WRONG: The population of China is more important than that of the USA.

RIGHT: The population of China is greater than/larger than that of the USA.

REASON: ‘Important’, in English, is a quality: a hierarchy of importance or pertinence. If you are talking about quantity or size, user greater or larger.

WRONG: Actually, the English economy is suffering, much like other economies.

RIGHT: Currently,…

REASON: So, you’re French. You thought ‘actuellement’ is ‘actually’ in English. You’re wrong! It’s a false friend. ‘Actually’ in English means ‘En réalité’ as a comparison with a myth or misunderstanding.

WRONG: I will pass my exam next year.

RIGHT: I will sit/take my exam next year. I may pass. I may fail.

REASON: In English “to pass an exam” means to be successful in an exam. You can ‘pass’ (réussir) or ‘fail’ (rater). When in French you say ‘passer un examen’ in English we say to sit or take an exam. Naturally, we hope you will pass your baccaluareat in English

WRONG: We use English to speak to strangers.

RIGHT: We use English to speak to foreigners.

REASON: Strangers are people you don’t know (whatever their nationality might be). Foreigners or internationals are people from another country.

WRONG: It’s not for nothing that so many American’s voted for Obama that year.

RIGHT: It is not without reason… It is easy to understand/see why…

REASON: ‘Ce n’est pas pour rien’ in French when translated into English is rather informal. Prefer the above suggestions.

WRONG: There were two levers in front of him. He had to choose the good. The bad one meant instant death. 

RIGHT: There were two levers in front of him. He had to choose the right one. The wrong one mean instant death.

REASON:  Put it this way. You are reading this page. Why? Because you want to use the right word and the right phrase and avoid the wrong one, don’t you? The adjectives ‘good’ and ‘bad’ refer to intrinsic qualities. ‘The right one’ and ‘the wrong one’ refer to right or wrong choices. Authors choose the right word (among the many available). Military commanders try to use the right strategy (among many possibilties). If there’s a choice, make the right one. Not the wrong one.

AVOID: These ideas have reached a big population. 

PREFER: These ideas have spread a large population. 

REASON: ’Big’ is a little naive. ‘Large’ is more literary.

WRONG: Every people likes to settle down with a good book before bed.  

RIGHT: Everyone likes to settle down with a good book before bed.  

REASON: Every people is meaningless in English. For a start, ‘people’ is an uncountable noun, and the word ‘every’ goes with countables.

WRONG: I got a so bad grade. I have a so bad headache.  

RIGHT: I received such a bad grade. I have such a bad headache.  

REASON: ”A so bad grade” is completely meaningless in English even is it sounds like the French “un si mauvais…”. So use “such a”.

AVOID (Although it is not wrong): A lot of people think that… A lot of time is spent…

PREFER: A great many people think that… (Countable noun) A great deal of time and money is spent on… (uncountable noun)  

REASON: Corrector see a lot of  ’a lot of’s and we like to see students use less informal, more stylish alternatives such as those suggested above.

WRONG: These ideas have spread in the world.

RIGHT: These ideas have spread throughout/around the world.

REASON: ”Throughout” and “around” carry a notion of coverage or of transmission better than ‘in’.

WRONG: england, france, english, french

RIGHT: England, France, English, French 

REASON: Nations AND NATIONALITIES always take a capital letter, even if being used as an adjective as in “English schools”.

WRONG: The car who was parked outside seemed to be occupied, but it was not the same person which had asked for sugar earlier. 

RIGHT: The car which was parked outside seemed to be occupied, but is was not the same person who had asked for sugar earlier. 

REASON: Who is for people. Which is for things. Who: people. Which: things. Don’t forget!

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?: 

Which author is best?    What author shall I recommend?  

ANSWER:

‘Which’ denotes one author from a short list of choices.(Example: Which author will win the Pulitzer this year (out of the nominees)?  We know that speaker is choosing from a limited list of authors.

‘What’ denotes a totally free choice. He or she may choose any author from among all authors. See also: ‘What is the matter?’ as in ‘I have no idea, tell me’.

WRONG: In the Britain, I was so happy. I went in UK twice.

RIGHT: In Britain, I was so happy. I went to the UK twice.

REASONS:

So very wrong in so many ways.

1) Countries don’t take the : France, Germany, Russia. No ‘the’. Unless:

2) the USA, the United States, the People’s Reublic of China and, of course, the UK. This is because we are talking about States, Kingdoms and Republics. And we are specificying which one: the United one, the Chinese one…. If the country in question is an abbreviation, you’ll need a ‘the’. If not, leave off the ‘the’.

3) We don’t go ‘in’ the UK we go ‘to’ the UK. We do things ‘in’ the UK once we get there, but we travel ‘to’ a place first.

WRONG: The dogs are more loyal than the cats. 

RIGHT: Dogs are more loyal than cats.

REASON: You must not use ‘the’ to generalise about things. Cats and dogs are cats and dogs. If you need to be precise about a certain group: ‘The cats in Spain’ or ‘The dogs used in the army’ then you’ll need a ‘the’.

Example:

‘The Artists would take days and weeks to finish a painting. But the impressionist artists being exhibited in Paris that year argued that spontanaeity and visceral authenticity were more important than time spent on precision and realism’.

So we have ‘artists’ in general and we have a specific group of ‘artists being exhibited in Paris’ at the time. Understand now?

WRONG: In countries with free speech, citizens can say everything they want.   

RIGHT: In countries with free speech, citizens can say anything they want.

REASON: Think about it: it is the idea of being able to say anything (n’importe quoi, n’importe comment) that is important not everything (tout).

WE DON’T SAY: In a first part… In a first time… 

WE SAY: First of all… To begin with…

REASON: We know that in French “Dans un premier temps…” is perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, translated into English it is quite meaningless. So use the two suggestions above to introduce the beginning of your essays.

WRONG: On the other side…  In a second time… 

RIGHT: On the other hand…  Secondly…  

REASON: We simply don’t say the phrases in red. We use the phrases in green.

WE DON’T SAY: We might ask… We need to ask… We should ask ourselves… We might say…

WE SAY: It might be asked… The question might be asked… It might be said…. 

REASON: We don’t use the “we” form in formal essay writing. We prefer the “passive” voice demonstrated here above.

AVOID: To understand Shakespeare we need to ask what was Elisabethan England really like.  

PREFER: Key to understanding Shakespeare is a better appreciation of conditions in Elisabethan England at the time.  

PREFER: In order to understand Shakespeare it is necessary to appreciate life in Elisabethan England at the time.  

REASON: It’s that passive voice again!

WE DON’T SAY: Asking this question will makes us able to better understand the problem. 

WE SAY: Asking this question will enable us to better understand the problem.  

REASON: ’…will make us able…’ does not exist.

TRY AND AVOID: Thanks to fifty years of post-war economic domination the USA has become the richest nation on earth.  

PREFER: Owing to…  

REASON: ’Owing to…’ is more formal, less naive and more literary.