 15 Common Errors in Spoken English from EspressoEnglish.net 1. Everybody Are Happy Words like everybody, somebody, anybody, and nobody are actually singular, not plural. Even though everybody refers to a lot of people, it takes the singular verb, so the correct sentence is, everybody is happy. 2. I'll Explain You the Problem In this sentence there are two objects, the direct object, the problem, and the indirect object, you. After explain, we need to use to before the indirect object, the person to whom we are doing the explaining. Also, it's more common to put the direct object first, so the correct sentence is, I'll explain the problem to you. 3. I have the possibility to study in Canada next year With the word have, we use opportunity, not possibility. So the correct sentence is, I have the opportunity to study in Canada next year. The word possibility is more used with there is, for example, there's a possibility I may study in Canada next year. 4. I think she doesn't like tomatoes Although there's no specific grammar rule here, it's more common to say, I don't think she likes tomatoes. 5. If I will see John later, I'll give him the message Although both events, seeing John and giving him the message, are technically in the future, this sentence should be in the first conditional form. If I see John later, I'll give him the message. In the first conditional, we have two parts of the sentence, the condition and the result. Although both are in the future, we use the present form of the verb with if and then will and won't with the verb in the result. 6. Do you want that I make breakfast? The word that is not typically used after want. The correct sentence is, do you want me to make breakfast? 7. I'm thinking to buy a new car When you are considering doing something in the future, we don't use the word to after think, so the correct sentence would be, I'm thinking of buying a new car, or I'm thinking about buying a new car. We use the word of or about with the ing form of the verb. 8. They enjoyed the baseball game despite of the rain Despite and in spite of mean the same thing, but after despite we never use of. The correct sentence would be, they enjoyed the baseball game despite the rain, or they enjoyed the baseball game in spite of the rain. 9. My ten years old daughter loves to dance When the age comes after the word is, then you say years old. For example, my daughter is ten years old. But when the age comes before the person or object as an adjective, then you say year, not years. My ten year old daughter loves to dance. 10. Our house is near to the beach Near and close to mean the same thing, but the word to is never used after near. The correct sentence is, our house is near the beach, or our house is close to the beach. 11. I like very much soccer We don't normally put very much between a verb like and its object, soccer. The correct sentence would be, I like soccer very much. However, in spoken English it would probably be more common to say, I like soccer a lot, or I really like soccer. 12. Gary gave to Joan the keys The verb give has two objects, the indirect object, Joan, and the direct object, the keys. We can say this sentence correctly in two ways. Gary gave Joan the keys, or Gary gave the keys to Joan. 13. She asked me where do I work This is one of the most difficult parts of English, reported speech. In reported questions we do not use the auxiliary verbs do, does, or did, so the correct sentence is, she asked me where I work. 14. They left without say goodbye When you use a verb after conjunctions and prepositions like after, before, since, when, while, without, instead of, and in spite of, the verb is generally in the ing form. So the correct sentence is, they left without saying goodbye. 15. I need to finish this project until Friday We use until to talk about a continuous situation that will continue up to a certain moment. For example, I'm staying in the city until June. Staying is a continuous action. Use the word by to talk about a single action or event that will happen before a future moment. By is often used with deadlines, so the correct sentence is, I need to finish this project by Friday. For more detailed explanations about the most common English errors, get the book 100 Common Errors in English, available at espressoenglish.net. Thanks for watching English Tips from Espresso English. If you liked this video, please share it.