In the current era of globalization the physical boundaries have become blurred and the whole world has become integrated. Amidst such a scenario English language has gained importance as a common medium of communication. Diligent efforts are made by all to acquire proficiency in this foreign language. Often, horrendous errors are committed and go unnoticed. To become proficient in English, these stupefying mistakes should be avoided. Mistake# 1: Incorrect Tenses: I didn’t went there. Does she speaks fast? It’s really a blunder to use past form of the verb with ‘did’ , similarly using s/es with ‘does’ is unacceptable. Mistake# 2: Subject Verb Agreement: The bunch of keys are lying on the table. Neither Sam nor his brother are coming. The chief guest along with his teammates have arrived. In the first sentence the subject is a collective noun “a bunch of keys" refers to a single bunch only so instead of ‘are lying’ it should be “is lying on the table”. Similarly, two singular subjects connected by ‘or, either/or, neither/nor’ require a singular verb only. It is more appropriate to say “Neither Sam nor his brother is coming.” In the third sentence the singular verb “has” should replace “have”. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb with words like, as well as, along with, besides etc. It is better to ignore them and use the verb in accordance with the subject. Mistake# 3 Usage of Since & For: The prepositions since and for are often used interchangeably. This is another glaring mistake committed by the speakers. A simple tip can help in avoiding this mistake. Since is used when the point of time is given. For eg. Since morning, since 4:00 PM, since last night, Since 2017 etc. For is used with the period of time .For eg. For 5 months, For 2 weeks, For ages, For centuries etc. Mistake# 4 Me vs.I: Me and my family are going to the party. The correct way to speak is My family and I are going to the party. Alternately, consider the following example: My relatives sent an invitation to my family and I. Here, it is incorrect. Gain clarity by remembering a simple fact that ‘I' is a subject and ‘me' an object. So, use them accordingly. Mistake# 5 Degrees of adjectives: She is more stronger than her sister. It was the most happiest moment of my life. In a frenzy of expressing our unfeigned emotions we end up committing such blunders. In order to form comparative or superlative degrees we either use er/est or more/most. As a rule we should avoid doubling up. As non native speakers we tend to make many such mistakes but that doesn’t mean our passion to learn should be subdued. With little bit of conscious practice we can easily overcome these perpetual flaws and gain proficiency within a due course of time. This article has been written by expert faculty at Englishmate. Englishmate helps learners to improve their communication skills by providing Cambridge certified English speaking courses.
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