Common errors at CAE

Common language Punctuation

errors at CAE: Commas
What Iike best, is the sense of atmosphere.
Writing and Speaking (x)
What like best is the sense of atmosphere.

Grammar (.,;) The man in the comer who is from France

is
Agreement: nouns and pronouns very nice. oo
My father lo ves to cook. He often makes meals for ftet his The man in the comer, who is from France,
friends and they ask ftet him for recipes. is very nice. (.,;)
Agreement: subject and verb There are many things ra love to do such as, climb
Information on the new system t'Jfe is hard to nd. a
The company's two Directors, who had original/y set up the tum, mountain. (x)
Wt:ti were caught embezzling funds. There are many things l'd love to do, such as climb
a
Articles
mountain.
To me, tite music is the purest art form there is. (.,;)
The bold painting at the very end of the exhibition is a Question marks
perfect example of modernism.
How many exams per term should pupils
Verb tense have. Research suggests that three is too
First she lwtI researched the market and then she many. (x)
planned the producto How many exams per term should pupils
The course ~ has been running for three years now. hove? Research suggests that three is too
Verb formation many. (.,;)

The course would have interested me if it v'v'ou/d ha ve had I wanted to ask how you came to that view?
included more practical work. (x) I wanted to ask how you came to that view.
I have f7eiftg been thinking about this idea for some time now. (.,;) Apostrophes
~ He/ping my local community is real/y important to me. The schools headmaster has resigned.
(x)
I recommend you ~ see the new play at the National
Theatre. The school's headmaster has resigned.
(.,;)
Irregular verbs
It is expected that student's results wil/ improve. (x)
The group's new album has ffiffted caught the
public's imagination. It is expected that students' results wil/ improve.

Word order (.,;) Ilove eating nsh and chip's. (x)

We have rare/y had fflfe/y a student drop out. I lo ve eating nsh and chips.
(.,;)
Questions
Quotation marks
I wonder whatwili such companies will produce in the next
The future is in wind power, said the director. (x)
ve years.
The future is in wind power,' said the director
What do you think did happefl happened next?
(.,;) Hyphens
Linking words and phrases
His eighty year old widow spoke movingly
She thinks it's a good idea. Simi/ai /y, Converse/y, he hates it.
of his /ife. oo
Clothes made of natural materials ttttmeIy such as cotton
His eighty-year-old widow spoke movingly
are popular in hot weather.
of his /ife. (.,;)
It was a tough project but we got there at the efld in the end.
They had a twe minute wait for the train.
COfltfdry Compared with my titst Job, the second one was (x)
simple. The company was qteat, and at afly rate what's more They had a tive-minute wait for the train.
even the (.,;)
food was good.
Spelling Activities
1)
Ornission of silent
letters Find and correct the grammatical mistakes in the sentences.
lam (x)
lamb (vi) What grammatical area is each mistake in? Use the notes on
common errors to help you.
sychiatry (X)
psychiatry (vi) 1 Hardly he had finished the work than the boss arrived.
Suffixes and prefixes 2 She lent him the book she had borrowed from library the previous
week.
comprehensable (X) 3 I wonder what might Sue be doing on Saturday evening.
comprehensible (vi) 4 The boss proposed we working overtime, but we refused.
inpossible (X) 5 People often finds it difficult to accept criticismo
impossible (vi)
6 Shefinished the work he starts the previous day.
Hornophones
7 He'snever been teached to behave politely!

right/write/rite 8 It was a difficult task but at the end we completed it.

whole/hole
accept/except
2) Find and correct the mistakes with spelling and punctuation
in the sentences. Use the notes on common errors to help you.
there/their/they'r
e weak/week I wanted to askyou where you buy your clothes?

too/two/to 2 The local schools'resultswere excellent - it's the best school in the area.

Letter doubling 3 Our three week holiday turned out to be very expensive.

appologise (X)
apologise (vi)
reccommend (X)
recommend
(vi) Letter
order peice (X)
piece (vi)
calander (X)
calendar (vi)
Sorne interactive spoken language
I am agree with you.
(x) That's my feeling.
(vi)
Let'sconsider this idea. (vi)
Why don't we discuss about this?
(x) You make a good point. (vi)
You give a good point. (x)
What's your view7 (vi)
What're your view? (x)
I can't go along with that. (vi)
I can't take that. (x)
I hadn't thought of that. (vi)
I hadn't thinking about that. (x)
4 I think it's a shame that more girls' dont play footbal!.
5 Young people should take a more responsable attitude
towards their studies.
6 Although it was an unfortunate occurence,the punishment was necessary.
7 I received an email yesterday asking me a purely
rethorical question - pointless!
8 The man who's car is parked outside is my boss.
9 It's a pretty difficult situation said my sister.
10 Can you tell me how often you get the chance to go to the cinema?
3) Find and correct the mistakes in the conversations. Use the
notes on common errors to help you.
A: The weather is strange for this time of year - what are your view?
B: Yes,I am agree with you. It seems to be raining all the time.
A: Let's hope it improves soon!
2 A: I think that we should accept the new contract after al!.
B: No, sorry, I can't take that. I think lt's a terrible idea.
A: Well, we may not have much choice.
3 A: We could always change the appointment - it probably wouldn't
be too difficult to rearrange my diary.
B: I hadn't thought to that. You'regood at thinking outside the box!
A: lt's called lateral thinking!
4 A: We need to talk about these ideas on the task sheet - what do
we start with?
B: Let'sconsider about this idea first. I think t's an important issue.
A: Sorry,l'd rather discussabout this one first.
5 A: lt's important to study hard befo re an exam.
B: You give a good point. 1'11 do my bestl
A: Me too'