Common Mistakes: Using Intensifiers and Filler Words

When it comes to English writing, it's important to be clear, concise, and avoid unnecessary words and phrases. However, there are a few common mistakes that people often make, such as using too many intensifiers like "really," "very," "quite," "extremely," and "severely," as well as employing filler words that add no real value to the sentence. Let's take a closer look at these mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Using Intensifiers

Intensifiers are words that are used to emphasize the degree or extent of something. While they can be useful in certain cases, they are often overused and can weaken the impact of your writing. For example:

• Incorrect: The movie was really good.
  Correct: The movie was excellent.
• Incorrect: The car is very fast.
  Correct: The car is incredibly fast.

As you can see, by replacing the intensifiers with more specific and descriptive words, you can make your writing stronger and more engaging.

2. Filler Words

Filler words are words or phrases that add no real meaning to a sentence. They are often used unconsciously and can make your writing cluttered and less impactful. Here are some common filler words to watch out for:

• Basically
• Actually
• Literally
• Essentially

Let's look at an example:

• Incorrect: Basically, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be late.
  Correct: I wanted to let you know that I'll be late.

By removing the filler word "basically," the sentence becomes more direct and to the point, making it easier to understand and more impactful.

Make Use of Linguix Grammar Checker

To help you avoid these common mistakes, you can use the Linguix Grammar Checker. With its advanced algorithms, it can highlight and suggest corrections for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style issues, ensuring that your writing is clear, concise, and error-free.