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Several students struggle with Grammar and this restrict them from expressing themselves. So, in this lesson we have tried to break down 50 mistakes alongside their correction. I hope that it will help you to speak and write correct English.
We are going to cover errors in:
- Subject-verb agreement.
- Question formation.
- Irregular verbs.
- The very important tenses.
- Modal verbs.
- Conditionals.
- Adjectives.
- Prepositions.
- Articles.
Let’s get started and make sure you leave comment for what to cover in the next article.
I. Subject-verb agreement
First and foremost, let’s begin with subject-verb agreement.
Question: Is that correct?
1. He have two sisters.
Answer: No, it should be
“He has two sisters.”
Why: The rule is that if the subject is ‘I’, ‘You’, ‘We’, ‘They’, or any other plural noun, then we use the verb in its present tense form form, and we don’t add –s to the verb.
But if the subject is ‘He’, ‘She’, and ‘It’ or any singular noun, then we add–s to the verb. Also, look at this sentence:
2. Many people likes to go on vacation in the summer.
Correction: We should say “Many people like to go on vacation in the summer.”
Why: We have a plural subject ‘many people’ so the verb should not have an –s. Look at this one again:
3. Jacob and Sophie lives in Los Angeles.
Correction: “Jacob and Sophie live in Los Angeles.”
Why: Even though Jacob is an individual and Sophie is also one individual, together, Jacob and Sophie are a plural subject. So we don’t add -s to the verb.
Here are another examples:
4. There is ten apples in the basket.
Correction: “There are ten apples in the basket.”
Why: The subject of this sentence is not ‘there’ (that’s just a dummy subject). The real subject is the phrase ‘ten apples’. So the verb should be ‘are’. If there was only apple, you would say “There is an apple in the basket.”
5. Everyone know that the sun rises in the east.
Correction: “Everyone knows that the sun rises in the east.”
Why: This is because ‘everyone’ is actually a singular subject. Now, you might be thinking; wait a minute; everyone refers to all the people, so it’s a plural. But, it’s not. In English grammar, the pronouns that you see on the screen are all singular they are not plural keep that in mind.
II. Question formation
1. You went to the beach yesterday?
This’s a common mistake.
Correction: “Did you go to the beach yesterday?”
Why: In questions, we put the helping or auxiliary verb first. This can be a verb like be, have, can, will, would, etc. If there is no helping verb we add ‘do’. I’ve said ‘did’ here because this sentence talks about the past (yesterday). After the auxiliary verb comes the subject (you), then the main verb in its base form ‘go’. So “Did you go to the beach yesterday?” is correct.
2. “Where I can buy a cell phone charger?”
Same mistake.
The correct question is “Where can I buy a cell phone charger?”
Why: This is just like the previous question but it has a question word. So we put that at the beginning.
3. Do you know who is that woman?
Correction: It should be “Do you know who that woman is?”
If you start a question with “Do you know”, “May I ask”, “Can you tell me” etc. Then we call it an indirect question (which is more polite). For this type of question, we don’t change the word order. We first put the question word, then the subject, and then an auxiliary verb if we have one and then the main verb. Let’s now turn to errors in the tenses.
Also read 5 mistakes you must not ask ChatGPT
III. Tenses
1. I am working as a teacher.
This is wrong. The correct is
” I work as a teacher.”
Why: Use the present simple tense to talk about your occupation or other permanent situation. For example: “Shobha lives in New Delhi.” You only use the present continuous tense (that is an "ing" form) for actions that are happening right now.
For instance:
- I am talking.
- They’re walking in the park.
- He is eating a sandwich, etc.
Here’s a similar error: “I am having a large family.” You should say: “I have a large family.” Because, again, this expresses a general situation, not an action that I’m doing right now. What about this sentence: “I don’t think she is recognizing me.” It should be: I don’t think she recognizes me.” Even though this might be happening at the moment of speaking, with some verbs we don’t use –ing forms. Instead, we prefer to use the present simple tense with these because they are not physical actions. Such verbs are called ‘state verbs’ because they express a state or situation – you
See some of the common ones, remember that we use them in the present simple tense.
2. Lucas is working here for three years.”
The correct form is “Lucas has been working here for three years.”
Why: If an action or a situation started in the past, and it’s still continuing, you need to use the present perfect continuous tense (with have been or has been plus the verb in "ing" form).
3. We’ve been waiting for you since two hours.
Well, it looks like it’s a correct sentence, it’s in the present perfect continuous tense. But can you get the error?
It should be “We’ve been waiting for you for two hours.”
You use ‘since’ if you mention the exact time that the action started. For instance, “We’ve been waiting for you since 5 o’clock.” But if you say the duration (that is, the amount of time), you use ‘for’. Here’s another example:
5. Juma went to the market and buy a lot of groceries yesterday.”
How do you correct it?
Correct: Juma went to the market and bought a lot of groceries yesterday.”
Why: There are two separate actions (went to the market and bought groceries) and both of them happened in the past. So don’t forget to apply the correct tense to all the verbs in a sentence.
6. I have graduated from college in 2014.”
Common mistake.
You should say “I graduated from college in 2014.”
Why; If you mention the time when something happened (like ‘in 2014’), you should use the past simple tense and not the present perfect. I’ve also heard people say: “I have sent you an email yesterday.” you’re saying ‘yesterday’, so you should say “I sent you an email yesterday.” Or you can just say “I have sent you an email.” and I will understand that you sent it recently.
7. We didn’t receive the package yet.
This should be “We haven’t received the package yet.”
Why: Because ‘yet’ means until now, we are not mentioning any specific time here. So you should use the present perfect and not the past simple.
8. I come and see you in your office tomorrow.”
Obviously, this is a future tense sentence and it’s a promise to do something, so you should say:
I’ll come and see you in your office tomorrow.” because it is correct.
9. We will get married on the 8th of September.
Very common error. It should be:
We’re getting married on the 8th of September.” or “We’re going to get married…”
Why: This is because for fixed arrangements in the future, we don’t use ‘will’ we either use the present continuous tense (that’s the more common form) or we can use ‘going to’. Let’s now move on and talk about verb forms.
IV. Verb forms
1. When Abdul took out his wallet, his keys fallen out.”
The correction is “When Abdul took out his wallet, his keys fell out.”
Why: In the past simple tense, you should use the past simple form (the second form) of the verb (also called V2 by some teachers).
2. Have you ever went to see a movie by yourself?
The tense is correct but verb form is wrong.
“Have you ever gone to see a movie by yourself?” is correct.
Why: In the present perfect tense, the past participle, or third form (V3) should be used.
3. I didn’t ate anything at the restaurant because I wasn’t hungry.
You should say, “I didn’t eat anything at the restaurant.”
I see this mistake a lot. In negative sentences in the present simple, past simple, or future simple that is, after don’t, didn’t or won’t, we must use the base form of the verb, not the past tense form. Number twenty-two: “Vicki spended all her money within a week. Not spended, spent. The verb ‘spend’ is irregular, meaning that the past form does not have an –ed ending. There are many irregular verbs in English like buy, eat, speak, think and so on. You can only learn them through experience, so you should memorize as many as you can. Alright, our next topic is modal verbs.
V. Modal verbs
The first sentence is:
1. He could running fast when he was younger.
You should say “He could run fast when he was younger.”
Why: After any modal verb, you should use a verb in its base form.
2. Smoking is prohibited in this building.
That means you don’t have to smoke here.”
The correction is “You mustn’t smoke here in this building.
That means you mustn’t smoke here” or ‘you cannot smoke here’. ‘To say that something is not allowed, you need to use ‘mustn’t’ or ‘cannot’.
Next, we will look at an area where errors are very common in:
- Conditionals
- Adjectives.
- Prepositions.
- Articles.
But honestly, how many of these 31 mistakes did you identify and correct? Let me know in the comments section below. If you liked this lesson, let me know in the comment section. If not, also suggest any other means to help you learn English quickly. Happy learning and I will see you in another lesson soon.
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