3 English grammar mistakes (present perfect + prepositions with 'explain' and 'recommend')

Añadido: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]In this video, I'm going to share with you three very common English grammar mistakes and how to fix them. Before we start, make sure you download my free English grammar booklet from the video description. Okay, let's get started.

[00:00:17]The first mistake is I explained him the problem. This is incorrect. So in English we explain something to somebody. So instead of saying I explained him, we need to say to him. I explained to him. So the full sentence will be I explained the problem to him.

[00:00:46]I am also going to give you an advanced tip. The phrase to explain yourself. To explain yourself means to give reasons for your behavior, especially if you said or did something that was wrong or confusing. For example, you need to explain yourself after what you said yesterday. So maybe you said something that was wrong or confusing and you need to give the reasons for what you said.

[00:01:20]The teacher asked the student to explain himself in front of the class. So the teacher asked the student to give reasons for his behavior. The next very common mistake is I almost have finished the book. So the mistake here is the word order. The words need to be in a slightly different order. I have almost finished the book. So this is the present perfect. And when we have almost, it normally goes between have and the past participle. So I have almost finished the book. Words like already and just are the same. They also go between have or has and the past participle. So I have just finished this book. I have already finished this book.

[00:02:24]And the final mistake is I recommend you to watch this film. It's incorrect. So in English when we use the verb to recommend we can do it in two different ways. So we can recommend something. For example, I recommend this film. I recommend this restaurant. I recommend this hotel. Or we can recommend that. So for example, I recommend that you watch this film. Now, another advanced tip.

[00:03:04]So, the word recommend often goes with highly. I highly recommend this film.

[00:03:12]When you really enjoyed something like a book or a film or a trip and you think other people should do it too, you can use the phrase I highly recommend it. It means I really, really, really want to recommend it. You can also say strongly recommend. So I strongly recommend that you do something. For example, I strongly recommend that you arrive early. And it sounds a bit more forceful than highly recommend. So we normally use strongly when we want to give some firm advice or a warning. So, for example, I strongly recommend that you arrive early because if you don't, you might miss the show. So, it's like a warning. Leave me a comment and tell me one new thing that you've learned from this video. Don't forget to download your free English grammar booklet from the video description, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye.