common-mistakes-in-english-part-3
Article (প্রবন্ধ)

ইংরাজি ভাষায় সাধারণ ভুল – তৃতীয় পর্ব

এই ধারাবাহিক প্রবন্ধে আমরা ইংরাজি ভাষায় কিছু সাধারণ ভুল নিয়ে আলোচনা করছি। এই পর্বে আমরা কিছু কথা যেগুলো আমরা ভুল বলে থাকি সেগুলি নিয়ে আলোচনা করবো।

আগের পর্ব দুটি পড়ুন – প্রথম পর্বদ্বিতীয় পর্ব

THE SLIP UPS:

  • First-come, first-serve

It should actually be “served.” Without the d, the phrase above suggests that the first individual who arrives will be the one who serves everyone, which is not the idiom’s intent.

  •  I could care less

Think about this one for a minute. The way it’s written above suggests you possess care which still could be allocated to the situation in question. “I couldn’t care less” is correct because it communicates that “I have no more care to give.”

  •  Irregardless

This is not a word. It’s simply “regardless,” as in “Regardless of what you think about grammar, you’ll look silly if you use it incorrectly.”

  •  “I” as the last word in a sentence

This mistake is remarkably common, yet a correct example would be “Ramu talked with Rahim and me.” The trick to getting this one straight is to take the other person’s name out of the sentence and see if your personal pronoun choice still sounds right. “Madhuri talked with I” is awkward and incorrect.

[আরো পড়ুন –পাওয়ার পয়েন্টের সাহায্যে টিপু কিভাবে সহজে ডিজিটাল ফটো অ্যালবাম বানালো]

  • “Me” as the first word in a sentence

I hear people saying things such as “Me and Hari met at Starbucks this morning” all the time, even though it’s always wrong. “Hari and I met at Starbucks this morning” is correct.

  • Overuse of apostrophes

These little guys are ubiquitously misused. Apostrophes indicate one of two things: possession or letters missing, as in “Sara’s iPad” and “it’s” for “it is” (second i missing). They don’t belong on plurals. “FAQs,” for example, should not have an apostrophe. Also, people often make a mistake with their own last name. If you want to refer to your family but don’t want to list everyone’s first name write “The Dipika” not “The Dipika’s.” Another big one: Decades should not have apostrophes. For example, “1980s” is correct but “1980’s” is not.

  • Prostrate cancer

This one is a simple spelling mistake resulting from an extra r. “Prostrate” actually means to lie face down. The “prostate” gland is a part of the male reproductive anatomy.

  • Baited breath

When I think about bait, worms and lures come to mind. The first word should actually be “bated,” which stems from the verb “abate,” meaning to stop or lessen. So, if you’re trying to say that someone is holding his breath, you can see that “bated breath” makes the most sense.

  • Piece of mind

If you want to share what you’re thinking with someone, this could work if you add “my” before “mind.” But if you’re trying to indicate tranquility, then spell it “peace.”

  • Wet your appetite

“Whet” means to sharpen or stimulate. As such, the latter spelling is more appropriate.

  •  Make due

“Due” means “owed,” and that’s not the intent with this idiom. “Make do” is the proper way to say that you’re going to get along with what you have.

  • Do diligence

“Due diligence” is the proper business and legal term. It means you will investigate an individual or company before signing a contract.

  • Peaked my interest

To pique means to arouse, so the correct phrase is “piqued my interest,” meaning that my interest was stimulated. While the incorrect way it’s written in the heading may suggest that someone’s interest was taken to a high level, it’s still wrong.

  • Per say or persay

Both are incorrect because the Latin phrase which means “in itself” or “intrinsically” is spelled “per se.” The best communicators speak and write clearly and concisely and probably avoid phrases like this one anyway.

  • The first-year anniversary

The use of the word “year” is redundant. “The first anniversary” or “the 50th anniversary” suffice.

  • Worse comes to worse

“Worse comes to worst,”–note the t–is better because it indicates something has degraded from one negative plane to the lowest possible.

  • Hot water heater

If anything, it’s a cold water heater. Just use “water heater.”

  • Boldface lie

“Bald-face” means shameless or showing no guilt. When a person tells a bald-faced lie, they are openly lying. An acceptable variant of this phrase is a “barefaced lie.”

END of Third Part

তৃতীয় পর্বের সমাপ্তি। পরবর্তী পর্বে আমরা আরো সাধারণ ভুল নিয়ে আলোচনা করবো। এই প্রবন্ধটি ভালো লেগে থাকলে, শেয়ার করতে ভুলবেন না!


এই লেখাটির সর্বস্বত্ব সংরক্ষিত। বিনা অনুমতিতে এই লেখা, অডিও, ভিডিও বা অন্যভাবে কোনো মাধ্যমে প্রকাশ করলে তার বিরুদ্ধে আইনানুগ ব্যবস্থা নেওয়া হবে।


এই লেখাটি থেকে উপকৃত হলে সবার সাথে শেয়ার করার অনুরোধ রইল।



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