Want to have a quick test to see how many English mistakes you can find? Here you go:

Dear John:

      We have visited Singapore last weekend. Mary, one of our classmates, would take us to sightseeing. In one occasion, we dined out at a very nicely and expensive restaurants. On weekdays, we attended some lectures. It has a two hours break between these lectures. I wish you are there with us. I will call you on November. Take care!

                                                                                                                                                 Best regards,
                                                                                                                                                         Mimi
(Answer at the end)

How many errors have you spotted? Let me give you a hint. There are 10 in total! You found them all? Most? Some? No matter what, as a non-native English speaker and despite years of learning, occasionally I make involuntary mistakes on English grammar and choice of words. There are many occasions I am intrigued and baffled by the nuance differences in the correct use of punctuation marks, articles, pronouns, quantifiers, subject verb agreement, countable and uncountable nouns, etc. Well, I guess this is not uncommon for non-native English speakers. That’s why Steve Hart’s “English exposed: common mistakes made by Chinese speakers” will come into handy.

A practical guide on how to write good academic English, this book was written to address the most common English errors identified from the academic papers written by non-native English speakers, like Chinese undergraduates and postgraduates. But don’t be intimidated by “academic English”. This is an easy enough guide for English learners to learn about the common English errors.

The book is divided into three main sections:

• Part A (Classes … to recognize) on parts of speech

• Part B (Choices … to remember) on word choice and right style

• Part C (Components … to review) on other essential areas like using punctuation, adding references, referring to tables and figures, etc.

Different from a grammar book on correct English usage, “English exposed” focuses on usage errors and related errors by explaining the differences in the parts of speech elements, like differences between countable and uncountable nouns, different types of articles, singular and plural quantifiers, etc. The author also contextualizes the right words or usage with examples as illustrations so that readers can learn to write proper English in correct grammar and with the right choice of words in order to better convey the content and get the message across. Each chapter ends with a section of exercise, which I particularly like, to test how well readers have grasped the grammar explained and to consolidate what they have learned.

“English exposed” is more than a grammar book on language mistakes. It equips readers, particularly non-English natives like me, with the awareness and skills in writing correct English. Whether you are doing serious academic studies or simply learning English just for the fun of it, “English exposed” is not only a good reference for checking on grammar issues, but also a good guide for writing English to convey content and communicate ideas more clearly.

Dear John,

       We visited Singapore last weekend. Mary, one of our classmates, took us to sightseeing. On one occasion, we dined out at a very nice and expensive restaurant. On weekdays, we attended some lectures. There was a two-hour break between these lectures. I wish you were there with us. I will call you in November. Take care!

                                                                                                                                       Best regards,
                                                                                                                                            Mimi