ESL BLUE(s)   Part-time work and school: common errors   
Step 1:  Pre-quiz review of common errors    Can you correct the following errors from a composition entitled Part-time work and school are not a very good mix. If you are not sure, place mouse over error for feedback and the correct form.
Common Errors (in red)Type of Error
1.    Many students have to work because the school is very expensive. Article
2.   I don't know how can she work and study at the same time. VF (verb Form)
3.   I'm a student and I also work part time.       is not easy. (word missing)
4.   She works thirty five hours by week. W (wrong word)
5.   I have no time for prepare for my exams. W (wrong word)
6.   I don't eat good on the weekend. I have no time to cook. W (wrong word)
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7.   When I will finish college I will have work experience. T (verb tense)
8.   My friend Mark doesn't have to work. He is lucky. Her family is rich. W (wrong word)
9.   When I was in high school I wanted to worked so I could have money to spend. VF (verb form)
10.  My friend is failing all her courses because she don't have time to study. VF (verb form)
11.  Without money you can't do nothing. W (wrong word)
12.  I am never free in the weekend. W (wrong word)
13.  I don't know why does she work so much. VF (verb form)
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14.  Many students work to pay for your apartment and books. W (wrong word)
15.  I had a part-time job when I was in high school but I didn't made much money. VF (verb form)
16.  Nobody study more than my friend Linda, but she still fails many of her courses. VF (verb form)
17.  They dont even have time to see their friends. P (punctuation)
18.  It is very difficult to be concentrate when you are tired VF (verb form)
19.  We are only half way through the session but I know that I fail two courses because I have no time to study. T (verb tense)
20.  I always succeed all of my courses. W (wrong word)
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Do not use the definite article "the" to refer to things in general. In fact, in this sentence, school means (all) high school or college education, not a specific school:
  • Many students have to work because school is very expensive.
    •

    Here how does not introduce a question, so you do not invert the subject-verb order:

  • I don't know how she can work and study at the same time.
    • The verb has no subject. Use it:
    I'm a student and I also work part time. It is not easy.
  • She works thirty five hours a week.
  • Compare: I make ten dollars an hour.  
    •  You normally use "for" with a noun: I have no time for my homework. With verbs you normally use "to:"
  • I have no time to prepare for my exams.
    •  "Good" is an adjective. Here you must use an adverb:
  • I don't eat well on weekends.
    •  Although you are referring to the future, put the verb in the present tense in the "when" part of the sentence:
  • When I finish college I will have work experience.
    • You do the same with "if" and "as soon as."     Her is the feminine form. Use his:
  • He's lucky. His family helps pay for his education.
    •  Infinitives are invariable; that is, they do not change:
  • I wanted to work so I could have money to spend.
    •  To express the negative in the simple present tense you must use "doesn't" when the subject (here = "she") is third person singular (he, she, it):
  • She doesn't have time to study.
    •  Here there are two negatives. In this case the sentence means "Without money you can do something." To correct the sentence remove one of the negatives:
  • You can't do anything. OR You can do nothing.
    •  The correct term is on.You use "in" with months and seasons, "on" for days, dates and weekends, and "at" with time. It happened in June. It was on the second, at 6 p.m.
  • I am never free on the weekend.
    •  This is not a question so you cannot use the auxiliary "does:"
  • I don't know why she works so much.
    •  It's very nice of them, but I already earn a decent salary. The possessive adjective that refers back to the subject: many students is their.
  • Many students work to pay for their apartment and books.
    •  You always use the base form of the verb with the auxiliary verb do (do/does/did)
  • I didn't make much money.
    •  "Everybody," "somebody," "nobody," etc. are singular and therefore you must use the third person singular "s" ending in the simple present:
  • Nobody studies more than my friend Linda.
    •  When you use contractions, as here, you must replace the vowel that is dropped with an apostrophe: do not becomes don't:
  • They don't even have time to see their friends.
    •  The expression is "to concentrate on something." You don't use the verb "to be:"
  • It's very difficult to concentrate when you are tired.
    •  It is an action in progress so you should use the present progressive tense:
  • I know that I am failing two courses because I have no time to study.
    •  You can say: I always succeed in all of my courses. More common is the verb "to pass:"
  • I always pass all of my courses.
    •