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Common Errors

Hello People,
I am back to discuss certain inadvertant mistakes that we tend to commit while solving sentence correction questions. I chanced upon few of these on the internet and consider it worth to share with all of you. Fine nuances of grammar, here it goes...
Aspect Vs Respect:
These two words are widely used when talking about different perspectives of an idea but we have to keep in mind that they are NOT interchangeable, like we can say "in all/some/this RESPECT" but we cannot say "in all/some/this ASPECT". But we look at all ASPECTS of an issue and not RESPECTS of an issue.

As less as possible:
Now many of us are going to be surprised to know this...the expression is "as little as possible" and NOT "as less as possible".

As time progressed/passed:
Time as such can never progress...events progress...time passes.So the correct expression should be "as time passed".

Everyone/Every one:
“Everyone” means “everybody” and is used when you want to refer to all the people in a group: “Everyone in my family is an engineer.”
But while referring to the individuals who make up a group, then the phrase is “every one.” like “We wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas” (every single one of you).

New lease of/on life:
Reinvigorated people are said to have been granted with a "new lease on life" and not "new lease of life."

For sale/On sale:
When you sell something it is "for sale" and when you lower the price it is "on sale".

Maybe/May be:
Maybe is an adverb meaning "perhaps", like "Maybe he is coming for the party" and this sentenece MAY BE rephrased by "Perhaps he is coming for the party"(Now you get the difference?)

Worse comes to worse/Worst comes to worst:
The traditional phrase was "worst comes to worst", however with the passage of time a more logical form has been adopted i.e. "worse comes to worst". The phrase "worse comes to worse" is simply incorrect.

Possessed of/by/with:
When you own any object or thing the you are "possessed of it"; You are "possessed by" a spirit; When you have a strong desire to win, you are "possessed with" passion for vistory and success.

AND

If Vs Whether:
While discussing two possibilities it is always advisable to use WHETHER and in case of conditional clauses, the use of IF is preferred. "I do not know whether you want to go for the movie" and "You must go for the film IF you want to meet him"

Phew...that was quite an exhaustive fact finding tour, wasn't it?? I shall surely keep all of you updated with many more errors of this kind. Till then let's continue our efforts of conquering the world of grammar!!!

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