Common mistakes In English
Have' and 'has' are both used to denote possession, form the perfect tense, and the past tense of both is 'had', but they are used differently.
1)'Have' is used with
- the following pronouns: I, you, we, they. Examples : 'I have a pencil.' 'We have a big house.'
- pluralised nouns: Example : ' Doctors have a rough time, dealing with illnesses all the time.'
'Has' is used with the third person singular ( he, she, it) . Examples : ' She has your money.' 'Amit has the book.'
2) Many speakers tend to get confused between 'There', 'Their' and 'They're' and knowing how to use these three words correctly is an important step in learning English.
The words 'There' and' Their' are homophones. Homophones are words that are spelt differently but pronounced the same. It is a common mistake to replace one for the other.
'There' always refers to a place, whether concrete or abstract, whereas 'Their' shows belonging or possession. 'They're, on the other hand, is the short form of they are
Let's look at these examples for each of them
THERE:
How can anyone live there?
Let's go there.
There will be a party tomorrow,
THEIR:
Let us buy their car.
Let us not go to their house.
Return their books tomorrow.
THEY'RE:
They're sitting there in their car.
In this sentence, notice how 'there' is used to signify a place whereas 'their' is used to show possession. The word 'they're' is a contraction of the word 'they' and 'are' and should not be confused with 'their' and 'there'.
3) Two words commonly confused by English speakers are 'effect' and 'affect'. 'Affect' is used as a verb and means 'to have an influence on' and 'Effect' is used as a noun and means 'the result'.
AFFECT
The dropped catch did not affect the result of the game.
The heavy rainfall affected the grains kept in the old warehouse.
EFFECT
The effect of the tsunami was devastating.
The side effect of the cough syrup was drowsiness.
4) Many English speakers are confused about the usage of the words 'can' and 'may'. For e.g., 'Can I drink water?' is incorrect. 'May I drink water?' is the correct phrase to use in this case.
The key difference between 'can' and 'may' is that 'can' talks about ability and 'may' talks about permission.
MAY
Can is used in two cases:
To talk about ability.
I can finish my homework by 5 pm.
Can you finish your homework tonight?
To ask or give permission informally.
Can I use your pen? (To a friend)
You can use my pen. (To a friend)
MAY
May is generally used to ask or give permission formally.
Let us take a situation between a student and a teacher.
May I drink water?
Teacher: Yes, you may.
Let us take a situation between two strangers.
May I borrow your pen?
Yes, you may.
5) The words, 'accept' and 'except' are homophones which are often confused by English speakers. 'Accept' is a verb which means 'to receive' or 'to agree'. Most of the time 'except' is used as a preposition which means 'excluding'.
The following examples will make the usage clear.
ACCEPT (VERB)
EXCEPT (PREPOSITION)
Amit accepted the job offer.
I can come with you on all days except Sunday.
Sanjiv accepted the allegation that he had cheated.
All the athletes except Anjali finished the race.
He accepted the invitation to the party.
Everyone except Shantanu was invited to the party.
6) The difference between these two words is a very simple one. They are the past tenses of two different verbs.
'Bought' is the past tense of 'buy': I bought a new car last week.
'Brought' is the past tense of 'bring': I brought him a glass of water.
The difference can be remembered easily too, as 'bring' shares its first two letters with 'brought' ('br').
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