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Terrible grammar and error-riddled speech is frequently a problem for young adults.
Poor English makes you sound unprofessional and can lead to laughs at your expense! If you need to touch up on your English, or just want a few giggles, read on! Continuing our user-driven series on common English bloopers, let's highlight a few mistakes overhead by Rediff.com users. Shilpa Archaya sent several bloopers she encounters frequently. ~ Please return my book back. ~ Could you repeat that last line again? In both cases, the final word is redundant. When you return a book, you give it back to the owner. When you repeat a line, you're saying it again. They should read: ~ Please return my book. ~ Could you repeat that last line? Shilpa also noted the following common mistake. ~ I, my sister and Deepa went to the mall 'I' and 'me' are always placed at the end of a list of names/ pronouns. The correct usage is: ~ My sister, Deepa and I went to the mall. SM Hussein from Andhra Pradesh notes the prevalence of other redundancies: ~ The fish aquarium is very large. ~ The dance ballet was lovely. In both cases, the descriptive word is unnecessary. An aquarium houses fish and a ballet is always a dance! The correct usage is simply: ~ The aquarium is very large. ~ The ballet was lovely. Another mistake Hussein hears frequently: ~ I could not able to do it, sir. In this case, either able should be removed or could should be replaced with was. Here are the two correct possibilities: ~ I could not do it, sir. ~ I was not able to do it, sir. DON'T MISS Common English goof-ups We thank our readers for the witty emails detailing common English bloopers they've come across! Keep them coming in, and we'll keep publishing. This is the third in a series of articles featuring your responses. If you'd like to share common bloopers you come across when people speak/ write in English, do mail your list of common bloopers, along with their correct alternative to englishbloopers@rediffmail.com -- we'll highlight them right here as a helpful guide to those trying to improve their English. Also make sure you include your FULL NAME, AGE, OCCUPATION and the CITY you are based in. |
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