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Common Mistakes in English--I

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1) Their, There and They're

‘There’, ’Their’ and ‘They’re’ has confused many speakers of the English language and knowing how to use these three words correctly is an important step in learning English.

The words ‘There’ and’ Their’ are homophones, two words that are spelt differently but pronounced the same. It is a common mistake to replace one for the other.
‘There’ will always refer to a place, whether concrete or abstract whereas ‘Their’ shows belonging or possession.
The word ‘they’re’ is a contraction of the word they and are and should not be confused with their and there.

To avoid confusion, replace the word ‘there’ with ‘here’, ‘ their’ with ‘our’ and ‘they’re’ with ‘they are’. If the sentence makes sense, you’ve got it right.

2) Can and May

The key difference between ‘can’ and ‘may’ is that ‘can’ talks about ability and ‘may’ talks about permission. 

CAN
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.


3)  Accept and Except

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’.


4) 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.

5) It's vs Its

‘Its’ and ‘it’s’ are often mistakenly used in written English. Refer to the article on contractions: ‘it’s’ is a contraction for the words ‘it is’. On the other hand, ‘its’ is a possessive noun.


The following examples will make the usage clear.
IT’S (CONTRACTION FOR ‘IT IS’)
ITS (POSSESSION)
It’s quite hot today. The dog is wagging its tail.
It’s going to be a long day. The baby is sleeping in its cot.
Please go back to class immediately. It’s not right to skip classes. The table is useless now. Its legs are broken.

6) Since and For

 There is a simple rule to follow to differentiate between the usage of these two words.  SINCE is used to talk about time from a specific period while FOR is used to talk about a length of time.


7) Who and Whom

Both ‘who’ and ‘whom’ are interrogative pronouns. The key difference between ‘who’ and ‘whom’ is that ‘who’ is used in place of the subject of the sentence and ‘whom’ is used in place of the object of the sentence.

WHO’ REPLACES THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE 
Who hit Sanjiv?
 
WHOM’ REPLACE THE OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE
Whom are you talking about?
8) Where, Were and Wear


The word 'where' is used when asking a question related to a location.
On the other hand, the word 'wear' has a couple of meanings.
It is used to refer to an article or clothing that a person has put on or is ‘wearing’. Let us look at some examples.
The other meaning of the word 'wear' is to denote deterioration (exhaustion) or to produce something by friction. (Past tense- worn)

The word we’re is a contraction of the phrase 'we are'.
The word ‘were’ is used to refer to something that happened in the past.

9) 'I' and 'Me'


‘I’ is a pronoun and hence must be the subject of a verb ('I' is the first person singular subject pronoun and will always refer to the person performing the action of a verb).

On the other hand, ‘me’ is a pronoun that must be the object of the verb (me is an object pronoun and will always refer to the person that the action of a verb is being done to.)

10) 'Then' and 'Than'

The word ‘than’ is used to show comparison and is a conjunction (A conjunction is a word that joins two sentences).

On the other hand, the word ‘then’ is used either to show a sequence of events or a sense of time. Read the examples carefully to understand.

 Note:- When confused, think about what you’re trying to say/write. Only if you’re comparing will you use ‘than’, for every other situation, use ‘then’.

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Source : http://www.englishleap.com