Teaching and Learning EFL: Common Errors and Correction Exercises

This article provides exercises for EFL learners to correct common errors in tense, word order, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions. Each exercise includes an example sentence with an error and a corrected sentence, along with a rule or instruction for guidance.

Teaching and Learning EFL
One: T
Error: I didn’t go to work today because I am unwell tired
Correction: I haven’t gone to work today because I am unwell
Rule: The general rule in tense is that if an event has happened in the present, then a present
tense must be usedi. The use of a present tense to describe a future event is confusing
Instruction
Use the verbs mentioned to fill in the blanks
Example
Question: I ____for five hours to my home at the weekend
Solution: I drove for five hours to my home at the weekend
Exercise for students:
1. I _____________ five glasses of water yesterday after school (drink)
2. My father likes_______ soccer every weekend (watch)
3. Students enjoy ________ board games for recreation (play)
4. The school bus __________the motorcycle on the highway(overtake)
Two: WO
Error: when in the morning I wake up to brush my teeth the first thing
Correction: The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is to brush my teeth
Rule: arrange the words so as to emphasize the main point in the sentenceii
Exercise for students: Rearrange the following sentences in the proper order
Example:
Question: I did not find my mother when I went home.
Solution: when I went home, I did not find my mother.
1. There is no answer when I call the teacher.
2. Many people when they feel pain cry.
3. At the back of the car there is a lot of dust
4. I think people when they see my hair are very surprised

Three. PR
Error: I placed the keys at the floor
Correction: I placed the keys on the floor
Rule: a Preposition should show direction, time or used to introduce a subject and includes
words like on, at, in etc.
Instruction: Apply the right preposition in the following statements
Example
The calf slept _____ the shade after grazing.
The calf slept in the shade.
Exercise for students
1. The teacher placed the books _____ the table before greeting the class.
2. Mary went to look for her brother ____ the house.
3. There is a lot of litter ____ the road after the political rally.
4. There is dirty water ___ the river where the children like to play.
Four: G
Error: I went to the shop, I did not have the money
Correction: I went to the shop yet I did not have the money
Rule: Use coordinating conjunctions to link two ideas in a sentence
Instruction: select the correct coordinating conjunctions but, or, yet, nor in the following
sentences.
Example
Question: There are many cars on the road, there is no traffic jam
Solution: there are many cars on the road but there is traffic jam.
Exercise for students
1. The teacher asked me to carry the books. The books were so heavy
2. I have a headache. I will not go to the hospital
3. The students are complaining. The teachers are happy with their performance in exams

i Declerck, Renaat. Tense in English: Its structure and use in discourse. Vol. 9. Routledge, 2015.
ii Sweet, Henry. A new English grammar. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2014.