Redundancies are a mistake that even the most articulate native speakers make.
Today find out how to refine your English skills so that you don’t make this mistake too.
A redundancy happens when we use two words to convey an idea and we could just use one.
For example, saying “the reason why” is redundant but a lot of people do use it.
Why do we want to avoid being redundant?
In English effective communication gets to the point quickly.
Be succinct, concrete, direct, and avoid flowery language. Don’t be redundant!
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Redundancies:
- “Blatantly obvious”: Things that are blatant are obvious. People add “blatant” to this phrase to be more dramatic but it’s not necessary.
- Other ways to say this without being redundant:
- It’s clear
- It’s obvious
- It’s clear as day
- It’s undeniable
- Other ways to say this without being redundant:
- “Added bonus”: A bonus is by definition something added. You don’t need both words together.
- Other things to say:
- A bonus
- A plus
- An extra
- An add-on
- A perk
- Icing on the cake
- Other things to say:
- “Browse through”: To look through something
- Other things to say:
- To browse
- To go through
- To thumb through
- To flip through
- To peruse
- Other things to say:
- “Critically important”: Again, people try to be dramatic in their speech and it becomes redundant when they use both of these words together.
- Other things to say:
- It’s important
- It’s critical
- It’s essential
- It’s vital
- Other things to say:
Can you think of any redundancies we didn’t cover?
Let us know in the comments below.