Common Grammar Mistakes
The most frequent English grammar mistakes made by students — with corrections and explanations.
Common Grammar Mistakes
Even fluent speakers make grammar mistakes. Learning to spot and fix them will sharpen your writing and speaking.
1. Subject-Verb Agreement
❌ He go to school every day.
✅ He goes to school every day.
2. Wrong Verb Form
❌ She has went home.
✅ She has gone home.
3. Wrong Preposition
❌ He is angry on me.
✅ He is angry with me.
4. Confusing "It's" and "Its"
- It's = it is
- Its = belonging to it
❌ The dog wagged it's tail.
✅ The dog wagged its tail.
5. Confusing "Your" and "You're"
- Your = belonging to you
- You're = you are
❌ Your going to love this.
✅ You're going to love this.
6. Confusing "There / Their / They're"
- There = place
- Their = belonging to them
- They're = they are
7. Double Negatives
❌ I don't know nothing.
✅ I don't know anything.
8. Wrong Article
❌ I am university student.
✅ I am a university student.
9. Wrong Word Order in Questions
❌ Where you are going?
✅ Where are you going?
10. "Since" vs "For"
- Since + point in time: since 2020
- For + period: for two years
❌ I have lived here since two years.
✅ I have lived here for two years.
11. "Fewer" vs "Less"
- Fewer + countable: fewer students
- Less + uncountable: less water
12. "Advice" vs "Advise"
- Advice — noun.
- Advise — verb.
❌ He adviced me to study.
✅ He advised me to study.
13. Confused Homophones
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| affect / effect | affect (verb) / effect (noun) |
| accept / except | accept (receive) / except (excluding) |
| principle / principal | principle (rule) / principal (head) |
14. Wrong Comparison
❌ He is more taller than me.
✅ He is taller than me.
15. Misplaced "Only"
- Only she loves him. → No one else loves him.
- She loves only him. → She loves no one else.
Quick Quiz
1. Choose the correct sentence:
A. She don't like coffee.
B. She doesn't like coffee.
Answer: B
2. Choose the correct sentence:
A. I have lived here since three years.
B. I have lived here for three years.
Answer: B
Summary
- The most common mistakes involve agreement, tenses, prepositions, articles, and confused word pairs.
- Slow down and proofread — most errors can be caught by reading your text aloud.
- Learn one error a day; over time your writing becomes error-free.