Most Common Mistakes in English: An English Learner’s Guide 9781502304636

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Most Common

Mistakes in English  An English learner’s learner’s guide by

 Jakub Marian First Edition, September 2014 The PDF version has no associated ISBN 

 Author and Publisher:  Jakub Marian, Seanstra!e "#$, "#$, #%&#', Berlin, (er)any Cover picture of ‘Apples and Oranges’ by © freshidea, licensed from fotoliacom Overall front cover design © !akub Marian

Before you start reading  Y ou are reading the "#$ version of this book %f you happen to have found this book freely available on the %nternet &from an illegal source', please consider buying a legal copy &there is a "#$, (indle, and "aperback edition' )hich is also the only one guaranteed to be up to date *ou can +nd links to all the versions at http://jakubmarian.om/en!"ish#mistakes/  *ou may be also interested in my book about the most common pronuniation mistakes in English, )hich you can +nd at http://jakubmarian.om/pronuniation/ %f you bought this book, you are allo)ed to make as many &electronic or physical' copies as you )ish and distribute these to all members of  your household *ou are not allo)ed to make the book available publicly if you )ish to send it to someone not )ithin your household, simply buy another paper or electronic copy %f you +nd any error in the book, please send an email )ith a description of the error to errors$jakubmarian.om

Table of Contents Fore%ord .....................................................................................

9

&ntrodution ............................................................................. 10 Mistakes %ith arti"es, nouns, and pronouns ................

11

.ouns )ith identical singular and plural forms  11 %rregular plural patterns  13 /ingular nouns ending in ‘s’  14 .ouns that only e0ist in the plural  16  Are things he, she, or it1  18 2nited /tates is3are  19 /everal thousand&s' of  20 #ot, period, full stop, point  21  A couple &of'  22 %n3on &the' %3internet  23 /ub&s'tract  24  *ou and %3me  25  All3anything3everything but  26 %nformation&s' is3are  27 .ames of numbers above 4555  28 Collective nouns  29  A couple of  are3is  30 "eople are3is  31  A lot of 6 are3is  32 Many, much, a lot of, and lots of  33 %s a doctor he or she1  35 Each other’s or each others’  37 Matter37uestion of time  37 %n &the' case of  38 8on or tonne  39 On &the' one hand  39

 Advice&s' is3are  40 Money is3are  40 8he person )ho3that   41 Economics or economy  42 45 dollars is3are  42

Mistakes %ith 'erbs and tenses ..........................................

44

 9ord order in subordinate clauses  44 "resent perfect )ith specific time  45  Aren’t %, amn’t %  47 2se to do  48 :aven’t3#on’t have  49 ;end or borro)  50