EG1471 e-portfolio 6

There are three grammar mistakes that I normally faced when I’m doing writing assignment, that is, article, perfect tenses, and gerund. For article, I will always use it wrongly or even neglect it when a sentence really needs it. I’m confused about the types of perfect tense, like when to use had plus the past participle or have/has plus the past participle. Also, I’m always confused about the usage of gerund.

Articles are commonly used with common nouns or noun phrases and it consist of the nonspecific articles (a/an) and the specific article (the). The usage of article is depending on generic or specific reference. ‘The” article is used to indicate some specific object in the sentence after a general reference is made about the object or the object is unique, and it is also used when the noun has been modified by a adjectival phrase or clause. As for article ‘a’ and ‘an’, they are used before a singular countable noun that is non specific. ‘An’ is used when the beginning sound of the nonspecific singular countable noun is a vowel sound. Where as, ‘a’ is used when the beginning of the noun is a consonant.

Mistake:

Governments should set up rules and regulations on the use of the technology, so that it would not be misused for wrong or even criminal purposes.

Corrected version:

Governments should set up rules and regulations on the use of the technology, so that it would not be misused for the wrong or even criminal purposes.


There are four types of perfect tenses, present perfect, past perfect, present perfect progressive and past perfect progressive. Present perfect tense (has/have + past participle) is used to express an action or state has happened in the very recent past where as past perfect tense (had + past participle) is used to express an action which is completed in the past. Present perfect progressive (has/have + been + past participle) is used to stress the duration of an activity happened in the recent past. Past perfect progressive (had + been + past participle) is used to stress the duration of an activity that was completed before another action or time in the past.

Mistake:

Recently, researchers Mitchell and Just had utilized the new technology, computational modeling in human brain studies.

Corrected version:

Recently, researchers Mitchell and Just have utilized the new technology, computational modeling in human brain studies.


As for gerund, it is ‘-ing’ form of the verb but it is used as a noun. It is often called a verbal noun. A gerund can be a subject of a sentence, an abject of a verb, and an object of a preposition.
Mistake:

I prefer stay at home to watching a film at the cinema.

Corrected version:

I prefer staying at home to watching a film at the cinema.


Reference:
Lane, A. and Lange, E. (1999). Writing Clearly: An Editing
Guide (2nd ed.). Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers,
198-209.
Raimes, A. (2006). Grammar Troublespots: A Guide for
Student Writers (3rd ed.). New York: Cambridge
University Press, 98-105.
Swales, J.M. and Feak, C.B. (2009). Academic Writing for
Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills (2nd ed.).
USA: The University of Michigan Press, 289-301.