Common English Errors

When it comes to modal verbs — the verbs that express necessity or possibility — many learners find them rather confusing.

I’ve written a couple of posts on the correct usage of modal verbs before. In this guide, I’d like to share with you tips on how to use Can’t Have (Been) and Couldn’t Have (Been) correctly.

So, let’s get started.

Can’t Have (Been)

This is used for two reasons — first, to express a degree of certainty of an event in the past; second, to frame a conditional phrase for a past event.

Let’s see some examples:

In the above examples, the speaker is expressing a degree of certainty about the events. Evidently, the speaker is saying that there was no way Bryan committed the crime as he was elsewhere when the murder was committed.

Similarly, in the second example, the speaker is refusing to believe that Sally was hungry since she’d already eaten enough just a while ago.

As you can see, Can’t Have (Been) is used only when you’re referring to an event in the past. So, don’t let the “can’t” lead you to think it can be used in the present tense.

Couldn’t Have (Been)

This is used, broadly, in three different scenarios.

Expressing the Impossibility of a Past Event

As with the Can’t Have (Been), Couldn’t Have (Been) can also be used to express the impossibility of a past event.

Here are some examples:

In the examples above, the speaker is talking about the impossibility of the outcome under a specific circumstance.

As you can see, both Can’t Have (Been) and Couldn’t Have (Been) are used to express the impossibility of a result in the past.

So, what’s the real difference in their usage?

While Can’t Have (Been) is used to refer to an incident in the near past, Couldn’t Have (Been) is used for an event that happened way back in the past.

Let’s use some examples for comparison:

As you can see, in the first example, the speaker is talking about the impossibility of the outcome of an event that’s related to the near past.

On the other hand, in the second example, the speaker negates the probability related to an event occurring in the remote past.

Expressing Hypothetical Conditions

Using Couldn’t Have (Been) to express a hypothetical condition is very common in everyday conversations. It’s typically used with “had (been)”.

For example: “I couldn’t have succeeded if she hadn’t offered any help.”

Of course, you can also say, “I couldn’t have succeeded without her help”.

The point is there’s a condition involved here.

REMEMBER: When “Couldn’t Have” is used as a past conditional, “Can’t Have” cannot be substituted, in any style.

For example: “Jon couldn’t have (Not Can’t Have) made it to the top without his support from his family.”

If you’re looking for more examples, please, read this guide on the conditional hypothesis.

Expressing One’s Inability in the Past

You can use “Couldn’t Have (Been)” to express your lack of ability, talent, skills in the past.

For example: “Sandra was talented enough to pass the grueling test; I know I couldn’t have made it.”

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed reading this guide and found it useful. Let me know if you have any questions!

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A lot of people use “If I was” instead of “If I were” when they use a subjunctive mood in a hypothetical situation.

Just so you know – this is wrong!

According to English rules, when you use a subjunctive mood in a hypothetical situation, you should use “If I were”.

What is a Subjunctive Mood?

The subjunctive mood is used in a hypothetical situation when you state something that is contrary to the fact.

In other words, when you wish for something that is simply not possible, or unreal, you use a subjunctive mood.

Here are some examples of Subjunctive Mood:

✅ If I were you, I would work harder.

✅ If I were your father, I would take good care of you.

✅ If you were my girlfriend, I’d never let you cry.

✅ If he were taller, he’d be accepted into the basketball team.

✅ If she were alive, she’d be super happy to see you succeed.

In all of these examples, the mood is subjunctive, meaning, the speaker is speaking of a hypothetical scenario that simply can’t be true.

Where Can I Use “If I Was”?

Based on the aforementioned argument, it’s possible to use “If I was” when something is not true at the moment, but it can be if the speaker tried.

For example:

If I was the captain of this team, we could win more matches.

Explanation: The speaker is a team member at the moment, but it’s very much possible that he could be the caption in future. It’s NOT unrealistic for him to lead the team in future.

Let’s consider a few more examples:

✅ If he was guilty of his actions, he’d apologize.

✅ If Rand was hardworking, he’d make more money.

As you can see, in these examples, we’re not talking about an unrealistic scenario. Therefore, “was” is more appropriate.

Be Careful of the Common Mistakes

There are many non-native speakers who tend to use “If I was” to explain their past actions.

Please, note that you absolutely cannot use “was” in a hypothetical scenario of the past. Instead, you should use “had been”.

For example:

Incorrect: If I was driving, you’d have felt safer.

Correct:

If I were driving, you’d feel safer. (If the speaker is talking of the present scenario.)

If I had been driving, you’d have felt safer. (If the speaker is talking about a scenario which has passed.)

Final Words

As you can see “If I were” is used only when it’s clear something is simply impossible, e.g., if I were a bird. Similarly, “If I was” is used when you presume a fair possibility of an event.

However, in practice, many purists still believe the speaker should stick to “were” if they were speaking of a situation that is currently untrue, e.g., if I were the captain.

On the contrary, many modern speakers believe it’s just a matter of choice. If you want to sound formal, use “were”.

Are you a non-native English speaker, confused between “visited vs. have visited”? This post will help you understand the grammar rules once and for all.

Using correct tense is an important part of every business communication as it reflects your personality, especially when you’re communicating with someone who is well-versed in the English language.

It’s quite common to find many non-native English users confusing “past tense” with “present perfect tense”.

So, let’s take a look at some examples below:

So, what do you think is wrong with these examples?

Explanation: This is a pretty common error in Asian countries where English communication is largely affected by their mother tongue. Many non-English languages carry grammar rules which can be very different from the grammar rules we follow in the English language.

In the English language, when you describe an event that occurs in the past, i.e. yesterday or last week, you essentially use the “past simple” tense of the verb.

In the examples above, “yesterday” and “this past week” are both “adverbs”, meaning they define the nature of the verb that precedes them.

In the first example, the speaker talks about an event (visiting the doctor) with information about its occurrence (this past week).

Please, note that the “timing of the event” (or time adverb) is of utmost importance here, which decides the “tense form” the verb must take in the sentence.

Here, “this past week” refers to an event that clearly occurred in the past. Therefore, the event itself (visiting the doctor) must take “the past simple tense”.

Hence, it would be right to express yourself in the following way.

I visited the doctor this past week.

Similarly, the correct version of the second example would be:

Did you visit your mother yesterday?

To make it even clearer for you, here’s how you should break the sentences to understand which tense they should take.

I + visited + the doctor + this past week

Visited = the “past simple tense” of the verb “visit”.

This past week = the adverb denoting “timing of the event”.

Know Your Adverbs

It’s important to know your adverbs well enough in order to form correct sentences, using the appropriate tense.

Let’s consider a few examples with different adverbs.

Now, Currently, Right Now, Today

You can use either present continuous or present perfect tense with these verbs. However, you can never use “past simple” with these.

For example, the following examples would sound plain stupid:

However, there are some “adverbs” that can take both “past tense” as well as “present perfect tense” depending on the context.

Here are Some Examples:

Oxford Dictionary defines “recently” as an adverb denoting “at a recent time” and “not long ago”.

Explanation:

In Example #1, we are using a perfect tense in order to name the action as the source of the present state. Whereas, in Example #2, we are using a past tense since the action is one of a sequence of past actions, a narrative.

Please, keep in mind the present perfect is a present tense, which makes a statement about the situation at the time of speaking.

However, the following example would be incorrect.

❎ I have purchased that CD recently.

This is because when you are talking about purchasing “that CD”, you have presumably purchased it in the past. Therefore, you should rather say, “I purchased that CD recently”.

Visited vs Had Visited

Believe it or not, many non-native English users find it hard to differentiate between past simple tense and past perfect tense. They often wonder if the two could be used interchangeably.

The truth is both these tenses offer different contexts to the event. Take a look at the following examples:

Which of the above examples is correct?

Answer: The first one.

Explanation:

We use past tense when the time is specified, e.g. yesterday.

We use past perfect tense only when we refer to another event (a concurrent event) in the past. In other words, it must carry some context – “what happened after you visited the doctor yesterday?”

For example:

In short, without any context to “the other activity” that was done after watching television, using “had watched” would be incorrect.

Therefore, if you only mean to mention “watching television” in the past, simply say, “I watched television yesterday”.

I hope this helps. Please, let me know if you have any questions.

Source: Stack Exchange and Quora

Grammatically speaking, For and Since are both prepositions that can be used in a sentence to express a specific time or period of time depending on the context.

Many believe these prepositions can be used interchangeably but as a matter of fact, that’s not true.

In fact, this is one of the common English errors I’ve seen people commit while expressing themselves on social media websites.

So, what’s the difference between For and Since, and how do you use them correctly while talking about time?

Let’s see some examples:

Example #1:

Incorrect: I haven’t seen him for last week.

Correct: I haven’t seen him since last week.

Example #2:

Incorrect: She has been suffering from fever since past two weeks.

Correct: She has been suffering from fever for past two weeks.

Since – a Specific Point of Time

You use Since when you talk about a specific point of time in the past around which an event took place. In Example #1 above, “Last Week” is the specific point of time around which the person was last seen. Remember Whatsapp?

Some more examples:

✅ I’ve been missing you since you were gone.

✅ She’s been feeling a bit dizzy since yesterday.

✅ Have you been behaving this way since childhood?

✅ He’s been much better since he quit smoking.

✅ I’ve never liked her since the first time I saw her.

If you pay attention to the underlined phrases in the examples above, you will realize they are actually a specific of time and not a length or period of time.

Important: Note that we use “Perfect Progressive” tense in all of the above examples. That’s because we mean to talk about something which has been occurring from a specific point of time and hasn’t actually stopped happening as we speak.

Therefore, it’s imperative to use this tense every time you use Since to talk about a period of time.

For – a Period of Time in the Past

You use For when you want to talk about a period of time or length of time in the past from which an event has taken place. In Example #2 above, “Past two weeks” is the period of time for which the person has been suffering.

Some more examples:

✅ India hasn’t conceded a boundary for the last ten overs. (in Cricket)

✅ I’ve been meaning to tell you the truth for the past six months!

✅ The Government has been fooling its people for the past three years.

As you can see, the underlined parts in the above examples indicate a period of time, as against a specific point of time.

Important: Note that we use a “Perfect Progressive” tense in all of the examples above. This is because we talk about an event that has been happening for a period of time and it hasn’t stopped occurring yet.

How to Avoid Mistakes while using For vs Since

The trick is to understand what a particular phrase actually means before using the right preposition.

There are many situations that may confuse some learners, especially those who don’t use English as their first language.

For example, can you say which of the sentences below is correct?

I’ve been working on this task since a long time.

I’ve been working on this task for a long time.

Well, the second example is the right answer. However, if Google it, you will see this actually confuses many learners.

The reason is some “a long time” may appear like a specific point of time to some while many agree it’s only a period of time in the strict sense.

Even some users try to use “a long time ago” to mean a specific point in time. For example:

I’ve been living here since a long time ago.

However, it’s still not acceptable in Standard English because the point of time is not very specific here. Unless you specifically want to be secretive about the specific date, you should use for example, since 2010 (date) or last year to denote the specific time.

The good news is you can alter the sentence structure and use both Since and For as per your convenience depending on the message you want to send.

Sample This:

✅ Example #1: I’ve been standing in line for the past two hours.

✅ Example #2: I’ve been standing in line since it was very cold in the morning and ticket counter wasn’t open.

As you can see the second sentence makes a very strong argument.

Recommended Reading: Past Year vs Last Year: Which One is Correct?

Whenever I read comments on Facebook posts on the newsfeed, I cringe at the silly errors they commit. With the growing internet consumption, people actually grow up reading blogs that are teeming with grammar errors.

One of those glaring examples is “couldn’t able to”.
For Example:

Let me explain…

To understand the use of ‘could’, one needs to understand the rules of ‘modal verbs’ in English.

Here’s the deal.

Both can and be able to can be used to explain the ability of a person, especially when they try to do something.

For Example:

Moreover, when you talk about a situation in the past when you tried harder to achieve something and succeeded in it, then you usually use ‘was able to’ or ‘managed to’.

For Example:

The test was very tough; I was able to answer only four out of ten questions. (the speaker tried his/her best and could do only four)

OR

The test was very tough; I managed to answer only four out of ten questions. (managed to = was able to)

Note that you can also use the following sentence:

The test was very tough; I couldn’t do more than four out of the ten questions.

If you are wondering if you could use ‘I could do only four out of ten questions, then the answer is you can but it will explain the situation clearly enough.

In fact, this is the reason why they use ‘managed to’ or ‘was able to’ – it clearly says something was difficult.

Here are some more examples:

Now that the rules are clear to you, take a look at the sentence below:

I couldn’t able to sleep last night.

So, what’s wrong?

Sure, the speaker has mixed up two things here: couldn’t and able to whereas he should have used just one, for example:

Either: I couldn’t sleep last night. (they were partying hard in the neighborhood)

Or: I wasn’t able to sleep last night.

The next time you notice something writing  ‘can’t able to’ or couldn’t able to, just share this link with them.

More Resources: Learning English with BBC

Apart from Douchebaggery, there’s another thing that is hard to miss on Facebook: Poor Grammar.

Visit any Facebook Page and you will cringe at the degree of syntax errors people commit pretty innocently. One of those most frequently committed errors is the confusion between “Few” and “A Few”.

Don’t Say “Few” When You Mean “Some”

I have come across a lot of people who use “few” when they mean to say “some”.

Here’s one such example: “Few people will never change their behavior.”

In the above example, apparently, the person wants to say, “Some people will never change their behavior”.

Technically, the word “Few” suggests a small number of people or things. When we use the word “few”, we want to indicate that the number is smaller than what we expect or what is normally found in a particular situation.

For example, if you see only 5 to 10 students present in a classroom session for which 50 students have enrolled, you can say there are “few” students in this session.

Similarly, when we say there are few buyers for this product, we usually mean to indicate a number that is smaller than “our” expectations or that is generally expected in similar situations.

Some more examples of “few” would be as follows:

There were few spectators for the match. (meaning the stadium looked rather empty for its capacity)

There were few people in the street last evening. (meaning we usually see a larger number of people in the street during the evening everyday)

A Few = Not a Large Number

Compare the two sentences given below:

I have few friends who can help you with this. (meaning I have barely any friends who can help you or I have no friends who can help you with this)

I have a few friends who can help you with this. (meaning I have some/ a couple of friends who can help you with this)

Here’s another comparative example originally found on Stack Exchange.

“I have a few objections to the vendor’s proposed approach.”

This implies that I am not on board with the vendor’s proposal. I have some objections, but not so many as to say “I have several objections…”. Nevertheless, I have objections that need to be addressed.

“I have few objections to the vendor’s proposed approach.”

This is a more positive statement that implies I am more or less on board with the proposal. It is not a whole-hearted endorsement, but I barely have any objections at all.

You can read more about this here on Stack Exchange.

Quite a Few: Definition

The idiom “Quite a few” confuses many English learners from around the world because of the irony it holds. It is important to understand there are many idioms in English that originated from conventions rather than rules. This essentially means you cannot change their structure.

What “Quite a few” really means

Quite a few means a fairly large number of something. It is usually used in a relative sense, meaning more than what is expected in a usual scenario. To keep it simple, though, it is synonymous with a large amount/number, a huge amount/number, and a significant amount/number of something.

Here are some examples of “Quite a few”

Quite a few people: A large number of people.

For example, Quite a few people got the wrong impression.

Quite a few times: A significant number of times.

For example, I’ve seen this movie quite a few times and I know every dialogue by heart.

Quite a few years / Quite a few years ago: A long time / A long time ago.

For example, Quite a few years have passed since he got married. // I met him quite a few years ago so I may not recognize him now.

Quite a few of them: Most of them.

For example, Quite a few of them were corrupt and I couldn’t work with them for a long time.

Quite a bit: A fairly large amount.

For example, There’s quite a bit of snow on the ground.

“A Few” vs. “Quite a Few”

There is a very common expression “quite a few”, which is a trap for foreign learners because it looks like it could mean “rather few or very few”, but it does not.

“Quite a few” expresses that the speaker was impressed or astonished by the number, as they would have expected less. Or the speaker wants to emphasize the fact that it was “more than you would think”.

Look at the following example:

Quite a few people were seen at the sea shore despite the cyclone warning by the weather department.

In the above example, the speaker doesn’t mean that the beach was crowded. He only means that he hadn’t expected as many visitors at the sea shore on a day when the cyclone panic was endemic.

As stated in the example above, “Quite a few” is used only when a specific number (of people or things) are not expected in a given situation.

However, it has become quite common for people to use it to mean “many” or “a large number of”.

It means the exact opposite thing: “a large or significant number, or many”. So, saying “I have quite a few friends” is the same as saying “I have a lot of friends”.

You can read more about this phrase here on Stack Exchange.

Being a student you may experience some difficulty in grammar. So you can improve your grammar and writing skills by getting help from CustomWritings – English essay writing service and its professional academic writers.

Before I begin, I would like to explain what hypothetical conditions actually mean. Hypothetical is something that isn’t real or just imaginary.

For example, in a sentence, “I wish I were a Spider-Man”, you imagine something that isn’t possible or real.

Sometimes, we want to express thoughts in a way that both talk about a hypothetical instance in relation to a condition.

Here’s an example:

“If I were a Spider-Man, I would fly everywhere”.

In the above example, the person expresses his wishes of flying everywhere on the condition of being a Spider-Man. To explain it further, his not being a Spider-Man negates his chances of flying.

Here’s another example:

If I had enough money, I would definitely buy this house. (You won’t buy this house because you don’t have enough money but you kind of wish you had enough money)

Note: Please, note that in the above examples, both conditions are in relation to the present time. Therefore, the use of “were” or “had” doesn’t say anything about the past.

While the above examples are based on the present hypothesis, there are situations when we express a conditional hypothesis that has relations with the past.

For example:

If I had worked harder, I would have made it to the top position in that company.

In the example above, you’re essentially talking about an outcome (you not making it to the top position) that didn’t happen because some conditions weren’t fulfilled, i.e., you working harder.

However, we can hear many speakers using the following structures these days.

As a matter of fact, both these sentences are structurally ungrammatical.

The correct structures of these sentences should be as follows:

Here’s a thread on Stack Exchange that explains this usage with more examples.

Sometimes, we talk about the conditional hypothesis which is related to both past and present life.

For example:

If I had saved enough money in my youth, I would be living a happier life.

In the example above, the speaker is apparently in his old age and wishing for something he can no longer perform. However, his present life is affected by his past action.

Here are some more examples:

If he hadn’t done well in the training courses, he wouldn’t be a Project leader now.

Note: The keyword is now. He is now the Project Leader but would not now be the Project Leader if he hadn’t done well.

Now, let’s compare the following examples:

(In the second example, the person is no longer the project leader in the company because he may no longer be working in the company)

Now, let’s compare the following examples:

(In the first example, the speaker is apparently financially weak but wishing for something hypothetical. Note that both instances belong to the present time.

In the second example, the speaker simply talks about his past. Note that both his actions belong to the past only.)

Here’s a question for you: Is the following sentence grammatically correct or wrong?

If I were a Spider-Man, I would have flown everywhere.

PS: Please, answer the question in the comment section below.