object in the sentence at all. It is left “dangling,” “hanging,” or “stranded” because it does not form a complete prepositional phrase. Despite what you may have been taught, it’s a myth that ending a sentence or clause with a preposition is an error. We’ll discuss that myth—and its origin—later in the article. Encountering dangling prepositions Remember that a preposition expresses a relationship (as of time, space, distance, causation, etc.) between a noun or pronoun (the object of the preposition) and another element in the sentence. Dangling prepositions generally occur with prepositional verbs or phrasal verbs. These are verb constructions that require prepositions to complete their meaning. For example, you don’t talk someone, you ...
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THE STORY OF ENGLISH IN 100 Words by DAVID CRYSTAL (PDF)

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THE STORY OF ENGLISH IN 100 Words by DAVID CRYSTAL (E-BOOK) I have herewith attached the PDF of the Ebook, The Story of English in 100 words written by David Crystal First published in Great Britain in 2011 by PROFILE BOOKS LTD 3A Exmouth House Pine Street London EC1R 0JH www.profilebooks.com   View PDF
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TOEFL vs IELTS

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TOEFL vs IELTS The TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and IELTS (International English Language Testing System) are two of the most widely-accepted tests to certify your English proficiency . The decision to take the TOEFL vs IELTS will ultimately depend on a number of factors. At this point, you may even be asking, “What is the TOEFL test?” or “What is the IELTS?” Read on to discover which test is best for you. Exam TOEFL IELTS Length About 4 hours long 2 hours and 45 minutes long Locations Available at over 500 locations in the US, over 4,500 worldwide Available at 59 locations in the US, about 900 worldwide Price Cost is usually between 160 and 200 USD Cost varies widely even within the same country; usually is around 200 USD Scoring Score on a sliding scale from 0 to 120 Score in any of 9 "bands," or level...
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