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CORRECT 35 OF THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES ENGLISH LEARNERS MAKE (P3)

 

12. Win vs Earn

  • She wins a good salary. ❌
  • She earns a good salary. ✅

So many students confuse these words, often because there’s only one word in their first language. My students tend to use “win” too often and seem to forget about “earn”.

We generally use “win” when we get something because of luck or in a competition.

  • Heather won $10 on the lottery.
  • We won first prize in the baking competition.

We use “earn” when we get money from a job.

  • Heather earns $30,000 a year as a teacher.

Or to say we make a profit from a business or investment.

  • The company earned $4 million last year.

“Win” and “earn” have more closely related meanings, too.

To win

To earn

To get sth. you want, particularly because of the effort you put in

  • Kelly won a lot of support by promising lower taxes.
  • We won the contract despite stiff competition.

To get sth., you deserve

  • After running 20 kilometers, she’d definitely earned a rest.
  • The team earned the right to play in the final.

Sometimes, we can use “win” and “earn” with little or no difference in meaning, particularly with words like “trust”, “respect,” or “reputation”. A couple of examples:

  • He won the respect of his colleagues with his brave speech.
  • Alex has earned a reputation for being reliable.

13. Meet vs Get to know vs Know

To meet

To get to know

To know

To see or be introduced to sb. for the first time

  • I met my husband at a party.

To gradually become familiar with sb./sth.

  • I got to know him over the next few months.

To be familiar with sb./sth.

  • I already knew his brother because he was in my class at school.

A common mistake I hear from my students when they’re going or have been on holiday is this:

  • I met this culture. ❌
  • I knew this culture. ❌

We don’t “meet” something in this context. And “know” is simply the wrong word choice, as it sounds like you had complete knowledge of the culture. 

My students usually mean to say this:

  • I got to know this culture. ✅

(I gradually become more familiar with it.)

We could say:

  • I met lots of new people and got to know the culture. ✅

I also hear my students saying things like this:

  • I know him more and more.

We would usually use “get to know” again here:

  • I’m getting to know him.
  • I’m getting to know him better.

Those are the most natural ways to say that you’re becoming more familiar with someone.

14. Boring vs Bored

  • I’m so boring. 
  • I’m so bored.

This is by far one of the most common mistakes English learners make. The confusion comes from not clearly understanding the difference between -ing and -ed adjectives (participle adjectives)

-ed adjectives describe how a person feel

-ing adjectives describe what causes the feeling
  • I’m bored. (I feel boredom.)
  • She’s interested. (She feels interested.)
  • They’re excited. (They feel excitement.)
  • This film is boring. (The film causes boredom.)
  • The lesson was interesting. (The lesson creates interest.)
  • The news is exciting. (The news causes excitement.)

Examples:

  • I’m bored because the meeting is so boring.
  • The students were confused by the confusing instructions.
  • We’re tired after that tiring journey.

*Bored with vs Bored by vs Bored of

All three are acceptable, but there are some differences

Bored with – common structure

  • I’m bored with this book.
  • She’s bored with her job.

Bored by – slightly more formal, emphasises what causes the boredom

  • I was bored by the lecture.
  • They’re bored by repetitive tasks.

Bored of – very common (though some consider it grammatically incorrect)

  • I’m bored of doing the same thing every day.
  • He’s bored of that game already.
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