CORRECTION OF ERRORS

The task of correcting various types of errors in text, such as spelling, punctuation,
grammatical, and word choice errors, is known as grammatical error correction (GEC). The
most common form of GEC is a sentence correction task.

Steps in the identification of errors:

i) Carefully read the sentences provided.

ii) Identify and mark the errors in the sentences.

iii) Think about the correct alternative for the mistake.

iv) Write the correct word instead of the error.

v) Check and identify the part of the speech.

vi) Identify the type of sentence.

vii) Check the punctuation.

viii) Identify the pronouns.

ix) Identify the singularity and plurality.

1. Adjective form error

INCORRECT: When I heard the news, I was very anger.

CORRECT: When I heard the news, I was very angry.

RULE: Use the adjective form not the noun form in this context.
2. Adverb error

INCORRECT: I trust more my parents than my friends.

CORRECT: I trust my parents more than my friends.

RULE: The adverb is in the wrong place. Do not separate more from than.

3. Article and plural noun error

INCORRECT: My sister has a children.

CORRECT: My sister has a child.

RULE: Don’t use indefinite articles with plural words.

4. Article and uncountable noun mistakes

INCORRECT: I have a brown skin.

CORRECT: I have brown skin.

RULE: Don’t use an article with uncountable nouns like “skin”.

INCORRECT: Every day, I am waking up late.

CORRECT: Every day, I wake up late.

RULE: Use the Present Simple, not the Present Progressive, for normal routines.

****INCORRECT: He is deserving to win the award.

CORRECT: He deserves to win the award.

RULE: Use the simple aspect form of “deserving” in this context. When expressing a fact,
these stative verbs tend not to use the progressive aspect: agree, appear, believe, belong,
concern, consist, contain, deny, depend, deserve, disagree, dislike, doubt, fit, hat, hear,
imagine, impress, include, involve, know, like, love, matter, mean, mind, need, own, pleas,
prefer, promise, realize, recognize, remember, see, seem, smell, sound, suppose, surprise,
taste, think, understand, want, wish.

6. Auxiliary error

INCORRECT: We don’t will have an exam next Tuesday.

CORRECT: We won’t have an exam next Tuesday.

7. Capitalization error

INCORRECT: I work at DUET jail as a prison guard.

CORRECT: I work at DUET Jail as a prison guard.

RULE: Capitalize every lexical word in the name of an institution. Don’t capitalize prepositions
and conjunctions.

8. Contraction error

INCORRECT: That’s who I’m.

CORRECT: That’s who I am.

RULE: Do not end a sentence with a pronoun + verb contraction.

****INCORRECT: I did’nt know the answer.

CORRECT: I didn’t know the answer.

RULE: The apostrophe points to what is missing. In this case, it is the “o” in “not.”
Revise: didn’t
9. Conditional error

INCORRECT: If I will get a better job, I will buy a car.

CORRECT: If I get a better job, I will buy a car.

RULE: Do not put “will” in “If” clauses. Use the Present Simple instead.

****INCORRECT: Wouldn’t it be great if there is a Google grammar checker?

CORRECT: Wouldn’t it be great if there were a Google grammar checker?

RULE: In a second conditional structure, we put a past form in the if-clause.

10. Double negative error

INCORRECT: I made her cookies but she didn’t eat none.

CORRECT: I made her cookies but she didn’t eat any.

RULE: This is called a double-negative error since “didn’t” and “none” are both negative. Use
“any” instead of “none.”
***INCORRECT: In my opinion, video games don’t hurt nobody.

CORRECT: In my opinion, video games don’t hurt anybody.

RULE: This is called a double-negative error since “didn’t” and “nobody” are both negative.
Use “anybody” instead of “nobody.”

11. Double subject error

INCORRECT: Me, I like to dance.

CORRECT: I like to dance.

RULE: Start your sentence with “I” not “me, I.”

****INCORRECT: What I’m sure about it’s that I was the first one to arrive.

CORRECT: What I’m sure about is that I was the first one to arrive.

RULE: The pronoun “it” in this sentence is unnecessary since you already have a subject,
“What I’m sure about.”

12. Future tense error

INCORRECT: In the future, we go on a trip to Africa.

RULE: Don’t forget the auxiliary verb “will” for future events. You can, however, use the
Simple Present for future scheduled events. Here is an example: My train leaves at 10:20.

****INCORRECT: I gonna be rich one day.

CORRECT: I am going to be rich one day.

role : The word gonna is slang. Make sure you develop full command of am/is/are going to for
contexts where slang would be considered inappropriate.

****INCORRECT: When I will arrive, I will give you the money I owe you.

CORRECT: When I arrive, I will give you the money I owe you.

RULE: Do not use “will” in clauses that begin with as soon as, the moment, before, after, once,
if, or when. These time clauses already have a future meaning. Use the Present Simple instead.

13. Idiomatic expression error

INCORRECT: They jumped on the occasion.

CORRECT: They jumped at the chance.

****INCORRECT: This singer is very known.

CORRECT: This singer is well-known.

RULE: This is a rather unnatural phrase in English.

RULE 14

■The noun "wages, tidings, innings, news, sports, measles, statistics, mathematics, politics,
civics, ethics etc" are followed by singular verbs and helping verbs.

Example

• The news are false. (Incorrect)

• The news is false. (correct)

RULE 15

■As a general rule, we do not make the plural of certain noun such as scenery, poor, cattle,
furniture, fish, hair, sheep, etc.

Example
•The sceneries of Kashmir are very beautiful. (Incorrect)

•The scenery of Kashmir is beautiful. (correct)

RULE 16

■After certain words " be, is, am, are, was, were, than "we use subjective case of pronoun.
Subjective case:(I, we, you, they, he, she, it)

Example

•Ail is taller than me. (Incorrect)

•Ail is taller than I. (Correct)

RULE 17

■we never use apostrophes" ' " with the following possessive pronoun. Possessive pronoun
(ours, yours, hers, theirs)

Example

•I am obediently your's (incorrect)

•I am obediently yours. (correct)

RULE 18

■Certain words "avail, absent, avenge, enjoy etc" are followed by self-form of pronoun if there
is no object afterword.
Example

•I shall avail of this opportunity. (Incorrect)

•I shall avail myself of this opportunity. (Correct)

19. Infinitive error

INCORRECT: I would like to thanks all my friends for their help.

CORRECT: I would like to thank all my friends for their help.

RULE: Use the base form of the verb with “to”.

****INCORRECT: We were supposed to went early, but we woke up late.

CORRECT: We were supposed to go early, but we woke up late.

RULE: Use the base form of the verb with “to”. See more conjugations of “to go” here.

19. Missing article

INCORRECT: I am accountant.
CORRECT: I am an accountant.

RULE: Use an indefinite article before the name of a job or profession.

20. Missing auxiliary

INCORRECT: You making me crazy.

CORRECT: You are making me crazy.

RULE: You need an auxiliary (helping) verb to go with the –ing form.

****INCORRECT: I always be there for you.

CORRECT: I will always be there for you.

RULE: In a promise about the future, use the future modal auxiliary verb will with the
infinitive form of your main verb.

Like missing word,modal error,negation error,past tense error,non-standard phrase,singular