THE TWENTY MOST COMMON LANGUAGE USAGE ERRORS Lie and Lay 1. The verb to lay means to place or put. The verb to lie means to recline or to lie down or to be in a horizontal position. EXAMPLES: Lay the covers carefully on the bed. The man felt ill and needed to lie down. Sit and Set 2. The verb to sit means to rest or take a sitting position. The verb to set means to put or place something in a location. EXAMPLES: The lion sat in the grass waiting for a meal. Set the book on that table. Rise and Raise 3. The verb rise means to go or move to a higher position. The verb raise means to lift or move something to a higher position. EXAMPLES: I want to rise to be president of this company. Raise the shades so we can let in the light. To, Too, and Two 4. To is a preposition and is the first word in many prepositional phrases. It also comes before a verb and makes an infinitive. Too is a word that means also or in addition. Two is only the number. EXAMPLES: It s and Its We went to the store to get supplies. Joe wants a Christmas present too. Two dollars was more than it was worth. 5. It s is a contraction and can only mean it is. Its is possessive and means belonging to it. Remember that there is no such word as its. EXAMPLES: When it s time, we will leave. The cat scratched its claws on the screen Than and then 6. Than is always used to compare, and then refers to time or a conclusion. EXAMPLES: My brother had more cavities than I do. If the chemicals melt, then the experiment is complete. 2
There, They re, and Their 7. There usually refers to a place or is an introductory word. Their implies possession or ownership of something. They re has only one meaning they are. EXAMPLES: Go over there and sit down. There is no good reason for your behavior. Their plane is late. They re going to Niagara Falls today. Farther and Further 8. Farther is used to indicate distance or something that is measurable. Further indicates something additional or means to a greater degree. EXAMPLES: Lisa ran farther than she had ever run before. We need to look into the arrest further. Past and Passed 9. Passed is only a verb, meaning that something has happened, occurred, or went by. Past is a noun and only refers to a time before the present. EXAMPLES: Only one car passed us on the road. In the past, it didn t matter if you went to college. Your and You re 10 You re is a contraction and has only one meaning: You are. Your is possessive and means belonging to you. EXAMPLES: You re waiting for the bus, aren t you. I ll help you find your wallet. All Right and Alright 11. Alright is simply incorrect. Use All right in all cases. EXAMPLE: Everything turned out all right. All ready and Already 12. All ready means completely ready or prepared. Already means before or by this time. EXAMPLES: Are you finally all ready to go to the dance? We had already collected our equipment Between and Among 13. Use between when comparing two things, but use among if there are more than two. EXAMPLES: I could not decide between the two gifts for my friend. Many famous celebrities were among the people in the audience. 3
Affect and Effect 14. Affect means to influence and is usually a verb. Effect means the result and is usually a noun. EXAMPLES: The strong storm will affect ships for a few weeks. Computers have had the effect of speeding up production. Accept and Except 15. Accept is a verb and means to receive or to admit. Except is a preposition and means to exclude or to take or leave out. EXAMPLES: We just had to accept the excuse about the homework. Except for the practices, I love football. Who s and Whose 16. Who s is a contraction and can only mean who is or who was. Whose is a possessive and means belonging to. EXAMPLES: Who s hiding in the basement? Whose book did you take? Of and Have 17. Of is only a preposition and should not be connected with a verb. Have is a verb. EXAMPLES: This is my favorite book of poetry. I could have won first prize in the contest. Everyday and Every day 18. Everyday is an adjective and means ordinary or usual. Every day means every single day. EXAMPLES: My wife never serves everyday meals to company. We read the newspaper every day. Principal and Principle 19. Principle refers to ethics, behavior, and rules. It also means most important or first. Principal is the person in charge of a school. EXAMPLES: One principle people need to follow is honesty. The principle ingredient in the soda is sugar. Our principal closed the school when the air conditioner broke. Weather and Whether 20. Weather refers to climate, temperature, and things related to that. Whether is a conjunction and implies a choice or alternatives. EXAMPLES: The weather looks like it will rain soon. Whether I go or not depends on how much it costs. 4
THE TWENTY MOST COMMON LANGUAGE USAGE ERRORS Many of the most common mistakes in writing center around only a few errors, such as confusing lie and lay, their, there, and they re, to, too, and two, past and passed, etc. Correct the errors in the following sentences. Some sentences are correct as written, and some have more than one mistake. 1. Rise up your head and pay attention! 2. Billy s paper had to many mistakes in it. 3. Its time too go. 4. Set all the tests on my desk, please. 5. Explain this further to me, please. 6. Their books are ruined, and its my fault. 7. She certainly is more prepared then I am. 8. The flag was raised to half-mast to honor the death of the Governor. 9. Setting in the pasture, we could watch the eclipse. 10. Their ready for the band to come in now. 11. We traveled farther that day than we had the day before. 12. The dog somehow lost it s way home. 13. Samantha wants to go, too. 14. Mix up the ingredients too much, and your sure to ruin the cake. 15. It is alright if you miss practice. 16. Everyone was present accept the guest of honor. 17. The little boy couldn t choose between a dog, a cat, or a bird for a pet. 18. How will the weather effect the landing? 5
19. Further down the road, you ll come to a firehouse. 20. Youre car has just been cleaned and polished. 21. I had seen all the movies except for one. 22. What effect will using premium gas have on you re engine? 23. I accept all people as equals. 24. You made the same mistake too times. 25. You re a fine actor, but you need to memorize your lines better. 26. Who s money is this? 27. There is enough food for everyone. 28. Its not quite ready, yet. 29. Their were less pencils than I had thought there where. 30. I should of paid the bill on time. 31. We had misplaced their applications. 32. I have room in my schedule everyday. 33. The baby won t except the bottle any more. 34. What is the affect of starvation on the brain? 35. You re principals and ethics are much different from mine. 36. I believe that it s time to leave. 37. Let s go their as soon as possible. 38. The bird broke its claw on the branch. 39. Every day problems don t bother me; just the difficult ones do. 40. Our school has finally hired a new principal. 6
41. Its the correct answer, isn t it? 42. I might of left my homework at school. 43. Lay down when you feel sleepy. 44. I can kick the ball further than you can. 45. Their s no reason too feel that you have not past the course. 46. Who s idea was it to scare the old man? 47. They lost they re way in the maze. 48. Are you already? 49. The war will certainly effect the election. 50. Youre past all ways looks better then you re present. 7
THE TWENTY MOST COMMON LANGUAGE USAGE ERRORS ANSWER KEY Some sentences may be rewritten in a different manner to correct the mistake rather than the examples shown. We have italicized the correction in each sentence. 1. Raise up your head and pay attention! 2. Billy s paper had too many mistakes in it. 3. It s time to go. 4. Correct. Set all the tests on my desk, please. 5. Correct. Explain this further to me, please. 6. Their books are ruined, and it s my fault. 7. She certainly is more prepared than I am. 8. Correct. The flag was raised to half-mast to honor the death of the Governor. 9. Sitting in the pasture, we could watch the eclipse. 10. They re ready for the band to come in now. 11. Correct. We traveled farther that day than we had the day before. 12. The dog somehow lost its way home. 13. Correct. Samantha wants to go, too. 14. Mix up the ingredients too much, and you re sure to ruin the cake. 15. It is all right if you miss practice. 16. Everyone was present except the guest of honor. 17. The little boy couldn t choose among a dog, a cat, or a bird for a pet. 18. How will the weather affect the landing? 19. Farther down the road, you ll come to a firehouse. 20. Your car has just been cleaned and polished. 21. Correct. I had seen all the movies except for one. 22. What effect will using premium gas have on your engine? 23. Correct. I accept all people as equals. 24. You made the same mistake two times 25. You re a fine actor, but you need to memorize your lines better. 26. Whose money is this? 27. Correct. There is enough food for everyone. 28. It s not quite ready, yet. 29. There were fewer pencils than I had thought there were. 30. I should have paid the bill on time. 31. Correct. We had misplaced their applications. 32. I have room in my schedule every day. 33. The baby won t accept the bottle any more. 34. What is the effect of starvation on the brain? 35. Your principles and ethics are much different from mine. 36. Correct. I believe that it s time to leave. 8
37. Let s go there as soon as possible. 38. The bird broke its claw on the branch. 39. Everyday problems don t bother me; just the difficult ones do. 40. Correct. Our school has finally hired a new principal. 41. It s the correct answer, isn t it? 42. I might have left my homework at school. 43. Lie down when you feel sleepy. 44. I can kick the ball farther than you can. 45. There s no reason to feel that you have not passed the course. 46. Whose idea was it to scare the old man? 47. They lost their way in the maze. 48. Are you all ready? 49. The war will certainly affect the election. 50. You re past always looks better than your present. 9