1. Did you really mean that?
Below are some genuine sentences both written and spoken. Analyse the sentence, find the
mistake, explain why it’s an error and rewrite the sentence so it makes sense.
a) Note to milkman:
Dear milkman, I’ve just had a baby, please leave another one.
b) Manchester United football player Rio Ferdinand on the team’s captaincy:
Gary Neville was captain but now Giggsy’s taken on the mantelpiece.
c) Commentating in a football match:
The opposition doesn’t like it when he dribbles, you can see it all over their faces.
d) A history book:
He left his wife to be with another man.
e) Notice on a field:
The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.
f) A book on railways:
Increasing numbers of fish in Great Yarmouth demanded more trains.
g) From a novel:
Like Adela, he had dark brown hair, with enormous black eyebrows, a bristling
moustache and a short beard.

2. Did you really mean that?
Teachers’ notes
Level: Intermediate–Advanced
This lesson looks at some authentic English mistakes, it teaches students to understand the
meaning of certain words and to analyse sentences more carefully.
1 Write the first sentence on the board. Ask students if there is anything wrong with this
sentence. Get them to confer in pairs if needs be.
2 Get feedback. Answer: the writer has only put one object in the sentence so ‘another one’
can only refer to a baby.
3 Ask them to rewrite the sentence so it makes sense. Here is a suggestion:
Dear milkman, I’ve just had a baby so please can you leave an extra bottle of milk?
4 Either hand out the other sentences of write them on the board for the students to copy.
Ask them first to analyse the problem with the sentence and then rewrite it so it makes
sense. The problem might be one of grammar or vocabulary. Hand out dictionaries so
students can check the words. Have students work in pairs or small groups.
5 Feedback as a whole class on the answers.
6 For homework you could get the students to write clumsy sentences (with double
meanings, etc.) for their fellows to correct in the next class.

3. Answers and suggested rewrites:
a) see above
b) Ferdinand meant to say mantel. ‘Mantelpiece’ is what goes above a fireplace where as a mantle, among
other things, is a piece of clothing which is a symbol of superiority. now we use ‘taken on the mantle’ to
mean take responsibility.
… Giggsy’s taken on the mantle.
c) ‘Dribble’ means the saliva someone lets out of their mouth but is also a verb to mean a footballer
running with the ball at their feet. The sentence is made more hilarious because the commentator is trying
to describe the expression of worry on the opponents’ faces but only conjours up an image of the players
saliva on their visage.
The opposition don’t like it when he dribbles at them with the ball. You can clear.ly see how
uncomfortable they are with his skill.
d) The way the author has written this (unless they leant it) suggests that this man ended a relationship
with his future wife or fiancée to start a relationship with a man.
He left is wife-to-be with another man.
e) ‘Charge’ has too meanings, either to ask for money in return for a service or to run towards someone
(often with violent intent). Does the author mean that the bull runs towards you or asks you for money?
You can cross the field but beware of the bull.
f) A dangling participle of a sort. There is only one subject in this sentence so it can only mean the fish are
asking for more trains rather than …
The increasing number of fish caught and landed at Great Yarmouth meant more trains were needed
to transport them inland.
g) Oh dear! Unless Adela is extraordinarily ugly he/she only meant there to be one likeness between the
characters – that of the hair. Probably best to leave Adela out of this …
He had dark brown hair, with enormous black eyebrows, a bristling moustache and a short beard.