Common Errors with Adjectives - Part III Incorrect: We live in city.. Explanation A singular common noun e.g.. But if the common noun refers to a particular person or thing it requires t
Trang 1Page 1 of 2
www.englishpractice.com – Learn and practice English online
Common Errors with Adjectives - Part III
Incorrect: We live in city
Correct: We live in a city
Explanation
A singular common noun (e.g city, state, country, boy, girl, teacher etc.) takes the article a/an before it But if the common noun refers to a particular person or thing it requires the definite article the whether the noun is singular or plural.
Compare: We live in a city (Here we use the indefinite article because we are not
referring to any particular city.)
The city is very big (Here we use the definite article (the) because we are referring
to a particular city that has already been mentioned in a previous sentence.)
Incorrect: He is best player
Correct: He is the best player
Incorrect: She is a most intelligent girl in the class
Correct: She is the most intelligent girl in the class
Explanation
Adjectives in the superlative degree takes the article the before them.
Incorrect: The London is big city
Correct: London is a big city
Incorrect: I live in the Mumbai
Correct: I live in Mumbai
Explanation
Both London and Mumbai are proper nouns because they are the names of
particular cities Proper nouns do not take articles before them
Remember that a noun can be proper in one sentence and common in another sentence; so it is useless to label a particular noun as proper or common
Incorrect: The gold is yellow
Correct: Gold is yellow
Trang 2www.englishpractice.com – Learn and practice English online
Page 2 of 2
Explanation
Material nouns (gold, rice, silver, iron, wood, marble etc.) do not take articles
before them
Incorrect: Himalayas are mountains
Correct: The Himalayas are mountains
Incorrect: We should love the God
Correct: We should love God
Incorrect: The man is a member of society
Correct: Man is a member of society
Explanation
Here the noun man refers to the whole of mankind We do not use articles before a noun used to refer to the whole of its kind
Incorrect: We had a picnics nearly everyday
Correct: We had picnics nearly everyday
Articles are not normally used before plural common nouns that do not refer to a particular person or thing
Incorrect: Each of us loves our country
Correct: Each of us loves his/her country
Incorrect: None of the boys had brought their books
Correct: None of the boys had brought his books
Explanation
The pronoun referring back to singular words like each, every and none should be
singular in number Note that this rule is no longer strictly followed Sentences like ?
Each of us loves our country' and ?None of the boys had brought their books' are
now considered correct in informal speech and writing However, in a formal style you must stick to the rules and use the correct pronoun