Description
Book SynopsisThe ESL edition of Common Errors in English offers a comprehensive survey of the sorts of difficulties second language learners most often experience with English—and provides real help to students in overcoming them. The body of the book is organized according to grammatical categories, covering such topics as Verb Tense difficulties; Word Order Problems; Negation; Gerunds and Direct Objects; Singular and Plural Difficulties; and Direct and Indirect Speech. Included as well is a comprehensive section on usage and meaning, and a list of words commonly misspelled.
The authors take care to avoid the harshly prescriptive; the book is informed throughout by a sympathetic understanding both of the difficulties that face every ESL student and of the particular problems faced by individuals from different linguistic backgrounds as they learn the peculiarities of English grammar and usage. The book includes a generous selection of exercises informed by these principles, and an accompanying answer key.
Common Errors in English: ESL Edition will be an invaluable reference text for second language learners at a wide variety of levels.
Trade Review“A practical, well-organized and straightforward guide. This book is a must for every ESL teacher and every ESL student.” — Mark Angerilli, ESL Teacher Training Program, University of British Columbia.
“An excellent easy-to-use reference guide for all students. Especially helpful are the exercises which address specific problems of students who speak certain specific foreign languages.” — Sister Marie Lorraine Bruno, Immaculata College
Table of ContentsPreface
Verbs
- Tenses
Active and Passive
Negatives
Commands
Questions
Dangling Constructives
Irregular Verbs
Ommision of Verbs
Indirect Speech
Nouns
- Gender
Articles
Plurals
Pronouns
Other Parts of Speech
- Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions
Phrasal Verbs
Conjunctions
Negation
Word Order
Usage and Meaning
- Homonyms
Other Easily Confused Words
Confusing Adjectives
Interchangeable Adjectives
Problems with Usage
Affixes
Two words or one?
Infinitives, Gerunds, and Direct Objects
Capitalization
Spelling
Punctuation
- The Period
The Comma
The Question Mark
The Exclamation Mark
The Semi-Colon
The Colon
The Dash
Parentheses
The Apostrophe
Specific Language Difficulties
- The Problems of English Problems of specific languages and language groups
Language and Gender
Exercises
- Part I: Exercises on specific grammatical pointsPart II: General Diagnostic and Language Specific Exercises
Answer Key to Exercises
