English Grammar Common errors in Conjunctions | Exercises | Notes

ERRORS IN USE OF CONJUNCTIONS

1. Scarcely or hardly is followed by when.
e.g. Scarcely had I entered the room when I heard a shriek.
Hardly had I slept when the telephone rang.

2. Though is followed by yet.
e.g. Though he worked hard yet he failed.

3. No sooner is followed by than.
e.g. No sooner did we reach there than it began to rain.

4. Not only is followed by but also.
e.g. Not only did he help her, but also dropped her home safely.

5. Lest is negative and so should not be followed by not; it is followed by should.
e.g. Work hard lest you should fail.
If would or may is used in place of should, then else should be used in place of lest.
e.g. Give him water, else he may die.
Leave on time, else you would miss the train.

6. Both is complemented by and, not by as well as.
e.g. Both Amit and Satish are good at Science.

7. So as is used in negative sentences, whereas as as is used in affirmative sentences.
e.g. He is not so tall as his brother.
He is as tall as his brother.

8. Other is followed by than.
e.g. He has no other claim than his wealth.

9. The word reason is not followed by because, but by that.
e.g. The reason why he didn’t go was that his mother was ill.

10. because denotes reason.
in order that denotes purpose.
e.g. He went to the doctor because he was ill.
He went to Delhi in order that he might see Mr. Roy.

11. Words such as regard, describe, define, treat, mention, depict, portray are followed by as.
e.g. I regard her as my sister.
He was treated as a slave.

12. As and since are also used to express reason.

e.g. As he was not there, I spoke to his brother.

Since he did not come to the party, his gift was sent to him.

13. Neither is followed by nor and both are followed by same auxiliary verb.
e.g. Neither Ravi nor Raju was seen.
Neither did I read nor did I write.

14. Either is followed by or.
e.g. Either you are or he is to blame.

15. Unless, until, if not, so that should not be followed by not.
e.g. Wait here until I come.
Do not go unless I return.

16. If is used in conditional series Whether is used in uncertainty.
e.g. If he does not return the books, he will not be awarded the certificate.
I don’t know whether he was present.

17. To express time before use until or till and to express how long use as long as.
. e.g. He continued to be lazy, until he was ten years old.
Work as long as you live.

18. Such is followed by as.
e.g. We talked about such subjects as the weather.
Such is followed by that if we emphasize degree of something by mentioning the result.
e.g. The extent of the disaster was such that not a single man could survive.

19. Like is followed by pronoun; as is followed by a clause.
e.g. He runs like me.
He runs as I do.