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WHAT IS A COMMON USAGE PROBLEM?
A COMMON USAGE PROBLEM is a mistake in how words, phrases, or sentences are structured that occurs frequently. These issues may occur when certain similar sounding words are used in place of each other, words are used incorrectly, or sentences are formatted in ways that break grammar rules.
There are several ways in which common usage problems can occur. By familiarizing yourself with their manifestations and how they can be fixed, it’s less likely that you’ll be caught off guard by these questions on your CET!
Below is an example of a Common Usage Problem:
“I except your apology.”
This sentence uses "except" – meaning to not include – instead of "accept"– meaning to consent to or receive. This changes the meaning of the sentence and is an example of incorrect grammar usage.
The verb must agree with the plurality of the sentence’s subject.
Example:
“There is many reasons to disagree about politics.”
In this sentence, reasons is plural, while is is singular. This makes the sentence feel clunky and confusing to read. This sentence makes more sense:
“There are many reasons to disagree about politics.”
Click this link to view our page specifically for subject-verb agreement.
A preposition is a word that describes the relationship between two or more words or elements.
Example:
“We are traveling in Moscow next week.”
The preposition “in” is used more appropriately in reference to location, position, time, or condition within limits or boundaries. “To” is more apt in this situation, used as follows:
“We are traveling to Moscow next week.”
Click this link to view our page specifically for prepositions.
There are several words in the English language that sound similar, are spelled, or are used similarly, but are not interchangeable.
Example:
“I asked my mother about how to write a module, and she gave me some very good advise.”
The use of the word advise – as in to give an opinion to– in place of the word advice – an opinion – results in a sentence that is grammatically incorrect because it uses a verb where a noun is needed. This sentence would make more sense in the context of the statement:
“I asked my mother about how to write a module, and she gave me some very good advice.”
Click this link to view our page specifically for vocabulary.
Modifiers
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies, or describes, a thing or an action.
Errors in modifier use typically fall under three categories: Dangling, misplaced, and squinting.
A dangling modifier occurs when the modifier describes a word that is missing from the sentence.
A misplaced modifier occurs when a modifier unintentionally describes another word in the sentence instead of its intended one.
A squinting modifier happens when the modifier could describe more than one word in the sentence.
Example:
“Students who organize their time often find they have more free time to do what they want.”
In the sentence above, the reader can't tell if the modifier often describes how students organize their time or if it describes what happens as a result of them organizing their time. This mistake can be corrected by moving the modifier:
“Students who organize their time find they often have more free time to do what they want.”
Parallelism
A faulty parallelism occurs when two or more parts of a sentence are synonymous but are not structured in grammatically similar ways.
Example:
“The company offers special college training to help hourly employees move into professional careers like engineering management, software development, service technicians, and sales trainees.”
There is a faulty comparison between occupations (engineering management, software development) and those employed to carry them out (service technicians, and sales trainees). A more appropriate structuring of the sentence would be the following:
“The company offers special college training to help hourly employees move into professional careers like engineering management, software development, technical services, and sales.”
Capitalization
Only certain words within a sentence (ex. First word, “I”, proper nouns) need to be capitalized.
Example:
“The map says we should head North for 30 more miles.”
When talking about general directions, it is unnecessary to capitalize the direction in question (north, south, east, west). This is only necessary in the context of geographic names (ex. West Coast). Instead, the sentence should be written like this:
“The map says we should head north for 30 more miles.”
Punctuation
When punctuation marks are used incorrectly in a sentence or series of sentences, this may change the meaning of the statement or make it nonsensical.
Example:
“The detective raised an important question: it was a question that no one else thought to ask.”
The use of a colon in place of semicolon in this sentence results in both a punctuation error and a capitalization error. Because the statement is connecting two related sentences, it’s more appropriate to use a semicolon in this context.
“The detective raised an important question; it was a question that no one else thought to ask.”
Pronoun Reference
This error occurs when the noun being referred to by a pronoun is unclear or confusing.
Example:
“If fans don’t buy peanuts, pack them away for the next game.”
In this sentence, the word “them” could refer to either the peanuts or the fans. Instead, the sentence should be phrased like this:
“If fans don’t buy all the peanuts, the peanuts can be packed away for the next game.”
Double Negatives
When two negatives are used in one sentence, they cancel each other out.
Example:
“She can’t go nowhere with that broken leg.”
This sentence implies that the person with the broken leg can go places, as can’t and nowhere negate each other’s meanings. The following sentence makes more sense:
“She can’t go anywhere with that broken leg.”
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