English Error Correction Exercise(Advanced):

Correct the mistakes in the following sentences.

1) She recommended me that I take a few days off from work.
2) I tried to explain him the problem, but he had difficulty understanding me.
3) I dont know why you didnt go. If I were you, I should have gone.
4) Kate claims that if she got an MBA, she might have been considered for the position.
5) Kevin says he stopped to travel internationally because of his family.
6) The interview was broadcasted live over the internet.
7) At first I studied engineering in college, but I ended getting a marketing degree.
8) They had managed a few crisises in the past, so they were able to handle this situation fairly well.
9) If you wouldve told me, I would have given you my honest advice.
10) The participants discussed it between themselves.
11) Shes trying to concentrate herself on finishing her degree.
12)Unfortunately, the species has gotten extinct do to human activity.
13) Im a little afraid to do this by my own.
14) He told me that he had never been in that restaurant before.
15) Never before I had seen something quite like that.

Answers and Explanations

1) She recommended me that I take a few days off from work.
We need to use the subjunctive in this example.The subjunctive form is the infinitive without to
(go, eat, do, run, etc.)
Here are some common expressions followed by the subjunctive:
recommend that
insist that
demand that
request that
asked that
suggest that
Students often make mistakes with the subjunctive when talking about the past.
Correct: They demanded that we lower the price.
Incorrect: They demanded us that we lower the price.
Incorrect: They demanded that we lowered the price.
Correct: My boss requested that I use my vacation days before the end of the year.
Incorrect: My boss requested me that I use my vacation days before the end of the year.
Incorrect: My boss requested that I used my vacation days before the end of the year.

2) I tried to explain him the problem the problem to him, but he had difficulty understanding
me.
Some verbs can be followed by the indirect object and then the direct object. For example, we can
say I gave John the book. John is the indirect object and book is the direct object. However, we
cant do this with all verbs. Recommend, explain, and describe are three common verbs that take
the following form:
recommend/explain/describe + WHAT + TO WHOM
Correct: We explained the situation to the client.
Incorrect: We explained the client the situation.
Correct: Could you describe the problem to our IT manager?
Incorrect: Could you describe our IT manager the problem?

3) I dont know why you didnt go. If I were you, I should would have gone.
To talk about a hypothetical past, we can use would/might/could + have + participle. We do not use
should to talk about a hypothetical past. We use should to criticize past actions or express regret.

4) Kate claims that if she got had gotten an MBA, she might have been considered for the
position.
To talk about a hypothetical past, we need to use the past perfect in the if clause.
Correct: What would you have said if you had been there?
Incorrect: What would you have said if you were there?

5) Kevin says he stopped to travel travelling internationally because of his family.

We can use the verb stop with both the gerund and the infinitive. When we use stop with the
gerund, it means that someone was doing something and then stopped.
Correct: Kevin stopped working at 6 PM last night. (Kevin was working until 6 PM. After 6 PM, he
wasnt working anymore.)
Incorrect: Kevin stopped to work at 6 PM last night.
When we use stop with the infinitive, it means that we stopped doing something in order to start
doing something else.
Correct: At 10 AM, Lucy and Fernando always stop to take a coffee break. (Lucy and Fernando
work until 10 and then stop working in order to take a coffee break)
Incorrect: At 10 AM, Lucy and Fernando always stop taking a coffee break.

6) The interview was broadcasted broadcast live over the internet.

Broadcast is an irregular verbs. It doesnt change in the simple past and participle form, just like
the verbs let, bet, set, put, cut, and shut.

7) At first I studied engineering in college, but I ended up getting a marketing degree.

We use end up instead of end to talk about something that eventually happened after other things
happened first.
Correct: We couldnt decide on where to go for dinner, so we ended up eating at home.
Incorrect: We couldnt decide on where to go for dinner, so we ended eating at home.

8) They had managed a few crisises crises in the past, so they were able to handle this
situation fairly well.
Many words that end in is have irregular plural forms that end with es. The plural forms rhyme
with the word cheese.
crisis crises (plural)
diagnosis diagnoses (plural)
hypothesis hypotheses (plural)
analysis analyses (plural)

9) If you wouldve had told me, I would have given you my honest advice.
To talk about a hypothetical past, the if clauses takes the past perfect. We use would/might/could +
have + participle in the other clause.
Correct: What would you have done if you had been there?
Incorrect: What would you have done if you would have been there?
Correct: If I had known the weather was going to be so bad, I might have chosen a different day for
the party.
Incorrect: If I would have known the weather was going to be so bad, I might have chosen a
different day for the party.

10) The participants discussed it between among themselves.

We need to use among here because we are talking about more than two things that are not distinct
items.

11) Shes trying to concentrate herself on finishing her degree.

We dont use reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, etc.) after the verb concentrate.
Correct: We need to concentrate on the task at hand.
Incorrect: We need to concentrate ourselves on the task at hand.

12) Unfortunately, the species has gottenb ecome extinct do to human activity.
We can often use get to communicate that something has changed or transformed (get angry, get
depressed, get scared, get excited, etc.). However, we cant always use get (get famous, get
available, for example) .

13) Im a little afraid to do this by on my own. (or by myself)

We have the expressions by myself and on my own. By my own does not exist.

14) He told me that he had never been in to that restaurant before.

We use to not in after been to communicate places that we have visited (countries, cities, towns,
restaurants, stores, etc.). This is a mistake even advanced students make. Note: If we are talking
about a specific room, we would use in.
Correct: Have you been to Italy?
Incorrect: Have you been in Italy?
Correct: I cant believe youve lived in Paris for 10 years but havent been to the Louvre.
Incorrect: I cant believe youve lived in Paris for 10 years but havent been in the Louvre.
Correct: Ive been to his house, but Ive never been in the basement. (specific room = in)
Incorrect: Ive been to his house, but Ive never been to the basement.

15) Never before I had had I seen something quite like that.
We use subject-verb inversion when we start a sentence with a negative adverb (never, hardly,
seldom, etc.).