Common Errors in English

[the_egonomist]

PSL,

Quite brilliant!

Must say you are bound to become PG's best poster

Cheers.

P.S : Other common phrases used - robbed his dignity, stole his identity...

[sandzie]

Originally Posted by Harsh0808

Please someone throw some light on the difference between 'because of' and 'due to '. Can they be used interchangeably?

someone please tell us about these phrases....
even i am confused about their usage...

[Federer]

Originally Posted by Harsh0808

Please someone throw some light on the difference between 'because of' and 'due to '. Can they be used interchangeably?

The word because is followed by a sentence and the combination due to is followed by a noun:

I bought this book because I wanted to learn more about computers.

Mike's failure was due to his poor study habits.

P.S. Googled it

[reemapawa]

Hi puys, seems like I missing out on a lot of stuff but better later than never.

I too have something to contribute.

My aunt just expired.

Correction: My aunt just passed away . That's because human beings do not have have an expiry date. Lol. Funny, how we use it all the time.

[PSL]

Originally Posted by reemapawa

My aunt just expired.

Correction: My aunt just passed away . That's because human beings do not have have an expiry date. Lol. Funny, how we use it all the time.

Not sure on this one, but I think you can use 'expire' in the above sentence. Afterall, expire does mean - "To breathe one's last breath", ie to die.

[Federer]

Originally Posted by PSL

Not sure on this one, but I think you can use 'expire' in the above sentence. Afterall, expire does mean - "To breathe one's last breath", ie to die.

I would agree there coz if you look for the definition of expire - They use words like 'perish', 'pass away', 'kick the bucket' etc in its meaning and synonyms........

[reemapawa]

well, I totally agree that these are synonyms for the word "expire" however it can only be used while referring to non living things. For eg: medicines have an expiry date and not Human beings. It's actually an Indianism.

Let me give you one more example. The sentence is I'm shifting to London next month (Indianism). The correct sentence here would be I'm moving to London next month. This is because the word shift is used, when we are referring to objects and not people . In a way we can relate both these sentences.

Yes, you are right, phrases like kicked the bucket and digging potatoes in the backyard are commonly used by Americans when referring to someone who has passed away.
Hope that helps!

[Federer]

Originally Posted by reemapawa

well, I totally agree that these are synonyms for the word "expire" however it can only be used while referring to non living things. For eg: medicines have an expiry date and not Human beings. It's actually an Indianism.

Hope that helps!

Umm, I meant that the synonyms of 'Expire' as I saw were given as those I pointed out in my last post. And I don't think you can use 'perish, pass away' etc. for medicines or any non-living things..................

Quoting something from 'The Hindu' from 2001 :

Which of the following sentences is correct? ``The driver of the bus was expired in the accident'' or ``The driver of the bus expired in the accident"? (V. Murali Krishna Rao, Bhimavaram)

It is grammatically incorrect to say, "was expired". The first sentence is therefore definitely wrong. As far as the second sentence is concerned, well, usually in an accident, people "die", they do not "expire". Therefore it's better to say, "The driver died in the accident", instead of "The driver expired in the accident". The word "expire" carries with it the sense that things came to an end gradually along expected lines. In an accident, things do not happen gradually; they happen suddenly, unexpectedly. Therefore "died" is a better word in this context.

So, even if we cannot use the word 'expire' in the given context, it can be deduced that we can use it in case of explaining someone's demise.......

[PSL]

From the dictionary

ex·pire
v. ex·pired, ex·pir·ing, ex·pires
v.intr.
1. To come to an end; terminate: eg. My membership in the club has expired.
2. To breathe one's last breath; die: eg. The patient expired early this morning.
3. To exhale; breathe out.

Hope this clears the confusion

[reemapawa]

This link has quite a lot of errors listed. I checked it and it's helpful.

208092 : Education : MOST COMMON ERRORS INDIANISMS & SLANGS