Full video

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Be honest. Do you make mistakes like

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this? There's a surprise in the end of

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the film. I'm again unemployed. The

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reason because and I should of studied

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earlier. What about yes, I like.

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So, these are five very common mistakes

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in English. In this video, we're going

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to look at how to correct them. And I

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want to let you know that some of these

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mistakes are more commonly made by

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native speakers. First though, I have

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something that's really going to help

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you. I need to tell you about something

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incredible. I have created a brand new,

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everything. 35 common mistakes English

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learners make and how to fix them. This

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powerful ebook will help you fix some of

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the most common errors English learners

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make immediately.

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Inside, you will find everything from

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today's lesson plus 30 more mistakes

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that my teaching team and I have seen

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again and again. And yes, for now, I'm

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offering it to you for free. Just sign

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up to my mailing list using the link in

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I've ever created and I can't wait for

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you to see it. Okay, let's begin. For

1:28

our first common mistake, we're looking

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at in the end versus at the end. Even

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higher level learners confuse these

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phrases and why wouldn't you? It's just

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a tiny change of preposition, just two

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letters. So, which one do we need to

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complete this sentence? In or at?

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The end, we decided to stay at home. It

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should be in the end, meaning finally or

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eventually, usually after a period of

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time, thought, or difficulty.

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Now, this is a fixed idiomatic phrase

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referring to the final result or

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decision.

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It's not used to talk about the literal

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or metaphorical end of something like a

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road or a film. Let's see two more

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examples. In the end, we decided to move

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to London after a long time thinking

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about it.

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Or it was difficult, but in the end

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everything worked out.

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Finally, after some problems. Now, at

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the end refers to the final point in

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time or space of something specific.

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It's more literal than in the end.

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It can be followed by of plus a noun.

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So, if we go back to the sentence in the

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introduction, we now know that it should

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be there's a surprise at the end of the

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film, not in the end.

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A couple more examples. I'm always tired

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at the end of the week, on Fridays, for

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example. Or the station is at the end of

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this road. Okay, mistake number two, try

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to correct this sentence.

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I am again unemployed. It should be I'm

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unemployed again.

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So, we tend to place again at the end of

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a clause, not in the middle. This might

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be different to your first language.

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In these examples, it means one more

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time. For example, can you start the

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video again, please? Or we won't see

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each other again. Now, you'll sometimes

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see again before the main verb. This is

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more formal than placing again at the

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end and is done for emphasis.

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For even greater emphasis, we can add

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yet.

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Yet again.

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She yet again changed the project brief.

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Now, again and yet again can also appear

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at the beginning for emphasis. Yet

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again, the train was delayed. But, we

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don't place it before an adjective. So,

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I'm again tired is not correct.

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It's tricky to get this right, but if

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you're in doubt, placing again after the

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clause is a safe bet as it's the most

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common neutral option. Don't worry if

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this doesn't seem totally clear. We go

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into more detail and there are more

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examples in the ebook. Scan the QR code

4:31

there or click the link in the

4:32

description to download your free copy.

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Okay, mistake number three is one of the

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mistakes I've heard most over the years.

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Do you like coffee? Yes, I like.

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Now, unfortunately, that is not how we

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make short answers. We will understand

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you. If you say this, it's not a

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communication issue, but if we want to

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be grammatically correct, we should say,

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yes, I do. When replying to short

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questions, we make yes or no short

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answers with an auxiliary verb, the same

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one that's in the question, not with the

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main verb.

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Did they enjoy the party? Yes, they did,

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not yes, they enjoyed.

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Has he visited Liverpool before? No, he

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hasn't. Not no, he hasn't visited. Now,

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you can give a full answer if you want

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to, but this is less common in natural

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speech. To like is a transitive verb, so

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it needs an object. Do you like coffee?

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Yes, I like it or yes, I like coffee.

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It's more common to use the pronoun

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rather than the noun to avoid

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repetition. You can also just say, yes,

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which makes things much easier. But,

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never yes, I like. Sometimes

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intransitive verbs can be used alone in

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replies. Did he laugh? Yes, he laughed.

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We usually only say this for emphasis.

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For example, oh, he laughed as in he

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laughed a lot.

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Generally, it's more natural to say yes,

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he did. Now, this is something that

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trips even advanced learners up. So,

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don't worry if you still make this

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mistake. Okay, mistake number four, try

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to correct this sentence.

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That's the reason because I left. Now,

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the easiest way is to simply remove

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because. That's the reason I left.

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You could also replace because with that

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or why. But, we don't say the reason

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because I did something. So, one way to

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use reason correctly is by following it

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with why or that plus a clause. That's

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the reason why we canceled the trip. In

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informal English, you can omit why or

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that. The reason she left early was to

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get to her flight. Not the reason

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because she left or was because to get

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her flight. There are lots of other

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structures we can use after reason, but

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it's this particular one that my

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students make mistakes with. Because is

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used as a conjunction to join two

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clauses showing cause and effect. She

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left early because she needed to get her

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flight. Try to use the weak form when

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because appears as part of a sentence.

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Because because with a schwa in the

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second syllable, not because. You can

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say it, but because sounds more natural.

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You'll often see because of followed by

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a noun.

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We canceled the trip because of the

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weather. Okay, we're on to our final

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mistakes. Students and native speakers,

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listen up. Which word is contracted

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here?

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I should have studied harder.

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Is it should of or should have? It's I

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should have studied harder, not I should

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of studied harder.

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Now, I think people use of because when

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have is contracted after a consonant

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sound, it sounds the same as the weak

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form of of. Have contracted, of of

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contracted, of. Should have, should of.

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Would have, would of.

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Could have, could of.

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That of sound tricks our brain into

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thinking it's of, and people make the

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mistake of saying it or writing it. In

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fast speech, we often use the informal

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contractions shoulda, woulda, and

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coulda, which don't sound like they

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contain have, either.

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So, the structure to form a clause with

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a past modal is modal verb plus have

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plus past participle.

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I should have called her.

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But, in speech, we tend to use

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contractions. I should have called her.

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This makes your English sound more

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natural than if you use the full form.

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They would have bought it if it had been

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cheaper. You could have been hurt. We

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also use the same structure with other

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modal verbs like must and might. I hear

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must of and might of, but again, they're

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not correct. She must of already gone

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home. The dog might have eaten it. Okay,

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are you ready to test what you've

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learnt? I've got a short quiz for you.

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Complete the gaps with one word from the

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video lesson to form a structure we've

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looked at today. Here are the sentences.

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One.

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The reason

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they're upset is the sudden change in

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plans.

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Two,

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what happened

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the end of the film? I fell asleep.

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Three,

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do you like pancakes? Yes, I

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Four, you should

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gone to the doctor.

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And five, I can't believe he's late for

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work.

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That's the third time this week. I'll

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give you 5 seconds, but pause if you

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need more time.

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Okay, and number one, we can have that

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or why, or we could just leave it blank.

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We can't use because, it doesn't join

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two clauses.

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Two, should be at the end, the literal

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end point of the film.

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Three, yes, I do, not yes, I like, which

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is grammatically incorrect.

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Four, you should have gone, or you

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should have gone, not should of, which

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sounds the same in the short form, but

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isn't correct.

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And number five should be, again,

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he's late for work again, with again

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placed naturally at the end.

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So, let me know your score out of five

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in the comments, and tell me which of

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these mistakes have you made in the

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past. Don't forget to download your

10:58

ebook with 35 common mistakes and

11:02

exactly how to correct them. It has

11:04

another quiz you can really practice

11:05

what you've learned. It's a massive

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ebook. I think you're going to love it,

11:09

so take advantage of it being free. The

11:12

link is in the description box, or you

11:14

can scan the QR code there. I really

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hope you enjoyed today's lesson and that

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you learned something. I will see you in

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the next one. Bye.

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>> I want

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>> [music]