Fewer or less, me or I: how to stop confusing similar English words - ForumDaily
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Fewer or less, me or I: how to stop confusing similar English words

Many of us make mistakes when we write. The reason may be either poor knowledge of grammar or simple carelessness. However, mistakes affect how readers perceive what we have written. A stupid typo can ruin the impression of even a very good text. Site Team The Language Nerds I have collected the most common mistakes in English.

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By working through these 6 typical mistakes, you will be able to fill out your resume or write a business letter more competently. So, what are these “slippery spots” in the English language that require additional attention?

  1. Fewer vs. Less

This is one of the tricky rules, but it's not that hard to break. Use fewer, when you can count the number of things being discussed.

Fewer than the required number of people passed the test.

Use moins, when describing intangible concepts such as time.

It took me less time to complete the paper.

  1. Which vs. That

This mistake is not always obvious. There are two ways to remember when to use in a sentence which and when that .

First, if you can remove the phrase and the meaning of the sentence will not change, use which; if it is impossible to remove it without changing the meaning of the sentence, write that.

Let's look at an example where you can throw out the which phrase.

The report, which contained several lovely images, was well received.
Remove which contained several images, and the sentence will still make sense.

But here's another example:

Reports that contain images are more easily understood.
Remove the phrase that contain images, and this sentence will no longer make sense.

Another simple way: if a phrase is separated by commas, it should contain which. If commas are not needed, feel free to use that.

  1. Into vs Into

If you think that into - it's just a combination in и to, then you are wrong. Into always indicates movement.

I walked into the office twenty minutes late.

But In и to can be used in a variety of non-movement situations.

I was called in to go over the reports.

  1. Like vs. Such as

In colloquial speech we use like almost everywhere. But technically it is not always correct. Using like, you compare two things that are similar. For example:

My stupid dog barks like every other dog.

But when you give examples, you should write such as:

My stupid dog has many annoying qualities, such as his tendency to bark loudly late in the night.

  1. Me vs I

Classic mistake. Many people get confused about when to use me, and when I. Both words are pronouns, but one is used when it is the subject of the sentence - the one who performs the action. We use the other when it is the object - the one to whom the action is directed.

If you say:

"I love cake" - word I is the subject, and cake — object.

When you say:

Cookie Monster loves me, that word me is an object - the one who is loved.

The same goes for here , Him, they и Them.

A situation that often confuses people is the phrases Between you and me or Between him and me. In this case, between is a preposition (as up, on, at, or around), and the pronouns act as objects of this preposition, so it is correct to say meAnd not I.

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  1. Advise vs Advice

To advise someone - this is "to give someone advice." advise, with the letter S, is a verb, whereas advice, with the letter C, is a noun.

To avoid this mistake, remember that advisors advise; it helps to remember that it is a verb. (Note: When the author wrote this sentence, Grammarly and spell check flagged the word advise as incorrect! Note that even a grammar checker can make mistakes in this case).

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