*Common Errors

*Common error #1

*Sentence fragment

*A complete sentence contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

*Common error #2

*Comma Splice

*A comma splice occurs when a comma is used for a semicolon or period.

*Common error #3

*Run-on sentence

*A run-on sentence occurs when a necessary semicolon or period is omitted.

*Common error #4

*Illogical use of a semicolon

*For example, between a clause and a phrase or between a dependent and an independent clause

*Common error #5

*Lack of agreement between subject and verb

*Common error #6

*Faulty use of pronoun – case, reference, number

*Common error #7

*Other comma errors

*Failure to use comma between independent clauses joined by a conjunction

*Failure to use comma after introductory clause or phrase

*Common error #8

*Misspelling common words

*lead – lead - led

*lead = v.: to guide

*Ex. – I will lead the way.

*lead = n.: metallic element

*Ex. – She hit him with a lead pipe.

*led = v.: past tense of the verb lead

*Ex. – I led him to the treasure.

*Spell it correctly!

*primitive

*questionnaire

*receive

*rhythm

*separate

*principal - principle

*principal = adj.: main, chief; n.: head of school, leader

*Ex. – Our principal, Mrs. Mote, will be the principal speaker at graduation.

*principle = n.: law, truth, doctrine, or code of conduct

*Ex. – Most of the moral principles that people live by are learned from their parents.

*their – they’re - there

*their = possessive pronoun

*Ex. – their car, their friend, their house

*they’re = contraction for “they are”

*Ex. – They’re going to a party.

*there = adv.: toward that place

*Ex. – Stand over there.

*to – two - too

*to = prep. & infinitive

*Ex. – I plan to read tonight.

*two = n.: number

*Ex. – I have two sons.

*too = adv.: more than enough

*Ex. – You study too much.

*Spell & use it correctly!

*succeed – successful

*suppressed

*truly

*unnoticed

*woman – women

*quite – quiet – quit

*going to

*occasion

*Spell & use it correctly!

*embarrassment – harassment

*exaggerate

*familiar – similar

*grammar

*stationary - stationery

*stationary = adj.: not moving

*Ex. The seats in the auditorium are stationary.

*stationery = n.: writing materials

*Her letter was written on pink stationery.

*until - till

*until = prep.: before a specified time, up to the time of

*Ex. – We can’t leave until Monday.

*till = vt.: prepare land for planting crops

*The farmer tilled the land.

*weather - whether

*weather = n.: temperature

*whether = conj.: used to introduce alternatives

*Ex. – How favorable the weather is will determine whether or not we’ll go camping.

*then - than

*then = adv.: consequently; at the time; next

*Ex. – If you’re running late, then you better hurry.

*than = conj.: comparative

*Ex. – I am a safer driver than you.

*through - threw

*through = prep.: in one side and out the other; finished

*I went through the garage door.

*threw = v.: discharged into the air (past tense of the verb “throw”)

*Ex. – I threw the ball through the window.

*were - where

*were = verb

*Ex. – You were being paged.

*where = adv.: at or in what place

*Ex. – Where are the restrooms?

*belief - believe

*belief = n.: something accepted as true

*Ex. – Christians share a belief in life after death.

*believe = vt.: to have confidence in the truth or existence of something

*Ex. – Many people believe Seinfeld is very funny.

*hanged - hung

*People are hanged.

*Lynching = always use hang.

*Ex. – They hanged him at sunrise.

They decided to hang him.

*Objects are hung.

*Objects = past tense = hung

*Ex. – I will hang the clothes out.

The clothes hung on the line.

*Hung also indicates a standstill:

*Ex. – hung up in traffic, a hung jury, hung on every word

*complement - compliment

*complement = n.: something that completes; vt.: serve as complement to

*Ex. – The dessert was a complement to the delicious dinner.

*compliment = n.: an expression of courtesy or praise

*You have paid me a great compliment.

*allusion – illusion - disillusion

*allusion = n.: an implied or indirect reference

*Ex. – He has the Midas touch.

*illusion = n.: something that deceives or misleads

*Ex. – We see motion movies because of an optical illusion.

*disillusion = vt.: to disappoint

*Ex. – The Viet Nam veterans were disillusioned by the war.

*affect - effect

*affect = vt.: to influence; strong feeling having active consequences

*Ex. – Was your decision affected by his comments?

*effect = n.: a result; vt.: to accomplish

*Ex. – What effect will his promotion have on you? (noun)

*Ex. – The heavy ice and snowstorm effected a change in their vacation plans. (verb)

*HINT: for effect, substitute “result” or “resulted in”

*advice - advise

*advice = n.: a recommendation, an opinion, information

*advise = vt.: to inform, to notify, to recommend

*Ex. – I advise you to follow your parents’ advice.

*Spell it correctly!

*accommodate

*acknowledge – acknowledgment

*judge - judgment

*loose - lose

*loose = adj.: not tight

*Ex. – The pants are loose.

*lose = v.: unable to find or keep

*Ex. – You may lose your parking space.

*a - an

*Use “a” before a word beginning with a consonant sound.

*Use “an” before a word beginning with a vowel sound.

*Ex. – a house

an hour ago

an early departure

*your – you’re

*your = possessive pronoun

*Ex. – your mother, your car

*you’re = contraction for “you are”

*Ex. – You’re your mother’s child.

*because - cause

*because = conj.: since; for the reason that

*Ex. – The students failed because they did not hand in their assignments.

*DO NOT use because after “the reason”

*cause = n.: something leading to an effect or consequence; vt.: to be the cause of

*Ex. – The cause of freedom is noble.

*The shark was the cause of great fear.

*analysis - analyzing

*analysis = n.: separation of a whole into parts

*Ex. – The blood analysis revealed no infectious disease.

*analyzing = vt.: to separate into parts

*Ex. – The lab assistant was analyzing the blood.

*alright - alot

*all right, a lot = two words!

*Do NOT use “a lot” in formal writing.

*allot = vt.: to divide or distribute by share

*Ex. - We will allot the scholarships

*desert - dessert

*desert = n.: a very dry region

*Ex. – We made sure we had enough water when we crossed the desert.

*dessert = n.: sweet food

*Ex. – We eat dessert after every evening meal.

*Spell & use these correctly!

*forty

*fourth

*forth

*foreword - forward

*foreword = n.: preface of introductory note at the beginning of a book

*Ex. – The author’s explanation was in the foreword.

*forward = adj. & adv.: at, near or belonging to the front; forward/bold; frontward

*Adj. Ex. – a forward nation

*Adv. Ex. – come forward; I look forward to seeing you.

*explain - explanation

*explain = v.: to make understandable

*Ex. – I will explain the rules.

*explanation = n.: something that explains

*The explanation was brief.

*capital - capitol

*capital = city

*capitol = building

*Ex. – We toured the capitol in Austin,

the capital of Texas.

*council – counsel - consul

*council = n.: a group of deliberators

*Ex. – The council met yesterday.

*counsel = n.: advice, guidance

*Ex. She accepted his wise counsel.

*consul = n.: advisor to another country

*The consul in Mexico is negotiating for the U.S.

*conscious – conscience

*conscious = adj.: capable of thought or perception

*Ex. – Please remain conscious in class.

*conscience = n.: to know wrong

*Ex. – The serial killer had no conscience.

argue – argument

*accept - except

*accept = vt.: to receive with consent

*except = prep.: but, with the exclusion of

*Ex. – I accept all of your suggestions except this one.

*Genius – ingenious - ingenuous

*genius = n.: exceptional intellectual & creative power

*Ex. – My brother is a genius.

*ingenious = adj.: imaginative, brilliant in creating & devising

*Ex. – His plan was ingenious.

*ingenuous = adj.: lacking worldliness & sophistication; honest

*Ex. – Her ingenuous spirit was refreshing.

*imply - infer

*A speaker IMPLIES. A listener INFERS.

*imply = v.: to suggest, to hint

*Ex. – Mrs. Lane implied that women were superior.

*infer = v.: to draw a conclusion by reasoning or from evidence.

*Ex. – I inferred that she was teasing.

*Spell these correctly!

*height – eighth

*irritable

*lonely – loneliness

*misspell – misspelling

*Negroes – heroes – tomatoes

*obstacle

*occurred – occurrence

*possession - possessed

*proceed – precede - procedure

*proceed = v.: to advance, continue

*Ex. – I think we should proceed.

*precede = v.: to be, go or come ahead of something else

*Ex. – In the procession, the faculty precedes the students.

*procedure = n.: a course of action

*Ex. – If you want to develop the film, you must follow the proper procedure.

*How do we use these words?

*businessman – businessmen

*committee

*dilemma, condemn

*disastrous

*controversy

*hypocrisy

*democracy

*decide

*divide

*devices

*criticize - criticism

*criticize = vt.: to judge harshly

*Ex. – The minister was criticized unfairly.

*criticism = n.: making discriminating judgments

*Ex. – The criticism of the novel reveals differing viewpoints.

*past - passed

*past = n.: a time gone by

*Ex. In the past, I rode motorcycles.

*past = adj.: just gone or elapsed

*Ex. – For the past several days, I have been working on common errors.

*past = prep.: beyond

*Ex. – I drove past her house.

*passed = past tense of the verb pass*Ex. – Time passed much too slowly.

*discreet - discrete

*discreet = adj.: prudent, modest

*Ex. – He made a discreet inquiry about her marital status.

*discrete = adj.: distinct, separate

*Ex. – A discrete variable is a mathematical variable that assumes only whole number values.

*marriage – marital - martial

*marital = adj.: relating to marriage

*Ex. – Joe and Sally experienced marital issues that were challenging.

*martial = adj.: relating to war or combat

*Ex. – The sergeant received awards for his martial skills.

*curriculum - career

*curriculum = n.: course of study

*Ex. – In ancient times, Latin was a required part of the curriculum.

*career = n.: chosen profession

*Ex. – Adolf Hitler would have preferred an artistic career in lieu of politics.

*eminent - imminent

*eminent = adj.: standing out above others

*Ex. – Edgar Allan Poe is known as an eminent author.

*imminent = adj.: about to occur at any moment

*Ex. – The boys hanging on the side of the cliff are in imminent danger.

*himself - themselves

*REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself

Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Ex. – Did Matthew make himself a sandwich?

The cheerleaders drove themselves to Lubbock.

*censor - censure

*censor = n.: one who examines material for the purpose of suppressing objectionable information

*Ex. – In communist countries the head of state will assume the duties as censor.

*--also vt.: to examine and eliminate

*Ex. – The President will censor all incoming mail.

*censure = n.: blame or disapproval; vt.: to criticize severely

*Ex. – The censure on abortion clinics has become very violent.

*The pro-life movement has censured abortion clinics.

*sense - since

*sense = n.: functions of sight, hearing, smell, touch, & taste; sound reasoning (i.e. common sense); also v.: detect automatically

*Ex., n. – His senses made him wary.

*Ex., n. – She used good sense.

*Ex., v. – I sensed he was upset.

*since = adv.: from then until now; also conj.

*Ex., adv. – He left home and has not been there since.

*Ex., conj. – They have not been back since they graduated.

*its – it’s

*its = possessive pronoun meaning “belonging to it”

*Ex. – The animal licked its wounds.

*it’s = contraction for “it is”

*Ex. – Since it’s such a nice day, we should go swimming.

*How do we use these?

*writer

*writing

*written

*continual - continuous

*continual = frequently repeated

*Ex. – The continual advertisements are annoying.

*continuous = uninterrupted

*Ex. – The rainfall was continuous.

*Don’t make these mistakes!

*would have – NOT would of

*could have – NOT could of

*should have – NOT could of