Caution – word usage and grammar accuracy online

 

I have seen people relying too much on the information obtained from the internet.  We all know that not all information gathered from internet is accurate.  There are all kinds of people providing all sorts of information online and they could have easily made a mistake or a typo. 很多人在用不代表一定對. Unless the information you obtained comes from a reputable site, you should be very precautious on the information you obtained.

 

A suggestion to you is not to trust everything you read from internet unless it is from a reputable site - from university, etc.

For example:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  (X)


This is a very popular sentence you will find on the internet.  You can probably use it as slang but you cannot use to write formal paper.

Correct grammar is:
If it wasn't broken, don't fix it. (O)

Likewise, you cannot say that:
It ain't my fault that Mary was hurt. (X)

 

You can never write something like that in a paper or as an answer for your exams.

 

Formal English writing is:  It wasn’t my fault that Mary was hurt. (O)

 

Someone had mentioned to me that he had found the following usages from the internet.  All of these usages that he mentioned were grammatically incorrect and will be marked wrong from an English teacher even my son’s kindergarten teacher considers them incorrect, not to mention a professor who teachers grammar in university.  The problem with the following sentences is having two verbs in the main sentence.

 

(1) I stayed at home watched tv yesterday.  (X)

I stayed at home and watched TV yesterday. (O)

I stayed at home watching TV yesterday. (O)

 

(2) I thought it would be safer so I stayed home watched movies. (X)

I thought it would be safer so I stayed home and watched movies (O)

I thought it would safer so I stayed home watching movies. (O)

 

(3) We stayed here watched it rot around us. (X)
We stayed here
and watched it rot around us

We stayed here watching it rot around us

 

(4) We simply stayed home, watched the Toronto Maple Leafs. (X)

We simply stayed home, and watched the Toronto Maple Leafs (O)

We simply stayed home, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs (O)

 

 

Another example would be: “take it seriously”

 

Can you say “take it serious”?  NO. 

 

Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Serious (adj.)
Seriously (adv.)

Take it seriously (O)
Take it serious. (X)

 

As for the usage of “take it easy”.  “Easy” can be used as an adverb, so “take it easy” is an accurate usage with correct grammar.

See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/easy

 

I totally agreed with the following statement.  Since we are not native speakers, it is important that we learn to use accurate grammar.  There are a lot very good grammar websites online that you can utilize.  Take advantage of that. 

 

Last but not least, do not rely too heavily on what you read from internet.  Always verify for its authenticity and accuracy by looking up a reputable grammar website or a dictionary.

 

** 版權所有 - Elisa

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