Common mistakes (1)

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Common mistakes (1)

Test yourself 

You will see sentences that may (or may not)

 contain errors. 

Spot the mistake, if any!

They're / Their / There

They're (they are) the ones that went to Paris; their (possessive pronoun) parents took them there (location). 

____ house is over ____.

1. There, their
2. They're, there
3. Their, they're
4. Their, there

I can't believe ____ leaving ____ bike ____!

1. their, there, they're
2. they're, there, their
3. they're, their, there
4. there, their, they're

there <> they're <> their

Ik woon al twee jaar in Utrecht =
"I live in Utrecht for two years"
-What's the mistake?-

1. live
2. in
3. for
4. No mistakes!

'for' and 'since' = markers of present perfect! (extended time period)

*I live in Utrecht for two years*

Dutch tenses are used differently than English ones, even if they look similar. Beware! Whenever you have “for 3 months” or “since December” use the form “I have lived” and not “I live”

I have lived in Utrecht for two years.

English tense = present perfect 

form = have/has + voltooid deelwoord 

remember: verb+ed, unless irregular!

We looked at many car’s.

-What's the mistake?-

1. looked
2. many
3. car's
4. No mistakes!

We looked at many car’s. 

You never use an apostrophe (‘) to make a noun plural in English. For possessive nouns (nouns showing ownership), you would use an apostrophe, for example That is my brother’s car, but NOT to say “My brother has two car’s.”

"I'm going to the pharmacy to get my medicine."
"Do you have your … ?"

1. receipt
2. prescription
3. subscription
4. recipe

Do you have your..... ?

A RECIPE you use for cooking and a SUBSCRIPTION you may have for a (digital) magazine. A RECEIPT is the paper you get when you buy something, but the paper you take to the pharmacy is a PRESCRIPTION.

Is that ______ dog?

1. your
2. you're
3. youre
4. you'r

His teacher learns him English.

-What's the mistake?-

1. his
2. learns
3. him
4. No mistakes!

learn versus teach

learners try to learn - they are taught something by teachers

teachers try to teach - they teach learners something

I have seen you yesterday.

1. CORRECT
2. INCORRECT

*I have seen you yesterday.*

What should it be?

Fill in your answer in the next slide!

Yesterday, tomorrow, last week = markers of the simple past (past simple)

I ....……. you yesterday.

1. see
2. had seen
3. saw
4. sawed

To play = regular verb 

(past = verb + ed)

--> play - PLAYED - played

To see = irregular verb 

(past = study the forms)

--> see - SAW - seen

By doing this quiz, ____ practicing ____ English.

1. your, your
2. your, you're
3. you're, your
4. you're, you're

your <> you're

He _____ good at pretending.

1. quiet
2. quite
3. kwait
4. quit

I am taller _______ you.

1. then
2. than

A giraffe has the largest neck of all animals. ______ neck can be over 1.5 meters.

1. Its
2. It's