"It"
as empty subject
Incorrect : When
did rain last?
Correct : When did it rain last?
Incorrect : Now is very hot here.
Correct : It is very hot here now.
Note: An impersonal
verb like "rain" and "be" has no real subject. Its subject is, represented by
a meaningless or empty word like "it", This empty subject cannot be
omitted.
Repetition of the subject
Incorrect : When
he saw the teacher, stood up.
Correct : When
he saw the teacher, he stood up.
Note: When a complex
sentence begins with clause, the
personal pronoun as the subject of principal clause cannot be omitted. But the may be omitted. For example: sentence He saw
the teacher and stood up.
Transitive verb + object
Incorrect : I
asked her for some sugar, but she did not have.
Correct : I asked
her for some sugar, but she did not have any.
Note: Every transitive
verb must have an expressed object. In the correct sentence above,
"have" is a transitive verb and "any" is its object.
Ditransitive
verb + two objects
Incorrect : I asked
her for sugar, and she gave me.
Correct : I asked her for sugar, and she gave me some.
Note: Ditransitive
verbs like "give", "bring' "send" "tell", "buy" and
"show" must have two expressed objects - one indirect and the other
direct. In the correct sentence above, "me" is the indirect object of
the verb "gave" and "some" is its direct object The direct
object cannot be omitted.
Enjoy
oneself
Incorrect: He
always enjoys on holiday
Correct: He
always enjoys himself on holiday.
Or,
He always enjoys his
holiday.
In British English
"enjoy" is always a transitive verb followed by a noun, or a pronoun
(often reflexive), or a gerund. You can say:
He enjoys going to the
cinema.
It cannot be followed
by a prepositional or adverbial phrase. But in American informal speech the
expression "Enjoy!" is intransitive and it actually means "Enjoy
yourself' or "Have a nice time,"
Adjective +
Noun
Incorrect: The unfortunate was killed in the accident.
Correct: The unfortunate
man was killed in the accident.
Note: The noun coming
normally after an adjective cannot be left out. But when the noun after an
adjective is plural, it can sometimes be omitted. For example: The rich are not
always happy. Only the brave deserve the fair. In these examples, "the
rich" means "the rich people" and "the brave" means
"the brave people". The noun "people" is thus often
omitted.
A quarter
Incorrect : It's quarter past ten.
Correct
: It's a quarter past ten.
0 Comments