escort this lady to dinner" sed as when. carelessly used. Th m we per i in ¢ word plenty is sometimes ing he wad every year” should be * #2 correct-- (A sufficient amou + shall be glad to remunerate you,” net & ore yt no di particle “And so fort! “qr does not make a particle of d {ference tO me". Do Not say “not * may be correct, but is unduly emp! Avoid bolstering up poverty of thou, and the like", thing’, “and SO on" and "mind you": ” The word "got" is commonly misused; as, she reached here yesterday"; and “I have got to : The term, © Word gen a ‘Orrectl ‘Man 'Y Used for mat int of money “and the rest of it’, " ty idy and c o Senile, HS is decidedly offen ao d an en". But, "Thends, Plenty of ), SFC is plenty of should be, "I shail be glad to Pay ifference to me" a particle for “pou bet makes le" for " alr 4 i Fr "ROt at all". "Not a ight with such expressions as: ‘and all that sort of "She got here yesterday" for 80" for "I have to go", The following common errors should be avoided, Incorrect How long will you stop? He lays in bed. Til go right away. ie is a smart boy. Texpect he is wrong. lexpected to have seen you. He was, scarce gone when you came Will you visit your folks? That is a magnificent dress. That.is uncommon fine Heis quite genteel. Tam taller than him. Treceived lots of things. What makes you look so happily?” Who are you looking for? Pon’t blame it on me ere was nobody else there but’ me. Correct: How long will you stay? He lies in bed. I will go at once. He is a bright boy. T suspect he is wrong. I expected to.see you. He was scarcely gone when you came Will you visit your family? That is a pretty dress. That is uncommonly fine. He is well-bred. Tam taller than he. I received many things. or : I received a great many'things. : What imakes you look 80. happy’ For whom are you,l00k ig? Do not blame There was 10 obody there but me.P ON 446 HOW TO AVOID, COMMON BLUNDERS It was a sad circumstance. for "It was‘a sad occurrence. I like that the best of any. os I like that the best of all. He put his money in stocks. ” He invested his money in stocks, I want to say right here. . “ 7 I wish to say just here. That bill is settled. ” That bill is paid. . What is your.proposition? =~ = =” ‘What is your proposal? Are you keeping well? ne Are you well? T intend to.make a visit there. a J intend to pay a visit there. She is some betters. | ” She is better. i . ~ or < She is somewhat better. . As soon as you get the book » _-As soon as you have read the read, may I have it? ; book, may I have it? Thave been fearfully troubled =” _ Thave.been greatly troubled * about the matter. _ _ about the matter, . It is aggravating to have a cold. It is annoying to have a cold. ERRORS IN GRAMMAR AND IDIOM Common Mistakes with Nouns and Noun-Phrases. Plural for Singular. ~ Incorrect: _. The sceneries of Switzerland are very fine. Correct: The scenery of Switzerland is very fine. | Incorrect: have lost my fumitures. | Correct: Thave lost my fitmiture. Incorrect: The people of Pakistan have, generally black hairs. “Correct: The people of Pakistan have generally black hair. - Hairs is found in English poetry whereas-hair would be used in prose. Hairs. may of course be used in prose where attention is called to the number of hairs as ‘The very hairs: of your head are all numbered’, ‘I found several grey hairs on my head this morning.” Incorre He gave me much good advices: Correct: He gave me much good advice. Advices is uscd, especially in mercantile language, in the sense of information, notice; as, ‘From advices-just received from our London firm, we learn that the price of rice has risen’. 2 Logic, arithmetic, music, magic, physic in the sense of medicine: an offre or issue, in the sense of progeny are never used i We say, logic, arithmetic, music, magic, physic (medici mathematics, mechanics, optics, physics rs a a gy phonetics, politics, hysterics, ‘ Other common examples of this error are:- ine! Poctrics, abuses, behaviours, fuels, isst gs, tices, corns (grain), dirts, necdle-works, m; offsprin, d - Youngs, alphabets, sweats, alarms, gouts (the diseasg),jonING THE WORLD OF TING wisn yn wy sey MEANS evil or corrupl heen: Abts Terms of i HO PE practices, I should not he ted to social abuses in Pakistan should be eractt apa strong public opinion gai 6, gradually Gradicated by building Agentleman docs not indulge Incorrec We have recived no information, He told these news to his mother, Correct: He told his mother (his news, Incorrect: ed my baggages Correct: J packed my baggage. Incorrect, There are no breads.in this shop. Correct: There is no bread in this shop. There are no loaves in this shop. Incorrect: Please excuse the trouble Correct: Please excuse me for the (rouble I have caused. Incorrect: He took troubles to do his work. Correct: He took pains over his work, He took trouble over his work, Incorrect; In Pakistan there are many poors. Correct: In Pakistan there are many poor people. Incorrect; He provided the blinds with food. Correct. He provided the blind with food. Incorrect; I spent the holidays with my family members. Correct: . I spent the holidays with my family. : Tpent the holidays with the members of my family. Incorrect: The box contains pens, papers and others., Correct: ‘The box contains, pens, paper and such things. Noun omitted after Adjectives. Incorrect: ‘He went with his elder. Correct: He went with his elder brother. Incorrect. Please give me some blotting. Correct: Please give me some blotting paper. Incorrect: He lives in a boarding. i Correct: He lives in a boarding-house. Nouns omitted after Verbs. Incorrect: He wished me: Comect: He wished me good momingy Incorrect: 1 beg you. Correct: I beg your pardon Singular for Plural or vice versa. Incorrect: Please pass order for his release. Comect: Please pass orders for his release. : Comect: My circumstance will not allow of mY pursuing ™Y Comect: My Ly circ studies, wnstances will not allow of my pursuing ™YObserve that circumstance = occurrence and circumstances condition. Incorrect: One of my servant tells m Correct: One of my servants tells me. Incorrect: Some of my servant tells mi Correct: Some of my servants tell me..... Case misused. : cos ee He went out by the fouse’s door. He went out by the door of the house Or He went out by the house-door. i ‘ i P ‘holiday's «milarly ‘Easter’s holidays, ‘last Monday's ni ht’ and ‘holiday's Simla incorrectly tsed for ‘Easter Holidays’, ‘last Monday night and ‘holiday dress’. Various Nouns incorrectly used. ; The hall is full, there is no place for any more. Incorrect: Correct: The hall is full, there is no room for any more. Incorrect. He hada severe toss while running downstairs. Correct : He had a severe fall while running downstairs. Incorrect: Good night, Sir; 1 am glad you have come. Correct: Good evening, Sir; | am glad you have come. Good night is 4 parting salutation, Good morning is often used up to the mid-day meal or about 2 p.m.; Good day and good afternoon are used till dusk. Good day, good afternoon and good evening are either mecting or parting salutations. Incorrect: I have a private business with you. Correct: I have a private piece of business with you. In ‘This is a bad business’ business means ‘matter’ or ‘event’. “Incorrect: He is seeking for an employment under Government. Correct: He is seeking for some employment - under Government. Incorrect: He is one of my members. Correct: He is a member of my family. Incorrect: Write this in your copy. Correct: Write this in your notebook. Incorrect: _ 1 am learning a new poetry. Correct: Tam learning a new poem. Incorrect: Give my B.C.s to all. Correct: Give my kind regards or kindest regards to all Incorrect: There are two waiting members in our party. ’ Correct: There are two reserves on our side. * Incorrect: We saw a joker at the circus: Correct: We saw:a clown at the circus. Incorrect: We had a good play of football. Correct: We had,a good game of football Incorrect: We saw a theatre, ik, Correct: We saw a play. A theatre is a building in which pla I plays are a Incorrect: He is a tall gentleman eet not Correct He is a tall man.EXPLORING THE WORLD OF ENGLISH Incorrect: T saw two fernales, I saw two women, imilarly do not’be self-consei . ‘lady and ‘woman’, The latter is the usual word snd Se ecious over « i i ; quite polite. Pieedu that she ‘is a woman of Particularly’ {ood birth, Incorrect: The boy was wearing a new dress, Correct: The boy was wearing a new suit. te boy was pesanng some new clothes. Dress is gencrally used with referenée to a woman’s atti that we do say ‘a an in full dress or evening tess SSeS rete Incorrect: Please put your sign here. Correct: Please put your signature here, Incorrect: — He is my cousin brother. Correct He is my cousin. Incorrect: We are all fellow brothers. Correct: We are all brothers. Incorrect: _1 passed the noon in study. Correct I spent the middle of the day working. Noon-means exactly twelve o’clock in the middle of the day and not a period of time round about that hour. = Incorrect: He had a great number of money. He had a great amount of money. He got a bad companionship. He got into bad company. The (front) side of the house. The (back) of the house. T took a bath in the sea, Thad a bath in the sea. Thave hurt a foot-finger. Thave hurt-a toe: o'clock inserted. . o'clock is often incorrectly inserted after phrz Incorret Tam going by the 12-30 o'clock tr: Correct: Tam going by the 12-30 train. When the number of minutes is specified, o'clock is1 it is correct to say by the half-fast ovelve o'clock’ train, bul and a half o'clock train, nor by the twelve and a half-train. Aes res tocest for Positives ¥ h Superlatives in- ‘ositives with ‘very’, ‘most’. Soper Hincomect This isa best book te Correct is is a very good book. Incorrect: They made a fiercest attack on hi OT They made a most fierce attack There is a best teacher in thais a very good teacher in that class, Correct: There ‘t Oo never be used after the indefinite article The soe rlative th Jefinite article the, the superlative involves When preceded by in wath other things which have been or are about to immediate com This is the best book’ implies that this book is better be alluded yee email books with which it is compared; ‘This is the fiercest than By of iee that this attack is fiercer than any others that are under ideration. Camparatives in ‘er’ with ‘more’; Superlative in ‘est’ with ‘most Incorrect: This road is more shorter than that. Correct: This road is shorter than that. Incorrect: This road is the most shortest of all. Correct: This road is the shortest of all. Incorrect: ' He is more better than I. ~ Correct: He is better than I. Double comparative and superlative forms are not uncommon in old writers: as “Our more rawer breath’, The most unkindest cut of all (Shakespeare). But they are quite inadmissible in modern English. Positive Degree with ‘than’ for Comparative. Incorrect: This stick is /ong than that. This stick is longer than that. We learnt a great deal than the others. We learnt a great deal more than the others. Raipur is hor than Simla, i: Raipur is Hotter than Simla. ‘Than’ for ‘to’ after ‘superior’, ‘inferior’. Incorrect: This paper is superior than that. Corre This paper is superior to that. z A similar mistake is more preferable than for preferable t Positive Degree coupled with ‘and’ to Superlative. 3 Incorrect: He enjoyed all the sweetest and charm Correct: He enjoyed all the sweetest and most Adjectives incorrectly used. Incorrect: _A very little number of the students r Correct: A very sinall number of the student Little generally denotes deficiency in bulk; smal in number, Incorrect: He gave the boy a tight slap. Correct: He gave the boy a smart slap. Incorrect: 1 am suffering from a Strong hed Correct: Tam suffering from a bad head Incorrect: 1 feel somewhat uneasy. Correct: 1 fecl somewhat unwell. I feel out of sort Uneasy generally denotes mental disquict, Incorrect: Every people know this. Correct: Every man knows this. Everyone knows this.ee. See 431 Incorrect: These all man, ij Correct: All these nitigoes are tee i Incomect!_ He held the book in the both hands Correct: He held the book in both hands, He held the book in both his hands. Incorrect: have no any friends, , Correct: Thave no friends. Incorrect: _ Both men have not come, Correct: Neither man has come. Incorrect: — An idle man should do some or other work. Correct: -An idle man should do some work or other. Incorrect: Shakespeare is greater than any other poets. Correct: Shakespeare is greater than any other Poet. Incorrect: Open your book at six page. Open your book at page six. He is in class ninth. He is in class nine. _ He is in the ninth class. Incorreck: — The article cost,mupees ten. Correct: This article cost ten nupees. Incorrect: He came a 2nd time. Correct: He came a second time. Write ordinal numbers upto ‘twelfth’ in words. Incorrect: . King George the’Sixth. Correct: King George VI. ca Write the numbers of kings in Roman characters thus--‘Louis XIV’. Incorrect: He is elder than I. Correct: He is older than I. : Incorrect: ~ He is worst than I. Correct: _» He is worse than I. Incorrect: ' Horse is usefuller than car. Correct: A horse is more useful than a car. Incorrect: He gets a less salary. Correct: He gets a small salary.» ; Incorrect: In our library the number of books is /ess. Correct: In our library the number of books is small. Incorrect: From the two he is clever. Correct: He is the more cleverer of the two. He is the clever of the two. Incorrect: From the three he is. more clever. Correct: He is the cleverest of tie three. Incorrect: Of the two plans this is the best. Correct: Of the wo plans this is the better. Incorrect: He is becoming strong everyday. Correct: He is becoming stronger everyday. Incorrect: “He will spend his future life here. * : ‘He will spend his remaining life here. Correct: H fe will spend the rest of his life here.HOW TO AVOID COMMON BLUNDERS ‘This is a worth seeing sight, Incorrect: K Conect: ‘This is a sight worth seeing Incorrect: We tad leave of four days. Comet, ‘He had four days’ leave. He had leave for four days. Incorrect: Lam hopeless to pas. Correct: Ihave no hope of passing. Incorrect; We have never seen a s0 good boy. Correct: We have never scen so good a boy. Incorrect: He was so big man that he could not sit in this chair, He was a so big man that he could’not sit in this chair, Correct: He was so big a man that he could not sit in this chair. Incorrect: Yours affectionate friend, Correct: Your affectionate friend. Incorrect: Your lovely friend, Correct: Your loving frien The country is plain. The country is flat. The country is level. Incorrect: He got nearly cent per cent marks. Correct: He got nearly full marks, Incorrect: He ts best player. Correct: He is the best player. Incorrect: _. The London is a big city. Correct: London is a big city. Incorrect: mean London,in US.A Correct: I mean the London in U.S Incorrect: The gold is yellow. Correct: Gold is yellow. Incorrect:, Himalayas are mountains. Correct: The Himalayas are mountains. Incorrect: — Manis a member of the Society Correct: Man is a member of society, = Incorrect: The mankind should love the nature. Correct: Mankind should love nature. re Incorrect: We should love the God. Correct: We should love God. Incorre¢ He got an employment there. Correct: He got employment there, Incorrect: We should not make noise. Correct: We should not make a noise. Incorre Thave an urgent business, Comect: LU have urgent business. Incorrect: ny nl ipees. Correct: He found a hundred rupees. Incorrect” What a fun !What fun } Ganges is a river. The Ganges ig a ti Incorrect: Wehad picnic." Correct: We had a picnic, Incorrect: Each of us loves o; Each of us loves his hom, None of the boys had Teara i t thi None of the boys had learnt me ur /their home, People often spend his leisure j ein Correct: People often spend their leisure ia chee * Incorrect: Much efforts bring their reward, , aH Correct: Much effort brings its reward. @ Incorrect: Many villagers cannot write his own name. Correct: Many villagers cannot write their own name. Incorrect: Each and every person wore a hat, | Correct: Each person wore a hat. Incorrect: Bwerybody wore a hat. Incorrect: He is a coward man. Correct: He is a cowardly man. Incorrect: He is a miser man. Correct: He is a miserly man. Incorrect: We want a sifting inquiry. Correct: We want a thorough:inquiry. a . Sifting has degenerated into a cliche. It.is a wrong epithet Exhaustive is a correct alternative. : Incorrect:. The horse is laming. Correc The horse is lam J ‘Limping’ is correct but there is no English word ‘lami * ARTICLES Indefinite Article omitted. Incorrect: ‘Have. you any guests this eveni friends'to dinner.’ Correct: “Have you any guests this eveniny friends.’ _ Incorrect: Correct: ‘Did you not stay with hit time. Uhave great deal of work to have a great deal of work ta T saw a great man 2, 2 ny people ti A few A certain number, some, 38 Op ittle denotes none or al ne 3 aliens most none and certain amount, some, as op ii *RCISE ed Examination, 1956, Caine Sane eieness correctly:- Rew Ae fae that this Ss C ised to have given is hat euanécled | this nes seneme? ji isposed the case atonce. (d) Zhe judge dios to manhood, he will visit to England, e ie cate to me to enquire what is the salary attached to the appointment. E (g) There is nothing such as chance. h) _ Why the Government levies taxes. i He asked me why did I speak. j) The President went to Dacca a week before. (k), An atheist has no zeal upon any religion. — |)’ May I request you to consider my application favourably? 2) As soon as he reached the railway station, he kept his luggage in the train. God gives us every necessaries of life. eet : 8 For whose benefit the Post Office is maintained?” © ANSWERS (a) "The witness'swore that that was false. b) He promised to give me’a post. Are you connected with the new scheme? The judge disposed of the case summarily, }= When he reaches manhood, he will visit England, He came to enquire of me the salary attached: to the appointment. : (a) (e) ® (g) There is no such thing as chance, (h) Why does the Governmeitlevy taxes? ee (i) He asked me why I had spoken, a j) The President went to Dacca a week ago. . Bras (k) An atheist has no zeal for any religion. - $ 0) {request you to ouster my application favourably, _ (m AAs soon 8s | ie reached the railway Station, he put the luggage Tuegoue in eyzeach the railway station than he placed the (2) God gives us all necessaries of lif, “For whose benefit ig the Post Office’ maintained? es “EXERCisE ~ ictivitand Foreign Service ve, Rewrite the following sente® cil beat the sh to gua guar in your English Y lot with the Opposition Parg ination, eS cOrmetly.. | 1957. ore.ww _ My friend told that he is not to blame. Tentered in an agreement with my tutor. The clouds have cleared and it is now fine. A right of way has been concerned him. The people cry against high taxes. You can easily dispense his services. He had disposed all his land and property. The fruit you gave me is too bad. - I intended to have written a'letter to you a week before. 1_am_too tired that I do not hunt words and idioms in my English book. My son died and I grieve my loss. If the bird is let-out of the cage it will surely fly. I differ you as to the exact meaning of this word. ANSWERS TO EXERCISE 5 The waves beat against the shore. | ° : ‘ Be careful to avoid mistakes in your English. Guard against mistakes.in your English. Tintend to caét in my lot with the Opposition Party. My friend told me that he was not to blame. [entered into an agreement with my tutor. The sky has clyared up and the weather is now fine, A right of way has been conceded to him. in The people clamour against high taxes. ‘You can easily dispense with, his services. He had sisposed of all his land and property. The fruit you gave me is very bad. ‘ ‘Lintended to write a letter to you a week ago,” Tam so tired that I cannot hunt out words and idioms‘in my book of English. i > Lam too tired to hunt out words and idioms in my book of English. ia * My son has died and I am grieved If the bird is let out of the cage it I differ with you with regard to word. OSS. : ly fly away, . t Theanthe ‘at this hee