Grammatical redundancy

Dr. Grammar says:

“What’s wrong with this sentence? I am very ecstatic that it is my first annual wedding anniversary tomorrow.”

EXPLANATION:

Redundancy means that something is not necessary or not useful. Many Vietnamese learners of English make mistakes like:

My house is blue colour. X

The word colour is redundant because blue is a colour. Therefore, colour is not necessary to understand the meaning. So we should say:

My house is blue. √

This week we are going to look at some examples of common mistakes involving redundancy.

Combine together

What is wrong with this? Well, what does combine mean?

Combine = to put/mix things together

So, “mix things together together”?

When making a cake, it is important to combine the ingredients together. X

When making a cake, it is important to combine the ingredients. √

Cooperate together

It is important that when in a group situation you cooperate together. Hmmm…

Cooperate = work together

So can we “work together together”?

It is important that when in a group situation you cooperate. √

Earlier in time

Can you guess what the problem is here? What does earlier mean?

Earlier = a closer time to now

Can we meet earlier in time tomorrow? X

Can we meet earlier tomorrow? √

Very ecstatic

This mistake happens quite a lot when we add very to a strong adjective.

Ecstatic = very happy

A strong adjective includes the idea of very already. We cannot use them with very.

I am ecstatic to see you! √

Annual anniversary

How often does an anniversary come around? That’s right, once a year! And what does annual mean?

Annual = once a year

It is my annual anniversary of starting to work here tomorrow! X

It is my anniversary of starting to work here tomorrow! √

So…

I am very ecstatic that it is my first annual wedding anniversary tomorrow. X

I am ecstatic that it is my first wedding anniversary tomorrow. √

EXERCISE:

Can you work out what is wrong with these sentences?

1. It is important to show mutual respect to each other in a marriage.

2. The foreign imports are a lot more popular than the locally made products.

3. You must plan in advance for any problems you might experience on holiday.

4. I didn’t like the film because the story just kept recurring again.

5. I was supposed to be catching the flight at 3am in the morning, but I thought it was 3pm in the afternoon!

Answers:

This time, you have to wait until next week to get the answers! Work hard to find the problems, and then come back to see if you are right.

Good luck!

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).