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Can You Catch These Native
Speaker Mistakes? |
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
This week, we will learn a few English words and phrases
that are commonly misused in English.
Even well-educated native English speakers make the
mistakes you will read and hear about today, including
reporters and English teachers!
After today’s program, you can have fun finding these
mistakes when other people use them.
Let’s start with a very common written mistake that
native English speakers make.
"could of" or could’ve
If you spend time on social media, such as Facebook, you
may see that native English speakers often use the word
of after the words could, would or should. For example,
in the sentence:
I could of gone to New York last weekend.
However, the word of is a preposition. The sentence
needs a verb instead. The confusion is caused by the
shortened, or abbreviated, version of “could have.” It
takes an apostrophe followed by the letters ve. The
spelling then is could've.
The preposition of sounds just like the shortened
version of the verb have, which is pronounced ’ve.
In speaking, this is not a problem, since both phrases
sound the same.
In writing, an easy way to remember the correct form is
that could, would and should are helping verbs. So
another verb must always follow them.
In the example, “I could’ve gone to New York last
weekend,” have and gone are forms of verbs. Of is a
preposition and would never appear after a helping verb.
Every day or Everyday
Another writing error happens every day in America.
Native English speakers often misspell “every day” They
will write it as one word instead of two.
When every and day are put together as one word, they
become an adjective that means “common” or “used or seen
each day.” When you use this adjective, you must usually
put it before a noun. For example, you can say:
He didn’t let the problems of everyday life worry him.
But, if you wanted to tell someone that something
happens each day, you must separate the words every and
day in writing. For example, you could write:
I practice my grammar every day.
When every and day are separate words, they are an
adverb phrase that describes when, or how often,
something happens.
So, how can you easily remember which one to use? Think
of the title Everyday Grammar. Remember, if you are
writing the single word everyday, it is an adjective
that most often comes before a noun. But the two words
every and day express how often something happens. And
they are an adverb phrase, and must modify a verb.
The other mistakes we are looking at today can happen in
either speech or writing.
Different than or different from
Many native English speakers use the phrase different
than to show contrast between things or people. For
example:
Children are different than adults.
Technically, that is incorrect. Standard English usage
requires from instead of than, in this case. The correct
sentence would be:
Children are different from adults.
But grammar experts do not always agree. Some of them
say the phrase different than is acceptable. It has
existed for centuries, they argue, and famous writers
have used it in their works. For instance, 19th century
writer F. Scott Fitzgerald used different than in his
short story “The Rich Boy.” Listen:
Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different than
you and me.
Some grammar experts say that both than and from are
acceptable. However, no one objects to from, so it would
be your safest choice, especially in academic writing.
“15 items or less”
The less grammar you understand, the more mistakes you
probably will make. And the fewer grammar mistakes you
make, the better.
Which brings us to another common grammar mistake: the
use and misuse of fewer and less. Fewer is used with
countable nouns; Less, with non-countable.
This mistake is found at food stores throughout the U.S.
where signs at checkout lines sometimes read “15 items
or less.” These lines are for people who are not buying
very much.
But the phrase uses the adjective less to describe
items, a countable noun. So less is wrong; the correct
adjective is fewer.
The word fewer must be used with count nouns, like
items, animals, cars, or dresses. Less is used with
non-count nouns, such as money, sand, love, or water.
(See our Everyday Grammar episode on Understanding
Non-count Nouns)
So how can you remember whether to use less or fewer?
One easy way to remember is to ask yourself, "Can I
count this thing on a few fingers?" If the answer is
"yes," use the word fewer.
We will be back next week with another Everyday Grammar.
And remember: if you understand how to use the words
discussed today, you are different from many English
speakers!
I’m John Russell. And I’m Jill Robbins.
Editor's note: F. Scott Fitzgerald is a 20th century
writer (not 19th century). We regret the mistake.
Alice Bryant wrote this story for Everyday Grammar. Caty
Weaver was the editor. |
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