Mistake: Pleonasm and Tautology
Avoid empty repetition.
Examples
- free gift, past history
Key rules
- A pleonasm uses words that repeat meaning, such as free gift or past history
- Tautology is the same idea in different words
- Removing the extra word makes writing clearer
Common mistakes
- free gift → gift
- past history → history
- close proximity → proximity
Use cases
- Writing in English
- Editing emails and reports
- Speaking concisely
💡 Tip: Read the phrase and ask whether one word already implies the other.