There are some very common mistakes in newsrooms and, for this reason, they are among the most committed. But this is only due to lack of knowledge, therefore, once informed, students do not commit them again.
So, let's look at the 10 most common mistakes made in writing: (they are not in order of importance)
1. "It's been ten years since we've seen so many changes." The verb “to do” in the temporal sense, of elapsed time or of atmospheric phenomena is impersonal, that is, it is singular: It's been ten years... It's really cold...
2. "There were a lot of rallies this week for racial equality." The verb to have follows the same reasoning as the verb “to do”, mentioned above. In the sense of existing or in the idea of elapsed time, the verb to exist is impersonal: There were many marches... I haven't seen him for a while... There were some chairs available.
3. "For me to choose, I need some time." When in doubt, check who the subject of the verb is. In this case, the verb “to choose” has no subject, as “me” cannot be! What would be right would be the pronoun “I”: for me to choose. The expression “for me” only works when it is a direct object: Bring this sheet to me. That way, always say and write: For me to do, for me to take, for me to speak, because the verb needs a subject!
4. "This matter is between you and me!" When the preposition exists, in this case “between”, the oblique pronoun is used. The correct thing is: between you and me or between you and me. Therefore, use tonic oblique pronoun (me, ti, si, he, she, we, you, si, they, they) after preposition: talk about me, do it for us, between you and me no problem, they talked to each other.
5. “A long time ago, I bought a bicycle.” The verb “ha” has a past tense sense, so there is no need to add “behind”. Or you choose one or the other: A long time ago... Time ago... Ten years ago... Ten years ago.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
6. "So you caught him by the collar." When it is necessary for a pronoun to be a direct object (caught something: him), never put a personal pronoun, opt for the oblique, unstressed case (me, te, if, o, a, to, us, you, if, the, the, them): He took it, warned him, presented it, took us, love me, take us.
7. Where were you? “Where” indicates idea of movement, while “where” refers only to place. So: Where were you? And where do we go now?
8. "The situation was in line with what he wanted." If it is a situation that the person wanted, it will be: towards, an expression that designates favoritism, to be in agreement. On the other hand, the phrase “against” has a sense of opposition, of shock: He went against the pole.
9. "This year we're going to do it differently." If it is the current year, then use the pronoun “this”, as it indicates proximity: This room of class, this week has been great, this day will be blessed, this year has been the best ever, tonight we will see stars.
10. The verb “adequate” is defective, which means that it is not conjugated in every way. Like this: This doesn't fit... He doesn't fit... I don't fit... they are wrong prayers. Other verbs also experience this type of problem, such as: abolish, banish, color, demolish, stink, bark. The verb fit is correct and most often used in the infinitive (adequate) and participle (adequate) modes.
By Sabrina Vilarinho
Graduated in Letters
