As I will always say, there is no total mastery of the English language. We keep learning new things everyday. New words are being added to the dictionary every now and then. I am back today to correct some mistakes in our English usage.The most interesting and educating part of this all is the explanations provided for each corrected grammar. I would implore you to read through carefully and leave questions in the comment section below if you don't understand anything.

Take time to read through this and I promise you'll gain alot of value from this article.

COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH
1. Benefit by, not from.

Don't say: She has benefited from the change.

Say: She has benefited by the change.

NOTE. But a person gets or derives benefit from: as, "She got (or derived) much benefit from the change."

2. Boast of or about, not for.

Don't say: He boasted for his riches.

Say: He boasted of (or about) his riches.

3. Careful of, not for.

Don't say: He is very careful for his health.

Say: He is very careful of his health.

NOTE. Also "take care of ": as, "He takes care of his money."

4. Come or go by train, etc., not with the train, etc.

Don't say: He came with the train yesterday.

Say: He came by train yesterday.

NOTE: We say: "by train," "by tram," "by boat," "by aeroplane"; also, "by land," "by sea," "by air"; "by bus," "in a bus'' or "on a bus"; "by motor-car" or "in a motor-car," "by taxi" or "in a taxi"; "in a cab,","in a carriage"; "on horseback," and "on a donkey," "on a bicycle"; "on foot."

5. Complain of, not for.

Don't say: Many people complain for the heat.

Say: Many people complain of the heat.

6. Composed of, not from.

Don't say: Our class is composed from thirty boys.

Say: Our class is composed of thirty boys.

7. confidence in, not to.

Don't say: I have great confidence to him.

Say: I have great confidence in him.

NOTE, Also "in confidence": as, "Let me tell you something in confidence'' (= as a secret).

8. Conform to, not with.

Don't say: We must conform with the rules.

Say: We must conform to the rules.

NOTE: But "comply" takes "with": e.g. "We will comply with your request.

9. Congratulate on, not for.

Don't say: I congratulate you for your success.

Say: I congratulate you on your success.
10. Consist of, not from.

Don't say: A year consists from twelve months.

Say: A year consists of twelve months.

NOTE. Great care must be taken never to use "consist" in the passive voice.

11. Die of an illness, not from an illness.

Don't say: Many people have died from malaria.

Say: Many people have died of malaria.

NOTE. Men "die of illness," "of hunger," "of thirst," "of" or "from wounds"; "from overwork"; "by violence," "by the sword," "by pestilence"; "in battle," "in poverty"; "for their country," "for a cause"; "through neglect"; "on the scaffold"; "at the stake."

12. Sure of, not from.

Don't say: The man was cured from his illness.

Say: The man was cured of his illness.

NOTE. But the noun "cure" takes "for": as, "There is no cure for that disease."

13. Depend on or upon, not from.

Don't say: It depends from himself.

Say: It depends on (or upon) himself.

NOTE. Also "rely on" or "upon": as, "I cannot rely on (or upon) him."

14. Deprive of, not from.

Don't say: He was deprived from his freedom.

Say: He was deprived of his freedom.

15. Covered with, not by.

Don't say: The mountains are covered by snow.

Say: The mountains are covered with snow.

16.Don't say: I want to 'drink' garri Or I'm rinking' garri

Say: I want to 'eat soaked' garri Or I'm 'eating soaked' garri

Nobody will complain if you actually say you want to drink garri, this is Nigeria but it's always good to say it the right way. You 'eat soaked' garri not drink it

You can check my page if you missed out on previous versions of 'series on common usage errors in English'.I really hope you gained something from this post(no matter how little).