Business English Expressions Exercise - Answers

Spot the mistakes- Answers

1) We are only five There are five of us on our team.

In English, we can’t say “we are five,” “they are seven,” “you are three,” etc. We say “there are five of us,” “there are seven of them,” “there are three of you,” etc.

Correct: There are five of us working on this project.
Incorrect: We are five working on this project.
Correct: There are six of you in your department, correct?
Incorrect: You are six in your department, correct?

2) I would rather to work from home than come to the office.

After “rather,” we use the base form of the verb (“I’d rather go/work/eat/see” etc.).

3) We’re used to have having a lot of work to do, so meeting the deadline won’t be a problem.

To talk about something that someone is accustomed to doing, we use the following formula:

Subject + verb to be + used to + gerund (ing)

Correct: I’m used to getting up early, so I don’t mind coming in at 7 AM.
Incorrect: I’m used to get up early, so I don’t mind coming in at 7 AM.
Correct: She’s not used to speaking English on the phone, so it sometimes makes her nervous.
Incorrect: She’s not used to speak English on the phone, so it sometimes makes her nervous.

Note: We often use this grammatical structure to talk about why something is (or isn’t) a problem.

4) My client sent me an email but I haven’t replied her yet.

We can use “reply“:
a) without an object
b) followed by “to + what we are replying to.”

Correct: I received an invitation from John, but I haven’t replied yet. (“reply” used without an object)
Incorrect: I received an invitation from John, but I haven’t replied him yet.
Correct: I haven’t replied to his email yet. (“reply” + what we are replying to)
Incorrect: I haven’t replied his email yet.

5) Maybe I’m going to I might finish this today.

We don’t use “Maybe I’m going to (base form)” to communicate a future possibility. Instead, we use “might” and the base form of the verb.

Correct: She might go to the meeting.
Incorrect: Maybe she’s going to go to the meeting.
Correct: They might not finish the project on time.
Incorrect: Maybe they’re not going to finish the project on time.

6) Please borrow lend me your badge so I can get into the storage closet.

The person who owns the item lends it, and the person who uses the item for a short period of time borrows it.

Check out this page for more commonly confused words.

7) I can’t finish this by the end of the day. Even though Even if I spend all day on it, I won’t finish on time.

We use “even though” or “although” for something that is true. We use “even if” to talk about a hypothetical condition.

Correct: We’re going to the beach tomorrow even if it rains. (hypothetical condition – “even if” is correct)
Incorrect: We’re going to the beach tomorrow even though it rains.
Correct: Even though it rained, we had a great time at the beach. (something that is true – it rained at the beach, but we had fun)
Incorrect: Even if it rained, we had a great time at the beach.

8) Probably, I’ll probably go to the beach on Saturday.

“Probably” typically goes before the main verb or after the verb “to be.”
Note: The negative would be “I probably won’t go to the beach on Saturday.”

9) The Old Man and the Sea was written for by Ernest Hemingway.

In the passive voice, we use “by” to talk about who created something (a painting, a book, a story, etc.).

10) Our office is near to the airport, so it will be easy for you to get here.

We say “close to” or “near,” but not “near to.”

11) We have many stuffs a lot of stuff to do this week, so I don’t know if I can go to English class.

“Stuff” cannot be plural. It is a non-count noun. Also, keep in mind that “stuff” is fairly informal.

12) Despite Even though/Although I was tired, I came to work today.

We use “despite/in spite of” before a noun or gerund. We use “even though/although” before a subject and a verb.

Correct: Despite being sick, I came to work. (“Despite” + gerund)
Correct: In spite of being sick, I came to work. (“In spite of” + gerund)
Incorrect: Despite I was sick, I came to work.
Incorrect: In spite of I was sick, I came to work. (We need the gerund or a noun after “despite” or “in spite of”)
Correct: Although I was sick, I came to work.
Correct: Even though I was sick, I came to work. (We need a subject and a verb after “although” or “even though”)
Incorrect: Despite I was sick, I came to work.
Incorrect: In spite of I was sick, I came to work.

13) If we had a gym here, I can could work out after work.

This is an unreal conditional (also called the “second conditional”). We use unreal conditionals to talk about hypothetical or unreal situations in the present or future.
For more information, check out this guide to conditionals.

14) I always try to do things very careful carefully and make sure I do them correct correctly. (two mistakes)

In this sentence, we need to use adverbs instead of adjectives because we are modifying a verb.

15) We have people from all over the world here: India, the United States, Venezuela, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. (two mistakes)

Some names of countries need “the” before them. Examples: the Philippines, the United States, the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, the Sudan, the United Arab Emirates.

16) Are we going to have to work overtime again this week? I hope no not.

The expression is “I hope not,” not “I hope no.”

17) Yesterday, he told me that he will would send the email after lunch, but he didn’t do it.

In reported speech, “will” becomes “would” or “going to.”

Correct: On my first day, they told me that we would have orientation at the end of my first week.
Correct: On my first day, they told me that we were going to have orientation at the end of my first week.
Incorrect: On my first day, they told me that we will have orientation at the end of my first week.
Incorrect: On my first day, they told me that we are going to have orientation at the end of my first week.

18) My schedule often changes, but I normally work since from 9 AM to 6 PM.

For schedules, we use “from….to…“.

19) I thought you were still with Microsoft. When did you stop to work working there?

We use “stop + gerund” to communicate that an action has finished.
Correct: I stopped working at 6 PM last night.
Incorrect: I stopped to work at 6 PM last night.

We use “stop + infinitive” to communicate that we stopped one action to start another action.
Correct: I was working this morning, but I stopped to run some errands. (My work stopped SO THAT I could run some errands)
Incorrect: I was working this morning, but I stopped running some errands.

20) I’m not pretty sure about what we should do.

We don’t use “pretty sure” in the negative. We can say “I’m pretty sure,” but “I’m not pretty sure” doesn’t work.

21) How long time did you work in the public sector?

We say “how long” for questions about duration of time, not “how long time…”

22) Do you know where is the restaurant the restaurant is?

After expressions like “Do you know…,” “Could you tell me,..” and “I was wondering if…” we use statement order, NOT question order.

Correct: Could you tell me what time it is?
Incorrect: Could you tell me what time is it?
Correct: Do you know who she is?
Incorrect: Do you know who is she?

Note: Anytime we are not asking a question, we would use statement order.

Correct: I’m not sure what we have to do. (Not a question — we don’t use “do” here and we don’t use question order)
Incorrect: I’m not sure what do we have to do.
Correct: I have no idea where he has been.
Incorrect: I have no idea where has he been. (Not a question — we don’t use question order)

23) He is well-experiencedHe has a lot of experience, so we know that he can do the job.

We can’t use “well” before all adjectives in English. Sometimes it works (“well-paid,” “well-educated,”), but sometimes it does not (“well-knowledgeable,” “well-interpreted“).

24) Who is in charge to decide of deciding which printer to buy?

We say “in charge of + gerund.”

25) I had a hard time getting in touch with my supervisor. After calling for hours, I finally could was able get in touch with her.

We use “was/were able to” to talk about one successful event in the past. We use “could” or “was/were able to” to talk about what was generally possible in the past.

Correct: We were able to outbid out competitors. (We outbid them and won the contract)
Incorrect: We could outbid our competitors. (Incorrect if we are talking about a successful event in the past)

Note: In the negative form, we could use both forms.
Correct: We weren’t able to outbid our competitors.
Correct: We couldn’t outbid our competitors.

To talk about what was generally possible in the past, we can use “could” or “was/were able to.” “Could” is more common, but both are correct.

Correct: When I was in college, I could stay up all night.
Correct When I was in college, I was able to stay up all night.

Source: Business English Resources