Pitfalls

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 2-4

Pitfalls

Pitfalls

Sentence structure

What you need to know

For normal simple sentences, you use mostly the same word order: 

Who - does - what - where - when

For example:

Kevin - plays - basketball - outside - every Monday

Correct word order:
Billy / a bird / five minutes ago / next door / saw

1. Billy saw a bird five minutes ago next door.
2. Billy saw next door a bird five minutes ago.
3. Billy saw five minutes ago next door a bird.
4. Billy saw a bird next door five minutes ago.

the glass - in the kitchen - dropped - almost - I - this morning

walks - through the woods - James - always - on Sunday morning

Spelling mistakes

Their/there/they're

Their - possesion

Their class is the best in math.

There - direction

Is that a rollercoaster over there?

They're - They are

They are nice people.                                                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I776Ibj3iTs

It looked like ___ wasn't anything they could do.

1. there
2. their
3. they're

were/we're

Were - Past tense of was

Where were you?

We're - We are

We're going to get something to eat.

I wouldn't do that if I ___ you.

1. where
2. were
3. we're

its/it's/it is

Its - posessive

Its footprints...

It's - It is/ It has

It's very cold outside

it's

its

That's not __ box.

__ never enough for him.

That's not what __ like. 

__ nothing to worry about.

I chose this book, because I liked __ cover.

The dog is chasing __ tail.

too/to

Too - excessive

That's too much noise

to - place, direction, possesion

I'm going to the store

to

too

we have __ much homework!

Let's go __London.

Do you like football __?

You don't have __ worry.

He gave it __ me.

He works __ earn money.

Articles

the, a or an

The - When talking about something specific

I'm going the hospital

a - vowel (klinker)

A pineapple

an - consonant (medeklinker) & vowel sounds

An apple/ An hour

a/an:
umbrella

1. a
2. an

a/an:
hour

1. a
2. an

a/an:
banana

1. a
2. an

Prepositions

at, in, on, for, by, of, to

To link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence.

I am going to school

I am in the bathroom

What is on the television

Which preposition is correct?
The Netherlands is ... sea level.

1. below
2. under
3. beyond
4. by

In het NL zou je zeggen: onder zee niveau

In het Engels is de regel: 

under = er is direct iets onder het object

The paper is hidden under the rock

below = onder in de zin van op een lager niveau.

Which preposition is correct?
She studies ... a famous university.

1. in
2. at
3. on
4. by

Buildings

in: wanneer je het hebt over het gebouw zelf

at:  wanneer je het hebt over de functie van het gebouw. 

Punctuation

When to use ,

To join two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction.

I am going to the pumpkin patch this weekend, and I plan on picking apples too.

In dates and addresses.

The event begins in Plains, TX on September 22, 2023.

To offset nonessential information.

He thought the teacher, who was only 24 years old, was a great addition to the classroom.

Watch out for !

Do not overuse an excaimation mark. Use it only once at the end of a sentence. 

 

   DON'T: I’m so excited for this weekend!!!

   DON'T: We had so much fun this weekend! We really need to do it again! I can’t wait!

DO: We had so much fun this weekend, and we really need to do it again. I can’t wait!

The same goes for "?"

When to use " " and ' '

Single quotation marks are used to indicate a quote within a quote.

Sarah looked at Mike and said, “I’m not sure what the confusion is. He made it clear when he stated, ‘Be at the park by 9 pm.’”

Capital letters

when to use:

"I", names of people, places, titles of works, nationalities, languages, institutions like companies, historical eras, days, months, holidays, initials, and acronyms (afkortingen die worden uitgesproken als woord) IMAX, PIN, SCUBA, FOMO, GIF

Grammar

much/many

Much - uncountable

How much milk does this recipe need?

Many - Countable

How many sugar cubes would you like?

There's so ...... grass outside!

1. many
2. much

We have way too ___ homework!

1. many
2. much

I don't have .... water left in this bottle. Luckily, I've got ..... more bottles of water!

1. Much/Much
2. Many/much
3. Many/Many
4. Much/many

Superlatives

Words of one syllable

Words of two syllables ending with 'y'

Big - Bigger - Biggest

Pretty - Prettier - Prettiest

Words of two syllables not ending with 'y'

Three syllable words or longer

Charming - more charming - most charming

Beautiful - more beautiful - most beautiful

Exceptions

good - better - best

bad - worse - worst

little - less - least

much - more - most

far - further/farther - furthest/farthest

1. Australia is _________ (big) than England.

4. He thinks Chinese is ____________ (difficult) than Japanese.

6. Avatar is probably the __________ (bad) film I've ever seen!

Tijden

"At" - used to indicate a specific time

I'll meet you at 3 pm.

"In" - used to indicate a specific period or time frame

We'll be there in five minutes.

"On" - used to indicate a specific day or date

The party is on Saturday.

"Between" - used to indicate a period or time frame between two points

The meeting is between 2 pm and 4 pm.

Which preposition is correct?
I have a meeting ... noon today.

1. on
2. by
3. at
4. in

Which preposition is correct?
I finish school early ... Wednesdays

1. on
2. by
3. at
4. in