Let’s look at some common mistakes in English presentations today. Because these mistakes are not big, we often don’t discover them. It turns out that it is wrong to say so. The advantage of discovering these errors is that we will have a new understanding of the rules of grammar.
1. Thank you for being here today.
（Ｘ）Thank you for your coming.
（Ｏ）Thank you for coming.
“Thanks for your coming.” This sentence appears in the opening remarks of almost every briefing, but in fact it is wrong to start like this. Although foreigners also understand that the possessive case is usually added in front of nouns, and coming is a participle, adding a possessive case before it is particularly awkward, and foreigners will not say that. But if thank you for is followed by a noun, it is grammatically acceptable. For example:
(O) Thank you for your attention. Thank you for your attention.
(O) Thank you for your help. Thank you for your help.
2. Please turn to the last page.
（Ｘ）Please turn to the final page.
（O）Please turn to the last page.
Both Last and final have the meaning of “final”, which is easy to confuse. Last is relative to first, referring to “the last one in the order”, for example, the “last” bus should use the last bus.
Final mostly has nothing to do with the order, it mainly means “the ending”, often has a decisive meaning. For example:
• This is your final chance. This is your last chance.
3. At the beginning, I would like to introduce our team to you.
(X) To begin, I’d like to introduce you our team members.
(O) To begin, I’d like to introduce our team members to you.
The verb Introduce is also the most common verb in presentation situations. There is a class of verbs with the element of “say”, such as say, explain, report, describe, mention, announce, propose, repeat, introduce, these verbs cannot accept double accepting words. Let’s look at a few examples:
• Please explain this diagram.
（X）Explain me this chart.
（Ｏ）Explain this chart to me.
• I just wanted to say hello to him.
（X）I just came to say him hello.
（Ｏ）I just came to say hello to him.
4. To emphasize my thoughts, I provide some data on the last page.
（X） To emphasize on my point, I have provided some data on the last page.
（Ｏ） To emphasize my point, I have provided some data on the last page.
Emphasize means “emphasis”, and it can only be used as a “transitive verb”, that is, the object must be added directly after it, and there is no need for on.
The same can only be used as an example of “transitive verb”, and then refer to a few examples:
• Let’s discuss.
（Ｘ）Let’s discuss.
（Ｏ）Let’s have a discussion./ Let’s discuss this matter.
• I didn’t expect you to say no.
（Ｘ）It never occurred to me that you would reject.
（Ｏ）It never occurred to me that you would refuse.
Reject can only be used as a “transitive verb” and must be followed by an object, for example: He rejected my plan.
Refuse has two usages, “transitive” and “intransitive”.
(transitive) He refused my offer of help. He refused my offer of help.
（不及物）He asked me to give him another loan, but I refused.
He asked me to lend him another sum of money, which I declined.
This picture and article are published with the authorization of “English Island Magazine”, follow Instagram.
World Citizen Cultural Center: Learn business English quickly and accurately.
further reading
The professor does not name names” hippopotamus hippopotamus is “horse in the river” – “beast” in the Greek root
The professor does not call names” “People hear things clearly, but they don’t believe their ears” -Spanish novelist Marías
The boss told you to clear your desk because your desk is too messy
It will keep is not to keep anything! but…
What is it that foreigners say have a soft spot?
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