Common mistakes

cholle

Decided to start this topic to benefit everyone especially those reviewing for the IELTS. Some of you may know that I've been helping out a few members of the forum prepare for their IELTS Writing test and I've noticed some very common mistakes. Although there are plenty of sites out there that list common mistakes, hopefully by having little bits of them in this thread it'll be easy especially for those reviewing for their IELTS to browse and learn them.

Umpisahan ko na ha: "enquire to"

Lagi ko itong nakikita. "I enquired to VETASSESS about ... "

Should be: "I enquired with VETASSESS about ..." OR "I wrote VETASSESS and enquired about ..."
You could also say: "I enquire(d) as to whether..."

There are many other prepositions that can be used after "enquire", but "to" is used rarely and is never meant to show the object of the verb, so in most cases I've seen, "enquired to" is often wrongly used.

Also, note that enquire (GB) = inquire (US), but since Au follows GB English, they use enquire.

cholle

STUFF

Stuff used as a noun (referring to things) is already plural. No need to add -s, i.e. mali po ang 'stuffs'. E.g. I have so much stuff in my room.

The only time you can add -s to stuff is if it is used as a verb (as in stuffing things into a something else), e.g. The plushie toymaker stuffs each teddy bear with polyester filling before sending them to be stitched up.

HTH!

gemini

Is it ok to indicate names in the IELTS certificate as Last Name and First Name only?
Or should it include the Middle Name?
Hindi ko kasi nailagay ang Middle Name ko. First and Last lang.
Magkakaissue ba yun?

Sorry I can't find the right thread to post this question. I'm not sure if newbies are not allowed to create a new thread so makikisingit lang ako dito, since about mistake din naman ang question ko.