SINS OF MY MOTHER... LANGUAGE

We all commit sins against the language, be it English, Spanish, whatever.  We ignore grammatical rules; we use wrong concepts, oxymorons, etc. I commit two major sins against the English language. One is alliteration. I tend to repeat words, never using synonyms. It can be very tiring to read, so I always try to reread everything I write, and correct it afterwards. Always proofread everything you write! It’s important! My other sin is a kind of egocentrism. Basically I start too many sentences with I, me, mine, etc. There are other ways of expressing a sentence without sounding big-headed, but there you are.

A sin I notice constantly with Spanish students is the over use of the word TO. Since we use TO to conjugate verbs, Spanish students use it when using that verb. It’s not only unnecessary, sometimes it’s incorrect.

Here is a list of common grammar mistakes that my mother gave me; it’s very interesting and useful.

What are your sins?