Introduction
High school English is an important subject that a student must learn. It is essentially an essential foundation for higher education, career opportunities, and overall communication skills. However, at times, language constructs, verb agreement, or even spelling mistakes may lead to errors. In this article, we will see ten such examples of high school English sentences that need to be improved to avoid common errors.
Example 1
The first example shows how easily subject-verb agreement can lead to errors. The sentence "The group of students were excited to go on the field trip" should be re-phrased to "The group of students was excited to go on the field trip". The use of the singular verb "was" instead of the plural verb "were" is correct because the collective group of students take singular verbs.
Example 2
In the second example, we find an error with the common phrase "could of" which should be "could have". The correct sentence, "I could have finished my project on time if I had worked harder," uses the auxiliary verb 'have' with the past participle 'finished' instead of 'of' which is incorrect in this context.
Example 3
The third example shows an error with the use of "there" and "their". "There" is used for indicating a place or location, while "their" is a possessive pronoun. Therefore, the sentence: "There going to be late because their running behind schedule" should be re-phrased to "They are going to be late because they're running behind schedule".
Example 4
In the fourth example, we find an error with the use of "who" and "that." The sentence: "The girl who sings well also plays the piano well" should be re-phrased to "The girl that sings well also plays the piano well". The usage of "that" is the correct pronoun choice to use when the object being referred to is a thing, unlike "who" which is used for people.
Example 5
The fifth example shows an error with the use of "me" and "I". The sentence: "Jennifer and me went to the store" should be re-phrased to "Jennifer and I went to the store". In a sentence with multiple subjects, 'I' comes before 'me' every time.
Example 6
Example 7
The seventh example shows an error with the use of the "two", "to" and "too." The sentence, "I have to study to" should be re-phrased to "I have to study, too" as it implies "also." "To" refers to a place or a destination, while "two" is the number.
Example 8
The eighth example shows an error with the use of the wrong tense. The sentence: "When I saw him, he already left" should be re-phrased to "When I saw him, he had already left". The usage of the past perfect tense, indicating an earlier point in time in the past, is needed in making that sentence grammatically correct.
Example 9
The ninth example shows an error with the use of adjectives and adverbs. The sentence: "I did good on my test" should be re-phrased to "I did well on my test." In this case, 'well' is the proper adverb of the verb 'did' whereas 'good' is an adjective that describes a noun.
Example 10
The tenth example shows an error with the use of double negatives. The sentence "I don't want nothing for my birthday" should be rephrased as "I don't want anything for my birthday". It is wrong to use a double negative in English grammar; the oppositions cancel each other out, making the statement positive in its essence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, high school English is a crucial subject that students must learn effectively. By recognizing and correcting common errors such as subject-verb agreement and verb-particle agreement, using the correct tense, proper adjectives, and pronoun usage, writing English sentences can be made easier. By doing so, students can improve their writing, communication, and overall educational outcomes.