We often add adjectives to a verb or noun which usually indicate the same thing. This is generally done to put emphasis on a particular thing. Such errors may be ignored in spoken English but is counted as a mistake in written English. Questions based on redundancy errors often feature in sentence correction or error spotting section of competitive exams.
We hear words like ‘sit down’ and ‘stand up’ all the time. These are some of the classic examples of redundancies. This kind of usage is also called pleonasm.
What is Redundancy?
Redundancy means that the same data has been repeated twice, but just by using different words. The sentences which have redundant data don’t necessarily mean are grammatically incorrect, but they have unnecessary words, which need to be avoided at all costs.
We hear redundancies so commonly and so often that many a times we are not able to identify them, which in turn make them tough to spot.
List of common Redundant phrases:
Foreign imports
Bald - headed
Drop down
End result
Few in number
Follow after
General public
Hurry up
Chase after
But yet
Collaborate together
Each and every
Current status quo
Continue on
Blatantly obvious
Adequate enough
Burning fire
Blend together
Actual fact
Browse through
Join together
Little baby
False pretense
First and foremost
Free gift
Black darkness
Merge together
In the above phrases, more than one word is used to talk about the same thing.
1. Please combine the three departments into one. The correct sentence would be- please combine the three departments. “Into one” is redundant because on combining departments we will automatically get one.
