Grammar & Syntax Review
B2 Activity: Advanced Error Analysis
The Challenge: Find and Fix 🕵️♂️
Below are six sentences, each containing one significant B2-level grammatical error. Can you find the mistake and explain why it is wrong before revealing the answer?
Challenge #1
If I would have known you were in Battambang, I would have called you.
Show Correction & Explanation
Correction: If I had known you were in Battambang, I would have called you.
Error: Incorrect Third Conditional form. The 'if' clause in a third conditional must use the Past Perfect (had + past participle).
Challenge #2
By the time I arrived, my friends had been knowing each other for years.
Show Correction & Explanation
Correction: By the time I arrived, my friends had known each other for years.
Error: 'Know' is a stative verb and cannot be used in continuous tenses.
Challenge #3
After finishing my work, the television was turned on.
Show Correction & Explanation
Correction: After finishing my work, I turned on the television.
Error: Dangling modifier. The original sentence implies the television finished the work. The subject of the main clause must be the one who performed the action.
Challenge #4
I was tired, so I stopped to work and went home.
Show Correction & Explanation
Correction: I was tired, so I stopped working and went home.
Error: Incorrect verb pattern. 'Stop + to do' means to pause one action to do another. 'Stop + doing' means to quit an action.
Challenge #5
My car that is ten years old is still very reliable.
Show Correction & Explanation
Correction: My car, which is ten years old, is still very reliable.
Error: Incorrect relative clause. The clause "which is ten years old" is non-defining (extra information) and must be separated by commas. 'That' cannot be used in a non-defining clause.
Challenge #6 (Trick Question!)
The manager demanded that all staff attend the meeting on Saturday.
Show Correction & Explanation
Correction: This sentence is already correct!
Explanation: It correctly uses the subjunctive mood. The verb 'attend' is in its base form, which is required after a trigger verb like 'demanded that...'. This was a trick question to test your confidence!
Further Practice & Consolidation 🎯
Quiz: What's the Error?
Identify the error in each sentence.
- Sentence: "I wish I can speak French fluently."
Error: Incorrect verb form after 'wish'. Correct: "I wish I could speak..." - Sentence: "He suggested me to visit the museum."
Error: Incorrect verb pattern. 'Suggest' is followed by a gerund. Correct: "He suggested visiting..." - Sentence: "The report was well-researched, detailed, and it had a lot of useful information."
Error: Faulty parallel structure. The list should contain three adjectives. Correct: "...detailed, and informative."
Your Final Challenge ⭐
The Paragraph Challenge
Find and correct the four grammatical errors in the paragraph below.
"Yesterday was a very busy day. If I would have had more time, I would have finished all my tasks. After getting home from work, my apartment was cleaned. It is essential that my roommate helps me more often. I tried to speak to him about it, but he denied to have a conversation."
Show Answers
- "If I would have had..." → "...If I had had..." (Incorrect Third Conditional)
- "...my apartment was cleaned." → "...I cleaned my apartment." (Dangling modifier)
- "...that my roommate helps..." → "...that my roommate help..." (Incorrect subjunctive)
- "...denied to have..." → "...denied having..." (Incorrect verb pattern)
Key Vocabulary
- Error Analysis The process of reviewing a mistake to understand why it was made.
- Correction The action of correcting a mistake.
- Grammatical Relating to the rules of a language.