100 COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH MADE BY GREEK SPEAKERS
What follows is a list of one hundred common errors that Greek speakers typically make when speaking English, which are generally based on word-for-word translation from Greek into English. Following each incorrect sentence there is an analysis of what the mistake is and supplementary information on what is correct in English.
1. She fell down of her bed.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She fell out of bed.
A) fall down = to fall from a vertical
position: the tree fell down in the storm.
B) fall out of = to fall from something
which is holding or containing you: the
baby has fallen out of the pram.
C) when we talk of “bed” as a place where
we sleep etc, we don’t use the definite article: she was in bed; he found them in bed together; I am going to bed. When we consider the bed as a piece of
furniture, we use the article: the bed
had not been made; they sat on the bed; there is a spider in the bed.
2. She is elder than me two years.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She is older than me by
two years./She is two years my elder.
A)
elder is a comparative adjective which must stand in front of a noun,
and refers to people’s age in comparison with someone else’s age: this is my elder brother. The superlative is eldest, and it indicates the oldest person in a group: John is the eldest boy in the class. It is most commonly used to refer to members
of a family, although not exclusively.
B) elder
is also used as a noun in the following phrase: she is five years my elder; he is six months your elder.
3. The bad was that he could not to go
fishing.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The bad thing/The pity
was that he could not go fishing.
A) The
bad really means Bad people
(remember the film, The Good, The Bad and
The Ugly?), as when we place the definite article in front of an adjective
of quality or class, it becomes a plural noun:
The poor are given hampers of food at
Christmas by the Government.
Many of the uneducated in
this country can’t read or write.
B) After could you cannot use the full infinitive (to + verb).
4. I reached to the office early and
knocked the door.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I reached the office
early and knocked on the door.
A) reach
is not followed by a preposition.
It is a useful synonym for the verb arrive,
which is followed by a
preposition (at, on, or in according to the situation).
B) knock
is followed by the preposition on
when it means to hit with your hand to
make a noise. If it is used without
a preposition it means to hit
accidentally:
As I was parking the car I
knocked the car behind and broke its headlight.
I knocked into an old
gentleman in the street and he fell over. = bumped into him
5. Yesterday in the night I saw a nice
dream.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I had a nice dream last
night.
A) Time references should stand at the
end of a sentence, unless there is a special reason for them to be emphasised -
then they stand at the beginning. Yesterday in the night is not proper
English.
B) In English we have dreams, we don’t see them!
6. Eventually the dog it managed to rich
the park.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Eventually, the dog
managed to reach the park./The dog finally managed to reach the park.
A) Eventually
should be followed by a comma at the beginning of the sentence.
B) Pronouns are used to replace their nouns, not
straight after them.
C) rich
is an adjective, not a verb, and although its pronunciation is similar to reach, they should not be confused.
7. She is thinking to go to University.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She is thinking of
going to University.
A) The phrase used for óêÝöôïìáé íá... is
I am thinking of + gerund.
8. Do not do so many typing errors.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Do not/Don’t make so
many typing errors/mistakes.
A) We say make an error/a mistake, not do.
9. Your car is not very clear.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Your car is not very
clean.
A) clear
means êáèáñüò with the idea of äéáõãÞò or Üäåéïò:
The sky was lovely and clear
- not a cloud in sight.
The mountain water is
completely clear and refreshing.
B) clean
means not containing impurities, or not covered in dirt.
Use SuperKleen washing powder
for absolutely clean clothes.
10. I had breakfast. After I went for jogging.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I had breakfast. Afterwards OR After that, I went jogging.
A) after
is a conjunction which cannot begin a sentence. If it is used as a preposition it must be followed by a noun, not
a verb. Afterwards is a suitable word for the beginning of a sentence to
show that what comes next follows chronologically what happened in the previous
sentence.
B) activities which are expressed with
the verb go are in the gerund form, without a preposition:
go shopping, go fishing, go
skiing, go cycling, go swimming, go running, go jogging,
go sailing, go hang-gliding
11. He did not happy when he herd the
news.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He was not happy when
he heard the news.
A) happy
is not a verb, so it can’t be introduced by did not !
B) herd,
pronounced exactly the same as heard,
means êïðÜäé.
12. She looks an angel.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She looks like an
angel.
A) we express appearance by comparison
with the verb look like, which has resemble as a synonym.
13. Georgia is an experienced typewriter.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Georgia is an
experienced typist.
A) although typewriter looks like a word to describe a person (cf. writer, driver), it describes the machine. Another common mistake of this sort is the word cooker, which is the machine not the
person - he/she is a cook.
14. I didn’t say you to do it.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I didn’t tell you to do
it.
A) the expression tell somebody to do something is used in English, not say.
15. A day I went a run.
CORRECT SENTENCE: (One day) I went for a
run./I went running (one day).
A)
A day is unemphatic, while One day
means ÊÜðïéá ìÝñá.
B) There are a number of phrases of the
form go for a...:
go for a drink, go for a
drive, go for a walk, go for a run, go for a jog, go for a swim
go for a ride (on a horse or
bicycle), go (out) for a meal, go for a ski
16. Would you like a peace of cake?
CORRECT SENTENCE: Would you like a piece
of cake?
A) You should not confuse peace (= åéñÞíç) with piece (= êïììÜôé), even though they are
pronounced the same.
17. This windows are not cleans.
CORRECT SENTENCE: These windows are not
clean.
A) Don’t forget that this has a plural form, these,
and that has those as its plural.
B) Adjectives do not show plural form in English.
18. We were discussing about his
behaviour.
CORRECT SENTENCE: We were discussing his
behaviour.
A) The verb “discuss” is NOT
followed by a preposition. However, it MUST be followed by an object - it is
never used without one. Moreover, it
indicates quite a formal, serious conversation, not simply a friendly chat.
19. My grades are the same with your.
CORRECT SENTENCE: My grades/marks are the
same as yours.
A)
“the same” is followed by “as”,
NEVER “with”. “As”
is a preposition, so if you wish to place a verb after it, the verb has gerund
form:
Watching a football match on
television is not the same as watching
it from
the stands in the stadium.
B) “your”
is a possessive adjective, so it stands in front of a noun. “Yours”
is a possessive pronoun, so it does not stand in front of a noun; it replaces a noun.
20. I felt asleep in class.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I fell asleep in class.
A) Do not confuse the following verbs:
feel felt felt áéóèÜíïìáé, íéþèù
fall fell fallen ðÝöôù
lose lost lost ÷Üíù, δε
βρίσκω
miss missed missed äåí ðñïëáâáßíù/μου
λέιπει
loose loosed loosed áðåëåõèåñþíù (æþá)
shoot shot shot ðõñïâïëþ
shout shouted shouted öùíÜæù
21. Weather of England is often rainy.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The weather in England
is often rainy/wet.
A) Although “weather” is an uncountable noun, it must be preceded by “the” here, because we are referring to
particular weather - English weather.
B) Countries are preceded by the
preposition “in”, not “of”.
22. I have lived hear since four years.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I have lived here for
four years.
A) Do not confuse “hear” (áêïýù) and “here” (åäþ).
B) “Since”
is used before expressions which say when an action started (such as “last Monday”, “three o’clock”, “1962” and “I
was a child”). “For” is used in front of expressions
which show how long something has been happening (such as “six days”, “two hours”, “several months”, “a hundred years”).
23. I am old enough to drive a car she
said me.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me (that) she
was old enough to drive a car.
OR: “I am old enough to drive a car,” she
said./she told me.
A) The verb “say” is used when we don’t mention who hears what is said. Occasionally it is used in the form of “he said to me”, but this is not
followed by what is said. However, it
is acceptable to place the form “he said
to me” after direct
speech enclosed in inverted commas:
“It is time to go,” he said
to her.
It is more usual to follow the form “he told me”, remembering that you must not put the preposition “to” after “tell”.
B) If you use reported speech, make sure
that you apply all the necessary changes (tenses, pronouns, adverbs of time and
place, etc.).
24. They asked each to the other for
favours.
CORRECT SENTENCE: They asked each other
for favours.
OR: They asked favours of each other.
A) Follow the form “ask somebody for
something”, which means “æçôþ êÜôé
áðü êÜðïéïí”. Remember that “ask somebody something” means “ñùôÜù êÜôé áðü êÜðïéïí”.
B) Don’t forget that there is a parallel,
older form: “ask something of somebody”,
which means “æçôþ êÜôé áðü êÜðïéïí”,
and which is generally used when you are asking somebody to do something for
you. Examples:
I asked his advice of him. (=
I asked him for his advice.) He asks
little of his wife. (= He doesn’t
ask his wife to do much.)
C) Remember that “we do a favour for
others”.
25. He went at the forest to cut a wood.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He went into/to the
forest to cut some wood.
A) A very basic mistake is the use of “at” for movement. It is
almost always wrong! Use “to” and its associated prepositions (into, upto, out to, onto etc).
B) “A
wood” is “Ýíá äÜóïò”. “Wood”
as an uncountable noun means îýëï/îýëá. ¸íá
îýëï is “a piece of wood”, “a stick” or “a plank” according to the context. The phrase “Ýöáãå îýëï”
is “he got/received a beating”.
26. In the way to the cinema I met my
friend.
CORRECT SENTENCE: On the way to the
cinema I met my friend.
OR: On the way to the cinema I met a
friend of mine.
A) “in
the/my way” means “óôï äñüìï ìïõ” =
“ìå åìðïäßæåé”:
I couldn’t get out of the car
park because someone had parked in my way.
while “on
the/my way” means “óôï äñüìï ìïõ” = “åíþ ðÞãáéíá”.
B) “I
met my friend” refers to a particular friend whom you expected to
meet. “I met a friend of mine” refers to a friend whom you didn’t expect
to meet. Remember the form of the
second phrase: He is a friend of
mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs/John’s/the Smiths’/the manager’s.
27. For his surprise the film was
cancelled.
CORRECT SENTENCE: To his surprise the
film was cancelled.
A) Learn the following prepositional
phrases if you don’t already know them:
to
my surprise
to
her horror
to
our shock
to
their delight
to
your astonishment
to
their relief
They all hold the meaning of “êáôÜ (ìåãÜëç) ìïõ Ýêðëçîç” etc.
28. She has many works to complete.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She has a lot of
work/jobs to do.
A) Don’t forget that work is both countable and uncountable, but the meaning differs
according to which form is used. “A work” usually refers to a piece of
art (visual, audio or written), “work” (uncountable)
refers to the work we do (äïõëåéÜ),
and “works” (plural) can refer either
to pieces of art, or to such ideas as Public
Works (roadworks, for
example). “The Works” can also mean “the
factory” in a town where the factory employs a lot of people.
B) Remember that “we do jobs or work”,
and that “we do homework (uncountable) and housework (uncountable)”.
29. He was too angry when I told him to
leave.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He was very angry (He
was furious) when I told him to leave.
A) Don’t forget that “too” means “more than
desirable”. It is found in the form
“too adjective or adverb to do something”.
B) Remember (and use!) adjectives which
improve your expression. Using basic
words is not wrong, but using more complicated vocabulary dramatically improves
your expression in a foreign language. This is also true for your mother tongue...
Examples:
very hot = boiling, sweltering
very cold = freezing, parky
very angry = furious, beside oneself
very fast = speedy (adj.), speedily (adv.)
very slow(ly) = sluggish (adj.), sluggishly
very tired = exhausted
very noisy = deafening
very quiet = silent
very interesting = fascinating
All limit adjectives are qualified by
“absolutely”
30. The bus ran fastly so that the
passengers arrived quickly in the city.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The bus drove fast so
that the passengers arrived in the city quickly.
A) “Fast”
is both an adjective and an adverb, without any change in form. Another such adjective/adverb to remember is
hard. Don’t forget that hardly
means “almost not at all”.
B) Remember that the normal word order of
an unemphasised
sentence (subject - verb - direct object - indirect object - how? - where? -
when?) is changed if the verb indicates movement, and the order of the
adverbial phrases at the end of the sentence becomes where? - how? -when?.
31. In the contrary to my friends I study
hardly.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Unlike my friends I
study hard.
A) “On
the contrary” is an adverbial phrase, and is usually followed by a comma to
separate it from the body of the sentence.
It means “Opposite to what has
just been mentioned”:
Pigs are said to be dirty
animals. On the contrary, they are very
clean.
“Contrary
to...” is used in a similar way, and means “Despite...”:
Contrary to what people say
about pigs being dirty animals, they are very clean.
So both expressions show a contrast where
one idea contradicts another. That is
why neither is suitable in the original sentence. “Unlike” simply means “different from”.
B) See 30.A) for information about “hardly”.
32. There is many people hear today.
CORRECT SENTENCE: There are many/a lot of
people here today.
A) “People”
is a plural noun when it means “Üíèñùðïé”,
“êüóìïò”. It is singular if it
means “ëáüò”.
B) See 22.A) for information about hear/here.
C) “Many”
is usually used in negative or interrogative sentences, although not
exclusively. It is more common in
positive sentences when these are more formal.
33. He left from his work early today
afternoon.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He left work early this
afternoon.
A) “Leave”
is not followed by “from”; this is a common, but serious
mistake!
B) When we refer to the place where we
work as “work”, it is not preceded by
an article or by a possessive adjective:
I was going to work
He is at work
I left my keys at work
C) Remember the phrases this morning, this afternoon, this evening. British English speakers usually pronounce
these phrases as the smorning, the
sarfternoon, the seevening, without a preposition.
34. She borrowed me her comb.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She lent me her comb.
OR: She borrowed a/my comb (from me).
A) Don’t forget that “borrow” and “lend” are
opposites! They follow the form “borrow something from somebody” and “lend something to somebody” (or “lend somebody something”).
35. Do not do a noise.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Do not/Don’t make a
noise.
A) Remember that “we make a noise”.
B) The negative imperative is most
commonly expressed by “Don’t +
infinitive”, although “Do not +
infinitive” is more emphatic.
36. He was said to try very hardly.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He was said to have
tried very hard.
A) After passive expressions with verbs
of speech, we use an appropriate infinitive to show time and aspect. The four infinitives are (using the verb “work”):
Present
Infinitive Simple work
Present
Infinitive Continuous be working
Past
Infinitive Simple have worked
Past
Infinitive Continuous have been working
Present and Future tense ideas use
Present Infinitives (with the important
exception of Present Perfect ideas, which use Past Infinitives). Past tense ideas use Past Infinitives.
B) See 30.A) for information on hard/hardly.
37. She said me much lies.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me many/a lot
of lies.
A) The correct phrase is “tell somebody lies/a lie”.
B) “much”
is used for uncountable nouns, and like “many”
is usually used in negative and interrogative sentences (see 32.C) ).
38. He told to her to don’t disturb him.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He told her not to
disturb him.
A) As was mentioned in 23.A), “tell” is not followed by the
preposition “to”.
B) The form of “tell” here is “tell somebody
(not) to do something”. Remember
that “not” stands before “to”, which is the opposite of Greek
word order (íá ìçí...).
39. She did not leave me to play.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She did not/didn’t let
me play.
A) “Leave”
does not have the meaning of “åðéôñÝðù”. The form you should use is “let
somebody do something”. Remember not to use a full infinitive
with “to” (*let somebody
to do something), which is a very common, but serious mistake.
40. She is the best friend of hers.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She is her best friend.
A) You cannot use the definite article
with phrases such as “friend of mine”,
you must use the indefinite article.
Look at the following examples:
This is a painting of
Picasso’s.
I have found a book of yours.
Meet a colleague of mine,
Keith Houseman.
41. Nobody said nothing for the traffic
accident.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Nobody said anything about the traffic/road
accident.
A) Nobody said nothing is a double
negative, unacceptable in standard English, although commonly heard in
uneducated speech.
B) Greek ãéá is translated as “about”
when it is synonymous with “ðåñß”, as here.
42. The weeds in the yard have grown up a
lot.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The weeds in the yard have grown a lot.
A)
“Grow up” is used for people, with the idea of “become taller, older and
more mature”, “grow” (without “up”) means become taller or generally bigger in
size, and can be used widely, not just for people.
43. The vegetable’s are not ripe.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The vegetables are not ripe.
A) Incorrect use of the apostrophe to
express a plural, a common mistake of uneducated native speakers when
writing. Remember also the difference
between “its” and “it’s”.
B) “Ripe” is a little unusual in this
sentence, and maybe “ready” would be more suitable. “Ripe” tends to be used for fruit. “Mature” is used for cheese, wine and humans! However, a ripe cheese is one which is
tasting too strong because it hasn’t been kept in ideal conditions…
44. She likes not to travel with a plane.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She doesn’t like travelling by plane.
A)
The negative Simple Present verb should need no comment.
B)
The verb “like” is followed by a full infinitive if it refers to
specific occasions, and by a gerund if it refers to a general like. The same goes for “dislike”, “love” and
“hate”.
C)
The preposition “by” is used before the names of vehicles to indicate
how someone travels, provided that no other word stands between “by” and
the name of the vehicle.
45.
For my good luck I have a hole collection of charms.
CORRECT SENTENCE: To my good luck I have a complete collection
of charms.
A)
Even the correct sentence is a little strange! Notice the phrases To my (good) luck, to my horror, to my
delight, to my surprise, to my astonishment and others.
B)
Don’t confuse the words “hole” and “whole”, even though they are
homophones.
C)
the words “whole” and “collection” do not go well together, use
“complete”.
46.
Everybody in the circus were funny.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Everybody in the circus was funny.
A) Compounds of some, any, no and every
are singular.
47.
He did not obey to the policeman when he said “stop”.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He did not obey the policeman when he told
him to stop.
A) The verbs “obey” and its opposite
“disobey” are not followed by a preposition.
B)
Written language doesn’t reflect spoken language, and you must write
more formally than you speak. It may be
acceptable to say the expression “when he said “stop”, but written language
requires the more formal “when he told him to stop”.
48.
The boy wich work at the store does this kind of things.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The boy who works at the store does this
kind of thing.
A) “Which” is not used for people. The misspelt “wich” is a common error.
B) Omission of the final -s in the third
person singular of the Present Simple is also a common error, and one to be avoided at all costs.
C) After the phrases “kind(s) of”,
“sort(s) of”, “variety/ies of”, “type(s) of” you should use a singular noun.
49.
I could not unplugged the kitchen’s sink.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I couldn’t unblock the kitchen sink.
A) After modal verbs some form of the
infinitive is used, full or bare. The
Simple Past is never used.
B) “Unplug” means to remove the
(electric) plug, not to remove the plug from a sink, which is expressed by the
phrase “take the plug out”.
C) Many expressions using a noun as an
adjective exist, such as car door, door key, pen top and so on. It is usually wrong to use the genitive
instead of these particular phrases.
50.
The crazy man laughed loud.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The madman laughed out loud.
A) “crazy” is not used as commonly as
Greeks seem to think. Ï ôñåëëüò is “the
madman”.
B) Notice the phrase “out loud”.
51.
She was hearing the song from the stereo.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She was listening to the song on the stereo.
A) “Hear” means áêïýù ôõ÷áßá, while
“listen to” means áêïýù ìå ðñïóï÷Þ.
B) Notice that we say ON the stereo, the
video, the television, the radio.
52.
Before a week I won her at tennis.
CORRECT SENTENCE: A week ago I beat her at tennis.
A) “Before” is used in this way only in
reported speech.
B) The verb “win” means êåñäßæù (áãþíá,
âñáâåßï), while “beat” means íéêþ (ñåêüñ, áíôßðáëï).
C) Notice that we beat someone else AT an
activity.
53.
The arsonist put fire to the house.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The arsonist set fire to the house.
A) The phrase âÜæù öùôéÜ is “set fire
to”.
54.
She went at work without to take a shower first.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She went to work without taking a shower
first.
A) The preposition “at” is not used for
movement.
B) “Without” is a preposition, so it is
followed by a noun or a gerund, not an infinitive. Only the prepositions “but” and “except” can be followed by
infinitives.
55.
The teacher wanted to make us a frighten.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The teacher wanted to frighten us.
A) There is no such phrase as “to make
someone a frighten”.
56.
Yesterday were many snows.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Yesterday there was a lot of snow.
A) All verbs must have a subject, which
must stand before the verb, unless the sentence is a question.
B) “Snow” is an uncountable noun, unlike
in Greek.
57.
She has not succeed to get a date for Friday night.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She has not succeeded in getting a date for
Friday night.
A) The Present Perfect form should not
cause any problems at this level.
B) The verb “succeed” is followed by “in”
and a noun or a gerund, never an infinitive.
58.
Her illness prevent her for working.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Her illness prevented her from working.
A) The verb “prevent” is followed by the
preposition “from” and a noun or a gerund.
59.
She said me she buyed a dresses.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me she had bought some dresses/a
dress.
A) Care is needed with the verbs “say”
and “tell”. See sentence 23.
B) The rules of tense change for reported
speech must be followed in English, unlike in Greek.
60.
I stopped out the restaurant to rest for a minute.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I stopped outside the/a restaurant to rest
for a minute.
A) The preposition “out” refers only to
movement, while “outside” refers both to movement and position.
61.
She was enjoyed her travel very much.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She enjoyed her trip very much.
A) The verb “enjoy” is not a passive
verb, and is rarely found used in the passive.
B) The noun “travel” is uncountable, and
means the experience of travelling, whereas “trip” or “journey” indicates a
specific movement from one place to another.
The plural noun “travels” means exotic journeys, adventures, as in the
phrase “He has written a highly successful book about his travels”.
62.
Our lifes have been changed by the experience.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Our lives have been changed (better:
altered) by the experience.
A) Care is needed in forming the plural
of nouns ending in -f or -fe, as some nouns do not follow the rule whereby the
-f becomes a -v when -es is added. The
most notable examples of this are roof - roofs, cliff - cliffs, chief -chiefs,
safe - safes, dwarf -dwarfs.
63.
The man was laying at the bed.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The man was lying on the bed.
A) The verbs lie and lay cause
problems. Here are their forms and
meanings:
1 2 3 4 5
lie lied lied lying ëÝù
øÝìáôá
lie lay lain lying âñßóêïìáé,
êåßôïìáé
lay laid laid laying ôïðïèåôþ,
âÜæù óå ïñéæüíôéá èÝóç
1 = Infinitive, 2 = Past Simple, 3 = Past
Participle, 4 = Present Participle, 5 = Meaning in Greek.
B) The preposition “at” is generally used
to indicate the activity taking place at a certain place, rather than for
position. Therefore, its use is
incorrect here.
64.
Let’s go for a walk in the car.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Let’s go for a drive in the car.
A) Let’s go for a walk means literally
that: a walk using your feet. Notice
other phrases: go for a run, go for a ride (on a bike, a motorbike or a horse),
go for a swim, go for a jog, go for a fly (in a small plane), go for a ski.
65.
When I will return at home I will go to the bed.
CORRECT SENTENCE: When I return home I will go to bed.
A) Do not use a future tense in a Time
Clause.
B) “At home” refers to position, while
“home” without a preposition refers to movement.
C) The phrase ðçãáßíù ãéá ýðíï is “go to
bed”.
66.
As usually, our mother explained us behave.
CORRECT SENTENCE: As usual, our mother explained to us how to
behave.
A) Notice the phrase “as usual”, which
means “as she usually does”. “As
usually” is WRONG.
B) The verb “explain” has the following
syntaxes: “explain sth to sb” (NEVER
“explain sb sth”), and “explain to sb how to do sth”. Exceptionally, when the “sth” is a long list of phrase, we use
the syntax “explain to sb sth”.
67.
He tryed to fit the luggages in the car.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He tried to fit the luggage in the car.
A) “Try” is followed by an infinitive if
it means “ðñïóðáèþ”, and by a gerund if it means “äïêéìÜæù”.
B) “Luggage”, like “baggage”, is an
UNCOUNTABLE noun.
68. The bank was stoled in Saturday.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The bank was robbed on Saturday.
A) The verb “steal - stole - stolen”
means “to take something which does not belong to you”, while “to rob” means to
remove something from somebody or from a building illegally. The syntax is “steal sth from sb”, “rob
sth/sb of something”. Other verbs worth
remembering are “mug sb”, “burgle a building (usually a house)”, “shoplift sth
(from a shop)”.
B) Be careful with prepositions for time
phrases:
The following phrases are as they are spoken:
“On
Saturday, the fifth of June, nineteen ninety-two”
“On
the fifth of June, nineteen ninety-two”
“In
June, nineteen ninety-two”
“In
nineteen ninety-two”
69.
She dresses good and has nice cloths.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She dresses well and has nice clothes.
A) “good” is not an adverb but an
adjective, so it cannot describe an action.
B) “cloth” means “ýöáóìá” when it is
uncountable, and “ðáíß” when it is countable.
70.
She was laying in the park when I looked her.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She was lying in the park when I saw her.
A) See sentence 63 for information on
“lie” and “lay”.
B) “Look” is followed by the preposition
“at”, but here the meaning requires “see”, which means “to see by chance”.
71.
I am getting my hairs cut today.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I am getting/having my hair cut today.
A) “Hair” is uncountable with the meaning
“ìáëëéÜ”, and countable with the meaning “ôñß÷á”.
B) Both the verbs “get” and “have” are
used to form the causative voice, but “get” indicates a more active role on the
part of the subject.
72.
She was very hurry so she raised from the dinner table without say
anything.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She was in a (great) hurry so she rose from
the dinner table without saying anything.
A) Notice the phrase “I am in a (great)
hurry”.
B) The verb “raise” means “õøþíù,
óçêþíù”, while “rise - rose - risen” means “õøþíïìáé, óçêþíïìáé”.
C) “Without” is a preposition, and as
such it must be followed by a noun or a gerund, never an infinitive.
73.
I knew from the beginning nothing helped.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I knew from the start/outset that nothing
would help.
A) Notice the phrases “from the start”
and “from the outset”.
B) Be careful to follow the rules for
tense changes in reported speech, which must be used in almost all cases.
74.
I opened light for to read my book.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I switched on the light in order to/so as
to/to read my book./so that I could read my book.
A) “Open” and “close” are not used for
starting and stopping the function of electrical appliances.
B) “For to” is not the way we express
purpose. If the subjects of both parts
of the sentence are the same, then use “in order (not) to”, “so as (not) to”,
or just “(not) to”, but if the subjects are different you should use “so that”
or “in order that” and an appropriate tense.
75.
The car was running very quick.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The car was travelling very quickly/fast.
A) Cars do not “run”, because they do not
have legs!!
B) “Quick” is an adjective, not an
adverb, so it cannot describe an action.
76.
We have no time to loose.
CORRECT SENTENCE: We have no time to lose.
A) “Loose” as a verb means “áðåëåõèåñþíù
(æþá)”, and as an adjective it means “÷áëáñüò”.
77.
Occasionally when it happens the weather to be bad I do not go for
baths.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Occasionally, when the weather happens to be
bad, I do not go swimming.
A) “Occasionally” at the beginning of a
sentence should be followed by a comma.
B) “Happen” with the meaning of “ôõ÷áßíù”
is not an impersonal verb in English.
C) “Baths” means “ìðÜíéá” - the thing you
sit in in your bathroom!
78.
The fire result a very big damage.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The fire resulted in/caused serious damage.
A) The verb “result” is followed by the
preposition “in”.
B) “Damage” is an uncountable noun, and
is usually found with the adjective “serious”.
The plural noun “damages” does not mean “æçìéÝò”, it means
“áðïæçìéþóåéò”.
79.
I heard the bomb to explode and run for cover.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I heard the bomb explode and ran for cover.
A) Verbs of perception such as “hear” are
followed by the bare infinitive, if the whole action is perceived, or by a
present participle if the action is repeated or only partially perceived. The full infinitive is not used after them.
B) Be careful to ensure that all verbs
have a tense.
80.
It is not a so easy thing to get to Australia with a car.
CORRECT SENTENCE: It is not such an easy thing/task/It is not
so easy to get to Australia by car.
A) Care is needed with the rules for the
use of “so” and “such”.
B) Avoid using the phrase “with a car/lorry/plane
etc/.
81.
Where should I put all these furniture?
CORRECT SENTENCE: Where should I put all this furniture?
A) “Furniture” is an uncountable noun.
82.
I run very fast but still I lost the bus.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I ran very fast but I still missed the bus.
A) Be careful to ensure that all verbs
have a tense.
B) “Still” stands in front of verb
groups, but after the subject of the verb group. If the verb group is positive, still stands in the position of
the adverbs of frequency. If the group
is negative, still stands in front of the whole verb group:
He is still doing his homework.
I still haven’t found what I am looking
for.
C) “Lose” means “÷Üíù êáé äå âñßóêù”,
“miss” means “÷Üíù, äåí ðñïëáâáßíù”.
83.
He passed terrible the holiday.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He had a terrible time on holiday.
A) Notice the phrase “have a
great/terrible/fantastic etc time”.
“Pass” does not means “ðåñíþ” in the phrase “ðåñíþ êáëÜ”, which would be
“I am having a great time”.
84.
I ate a lot because the other day I was going to do a diet.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I ate a lot because the next day I was going
to go on a diet.
A) “The other day” means “ôéò ðñïÜëëåò”.
B) “ÊÜíù äßáéôá” is “go on a diet” or
“start a diet”, or “be on a diet” if it has already started.
85. I waited Paul to be a tall man and dark.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I expected Paul to be a tall, dark man.
A) The verb “wait” is followed by the
preposition “for”. “Expect” means
“áíáìÝíù”.
B) Adjectives are only joined by “and” if
their meanings are associated:
It was a cold
and windy night.
He was a sly
and cunning boy.
The wet and
miserable dog slunk in through the door.
86.
She is the girl who she saw the murder.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She is the girl who saw/witnessed the
murder.
A)
When “who”, “which” or “that” is the subject of the following verb, it
must be immediately followed by the verb (or an adverb and the verb). If a pronoun or noun stands before the verb,
then “who”, “which” or “that” must be the object of the verb.
B)
Don’t forget that a relative clause is surrounded by commas if the
information it presents is not essential for the meaning of the main clause:
France, which
is a hexagonally-shaped country, lies between
Germany and the
Atlantic Ocean.
87.
I have two months to go in England.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I haven’t been to England for two months.
A)
The original (incorrect) sentence directly reflects the Greek “έχω δύο μήνες να πάω στην Αγγλία”, but is completely incorrect in English
88. He understood his mistake
CORRECT SENTENCE: He realised his
mistake.
The verb “understand” means to begin to
know something that is explained to you, whereas “realise” means that something
suddenly comes to you, maybe by someone telling you and maybe not.
89. She told me she will dance and so she
did
CORRECT SENTENCE: She told me she would
dance/was going to dance and she did so.
A)
The rules of Reported Speech as regards the change of tense are usually
kept in English, so the verb has to go “once tense back” from what was actually
said.
B)
“she did so” is a phrase used to repeat a verb already mentioned, for
example:
I have decided to get fit and I am
determined to do so.
90. The evening I went at a concert with
a friend of me.
CORRECT SENTENCE: In the evening I went
to a concert with a friend of mine.
A)
Remember the phrases “in
the morning/afternoon/evening” and “at
night”.
B)
The preposition “at” is generally not used for verbs of movement. If it is combined with a verb of movement,
the idea of an attack is implied:
I
threw the ball to my friend BUT I threw
the stone at the window.
I
drove to the garage BUT The joyriders drove the stolen car at the
policeman.
C)
In English we say “a friend of mine”, where “mine” means “my
friends”. So the idea of the phrase “a
friend of mine” means “ένας από τους φίλους μου”. If a noun
is used, or a name, the correct form is “a friend of my uncle’s” and “a friend of Dave’s”.
91. He hanged the mirror in the wall.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He
hung the mirror on the wall.
A) The verb “hang”
exists in two forms: hang - hung -
hung, which means to suspend an object from a hook, nail etc. Hang - hanged - hanged means to kill a
person by hanging them by the throat.
B) “in the wall” would
suggest that the mirror was inside
the wall, not on its surface.
92. She did a mistake to
her work.
CORRECT SENTENCE: She
made a mistake in her work.
A) The verbs “make” and
“do” need special care - there are particular collocations (combination of two
or more words) which you should learn.
Ask me to give you a
list from the computer if I haven’t already done so.
93. Except what I tell
you, you must also buy soap.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Apart
from what I have told you, you must also buy some soap.
A) The preposition
“except” requires the preposition “for” when it stands at the beginning of a
sentence:
Except for John, everybody here speaks French.
When placed elsewhere in
the sentence, the preposition “for” is optional.
Everybody here speaks French, except (for) John.
The form “except
for/except” means “not including”.
“Apart from” means
“including/as well as”:
Apart from French, I also speak German and
Italian.
B) “Soap” is
uncountable, therefore it requires an article when we are not talking about all
the soap in the world!
94. The inspector
controlled my ticket.
CORRECT SENTENCE: The
inspector checked my ticket.
A) “Control” means
restrict the way something operates so that it operates in the way that you
want. “Check” means to look at
something to make sure that it is correct.
95. Last night I
listened a bad new.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Last
night I heard some bad news.
A) “Listen” requires the
preposition “to” if it has an object:
I listened to some Mozart as I worked.
“Hear” means to hear
something which is in the sound around us, as the sound from the radio or
television is. If “listen” were used it
would mean that you already knew that there was this news beforehand and listened
to the report especially.
B) “News” is uncountable. It therefore takes the articles
“some/any/no” and a singular verb.
96. He opened the radio
entering into the car.
CORRECT SENTENCE: He
turned on the radio/He turned the radio on when he got into the car.
A) “Open” is used to
express the idea of movement of one surface from another (such as opening a
book or door). “Turn on” and its
opposite “turn off” refer to putting into operation a device, usually
electrical.
B) “Enter into” means
“begin” and is principally used in formal phrases, such as “The USA has entered
into negotiations with Russia over economic aid.” “Enter” with the meaning of “go into” is not followed by a
preposition: “He entered the room
quietly.”
However, with cars, we
use the form “get into” and its opposite “get out of”. If “get into/out of” are used with buildings
(houses, shops etc) it means “to enter/leave by using force”: How did the thieves get into the shop?” “The man managed to get out of prison by
digging a tunnel”.
97. Look in page 3 on
line 6.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Look
at line 6 on page 3.
A) Note the prepositions, and the fact that we
put the most restrictive item first.
98. A lot of friends is
hear.
CORRECT SENTENCE: A lot
of friends are here.
A) A simple mistake -
putting a plural noun with a singular verb.
B) Another simple
mistake - misspelling “hear” and “here”.
Another common error is confusing “there” and “their”.
99. Anybody did not to
tell the truth to me.
CORRECT SENTENCE: Nobody
told me the truth.
A) “Anybody” as a
subject means “whoever/any person who/everyone who”:
Anybody who sees the criminal should call the
police.
B) The form of “tell” is
“tell somebody something”.
100. Everyday on
holidays I was playing at the garden.
CORRECT SENTENCE: I
played in the garden every day on holiday.
A) A frequent action is
indicated here, therefore the verb must be Past Simple.
B) The preposition “at”
is used before words indicating place provided that a particular activity
always happens in that place. A good
example is “at the bus-stop”, where clearly a particular activity (waiting for
a bus) takes place.
C) Words and phrases
indicating the time an action happens occur at the end of the sentence, or at
the beginning when they are emphasised.
Written by Bryan Hollamby