Common mistakes Part 1 「よくある間違いパート1」

※Simon先生のシリーズ前回の記事「Simon先生の英語ブログで学ぶ使える英語表現ーLocked out」を見逃した方はこちらからどうぞ！

今回は、英語のよくある間違いをピックアップしてご紹介します。

Hello, this is Simon.

Over the past couple of years, I have seen certain mistakes crop up again and again.

So, I thought I would compile them. Below are some sentences, each containing a common mistake.

See if you can spot all of them.

①”I leave home at 7:00 and then I back home at 10:00.”

②”Many people were died.”

③”Japanese government proposed a new tax law.”

④“At the shop, one stuff in particular was very helpful.

⑤“He died by a stroke.”

⑥”I’ve never been to abroad.”

⑦“I read an article that a person was attacked on the train while commuting to work.”

いかがでしたか？わかりましたか？

では、間違い箇所をしっかり見ていきましょう！

①”I leave home at 7:00 and then I **back** home at 10:00.”

“Back” is an adverb, which means to return. Since it is an adverb, it should be used with a verb.

In the case of this expression, the verb “go” can be used

(I leave home at 7:00 and then I go back home at 10:00.)

This means you leave for home at 10:00.

If you want to say you arrive home at 10:00, you can use the verb “get”

(I leave home at 7:00 and then I get back home at 10:00.)

***Just to be clear. There is a verb form of “back”, but it has a different meaning, which is to reverse or reverse something

(e.g. I backed into my garage./I backed my car into my garage.)

②”Many people **were died**.”

This is a passive voice expression. However, “die” is an intransitive verb, and intransitive verbs can’t be used in passive voice. The active voice can be used

(Many people died.)

The other option is to use a transitive verb like “kill”. Transitive verbs have an object, so they can be used in passive voice

(Many people were killed.)

For example, “The virus killed many people.” >> “Many people were killed by the virus.)

③”**Japanese government** proposed a new tax law.”

This is a specific government (the government of Japan), so the article “the” should be used to indicate this:

“The Japanese government proposed a new tax law.”

However, if noun like “Japanese government” is used to modify another, then the article “the” isn’t necessary

(e.g. According to Japanese government regulations…)

④“**One stuff** in particular was very helpful.”

There are actually a couple of mistakes here. The correct spelling is “staff”, which means the people that work at a place. It is commonly misspelled as “stuff”, which is an uncountable noun, meaning “objects or things”.

The noun “Staff” is also uncountable, and indicates a group of people, so we can’t say “one staff”. In that case, we use the noun “member” to make it countable

(One staff member in particular was very helpful.)

⑤“He died **by** a stroke.”

The preposition “by” can be used to indicate a cause of death, but the use is limited

(e.g. He died by electrocution.)

For most causes we use “from” or a phrase like “because of”

(He died from a stroke./He died because of a stroke.)

⑥”I’ve never been **to** abroad.”

“Abroad” is an adverb, not a noun. Being an adverb the preposition “to” isn’t needed before it

(e.g. I went there/home/abroad. // I went to my house/school/Thailand/another country.)

⑦“I read an article **that** a person was attacked on the train while commuting to work.”

The relative pronoun “that” is used to connect a restrictive clause. These clauses are typically dependent clauses.

However, “a person was attacked on the train (while commuting to work)” is an independent clause (a clause that can be written as a standalone sentence).

In this case the relative pronoun phrase ”in which” can be used

(I read an article. + In this article a person was attacked on the train. = I read an article in which a person was attacked on the train.)

The temperature has dropped dramatically in recent days. Please keep warm and take care of yourself!

See you next month!

フルーツフルイングリッシュで英語表現の楽しさ感じてください 。初めての方には英作文添削チケット2回分をプレゼント。
「無料英語テスト800問（解説付）」メルマガも大人気。今すぐチェック！

Simon

Hello! My name is Simon.

I am from New Zealand, and have been living and teaching English in Japan since 1999.

My hobbies include movies, playing the guitar, gardening and hiking.