W5T2: Common Grammatical Mistakes Made

Identify 1 of your common grammar mistakes and explain how the grammatical structure should be used correctly in 200-300 words. In addition, include a practice exercise or activity related to the grammatical structure.


The most common grammatical mistake I made when writing, is the using of tenses. I always have difficulties differentiating whether the sentence is in the present simple, present perfect, past simple or past perfect. Also, I will tend to make small mistakes in singular and pural form.

For example, “He treat his employees like slave” and “He treats his employees like slaves”. Which sentence do you think is the correct one? The second sentence is correct as the “He” is singular and “employees” is plural hence there should be a “s” behind the “treat” and a “s” behind the “slaves” respectively.

I find that the perfect tense is the hardest to learn as it is rarely used when speaking English. In the past, I do not know the difference between “I have eaten my breakfast” and “I ate my breakfast” as both are referring to the past. So how do you differentiate the different types of tenses to be use when writing?

For example, the sentence: “I have done something wrong". It is using a present perfect tense which means that you just discovered you have done something wrong. As for this sentence: "I did something wrong". It is using a past tense which means u did something wrong in the past. The other perfect aspects such as past perfect, for instances "I had done something wrong" means that you had already did something wrong in the past. Lastly, for future perfect, for example "I will have done something wrong" means that you have not done anything wrong but you are about to do something wrong.

Learning the use of tenses and applying it when writing is different. I find that constant reading and writing is required in order to master the skills of making less error in tenses.


Below is the practice I have taken from ITSELF. Maybe you can have a look and try it out too. Enjoy =)


Practice(ITSELF/Tenses/SELF Worksheets for Verb Tenses
Advanced Level

Rats!

Of all man’s natural enemies, the one which has caused him more trouble than any other must be the common rat. For centuries, man (1) _has been trying_ (try), in vain, to solve the problem of rats. The ancient Egyptians (2) _were_ (be) probably the first people to try to get rid of them with poison, and this method (3) __will still be used__ (still be used) today. This says a great deal about how effective this method (4) __was__ (be). We have set innumerable and ingenious traps, from simple wires to complicated machines which drowned the rats in beer! We (5) ___have used___ (use) gas, water and fire. We have tried to electrocute them and to infect them with spe­cially developed germs. We've even tried to breed super‑cats to kill them. However, we are still losing the battle.

One of the first records we have of the problem of rats was in 1347 when some Italian ships (6) ___has carried___ (carry) rats from the Black Sea back to Italy. Soon, the citizens (7) __were complaining__ (complain) of painful dark marks on their skin. Soon after that, they were dead. This was the beginning of the 'Black Death' which killed 25 million people in only three years. For centuries, the same disease, also called the plague, would wipe out thousands of people from time to time and in different places. Thankfully, this is a problem that man (8) __has to overcome__ (almost overcome). Plague today (9) __is___ (be) not the threat it used to be. Only a few countries in the world (10) _are still having__ (still have) an occasional death caused by the plague. However, the rat is still alive and healthy.

Although the problem of plague has been contained, the rat is still man’s num­ber one enemy. This year, in the United States alone, rats will bite thousands of humans, causing disease, despair and ter­ror. They (11) __will destroyed__ (destroy) well over a billion dollars worth of property. In a world con­stantly suffering from famine, rats will de­stroy approximately a fifth of all food crops planted. In India alone, they (12) _will deprive_ (deprive) hungry people of enough grain to fill a train more than 2,000 kilometres long. In all of Asia, rats (13) __ate__ (eat) 48 million tons of rice a year, enough food to feed a quarter of a billion people. Around the world, rats will spread at least 20 kinds of disease, and in several tropical countries their population will suddenly explode and completely destroy the land.

'When we speak of rats,' (14) __explained__ (explain) one leading scientist, 'we are speaking of the most numerous and successful mammal on earth, perhaps including man! When we talk about rat control, we're talking about human survival.'

So why can't man, with all his scientific knowledge, manage to overcome a mere animal like the rat? The answer is simply that the rat isn't a 'mere' animal ‑ it (15) __is__ (be) a very special kind of animal. An average rat can: wriggle through a hole no larger than a S$1 coin; climb a brick wall as if it (16) __is climbing__ (climb) steps; swim for one kilometre and then tread water for three days; chew through lead pipes and metal bars with teeth that can exert an unbelievable 1,691 kilograms per square centimetre; happily leave a building by being flushed down the toilet, and then return the same way; jump from a fifth storey window and run away unharmed; and last but certainly not least, multiply so rapidly that a single pair could have 15,000 babies in one year!!

Perhaps the best example of how 'special' these creatures (17) __are_ (be) is found on the island of Engebi, in the Western Pacific. For many years, the United States tested its nuclear weapons on this island. The rat was “completely” destroyed by repeated nuclear explosions. A few years after the explosions (18) _stopped__ (stop), scientists visited the island and found it was alive with rats. The rats were not injured or weakened in any way. On the contrary, their life spans were longer and, if anything, they were larger and stronger than other rats. It (19) _seems_ (seem) that the most deadly weapon that people can create actually (20) __improves__ (improve) the health of our oldest enemy!

In addition to all these physical qualities, we also have the problem that rats are rather good at (21) _not getting caught_ (not get caught). They seem to have an almost supernatural ability to sense when food (22) __is poisoned_ (be poisoned) (even as little as one part in a million) and a suspicious rat will starve before it (23) _eats__ (eat) poisoned food. They also seem to be able to recognize a trap with no real difficulty.

To overcome these abilities of the rat, we now use a huge variety of weapons, both sophisticated and simple. We (24) _are experimenting_ (experiment) with chemicals, radiation, high‑frequency sound, and even super‑glue! There is now a machine on the market which (25) __claimed__ (claim) to grab the rat, electrocute it and neatly seal it in a plastic bag. However, the simplest method (26) __is__ (be) probably also the oldest, a strong wooden club. It (27) __proves_ (prove) very effective in Bombay, India. Every night, the rat‑catchers take to the streets armed with such a club. They find a rat with the beam of their torch, crack it over the head, pick it up with their toes and drop it into a sack. In total, they (28) __kill__ (kill) 4,000 a night, which (29) __is__(be) a mere drop in the ocean. One thing (30) __looks__ (look) certain, we had better find a way to defeat these small brown creatures soon, or it may be too late. In the age‑old battle between rats and people, the rats are perhaps beginning to win!


Reference
[Online document] SELF Worksheets for Verb Tenses. Retrieved September 10, 2008, from http://courses.nus.edu.sg/courseware/ITSELF