Mind Your Language: 9 common mistakes to avoid in English

English grammar is one of the fundamental skills that students must master to succeed in their academic and professional lives. However, even the most diligent students can make mistakes in English grammar. These mistakes can hurt their academic performance and can even affect their job prospects.

Improving English grammar is an essential skill for anyone looking to excel in academic or professional settings. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to improve English grammar skills. Seema Passi, a primary English teacher at Apeejay School, Saket, said that English is the international language of communication. “Learning English is an invaluable asset in today’s modern world,” Passi said and added that most students make mistakes when it comes to past and present tense and overuse of adverbs.

“Grammar and punctuation are essential in the English language and gaining confidence in how to avoid any grammatical errors is a valuable part of a student’s learning journey. One should practice developing grammar daily. It will help them to become confident, write adeptly using kaleidoscopic vocabulary aptly,” the Passi said.

She shared some examples of where students make the most mistakes.

1.       Your/You’re

2.       Misplacing apostrophes — children’s games and NOT childrens’ games.

3.       A lot of students also make mistakes when it comes to – there, their, and they‘re

4.       Confusing similar spellings and words. For example, desert/dessert, flower/flour, hole/whole, and cite/sight/site.

5.       Getting adjectives and adverbs confused. These two-word categories both function to modify other words and assist in describing or identifying them. For example, bad is an adjective; badly is an adverb. Calm is an adjective; calmly is an adverb.

Other grammatical mistakes students make.

Incorrect subject-verb agreement: The subject and verb of a sentence must agree in number. If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. Students often make the mistake of using a plural verb with a singular subject or vice-versa.

For example:

The group of students is going to the movies.

In the above sentence, the subject is ‘group’, which is singular, but the verb ‘is’ is used as if the subject were plural.

The correct sentence will be:

“The group of students are going to the movies.”

Misplaced modifiers: Modifiers are words or phrases that describe or modify other words in a sentence. When a modifier is placed in the wrong part of a sentence, it can lead to confusion.

For example:

“I saw a man on a hill with a telescope.” The placement of the modifier “with a telescope” makes it unclear whether the man or the speaker had the telescope.

The correct sentence would be:

“I saw a man on a hill who was using a telescope.”

Lack of punctuation: Punctuation marks such as commas, periods, and semicolons help to clarify the meaning of sentences. Students often make the mistake of omitting or misusing punctuation marks, which can lead to confusion and incorrect sentences.

For example:

“im sorry i cannot come to the party tonight i have to work late”

The correct sentence would be:

“I’m sorry. I cannot come to the party tonight. I have to work late.”

Confusing pronouns: Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. Students often make the mistake of using the wrong pronoun or failing to use pronouns correctly, which can lead to confusion and incorrect sentences.

For example:

“John told Mary that he loves her.”

The correct sentence would be:

“John told Mary that he loved her.”

While English grammar is a complex subject that requires careful attention to detail. By avoiding these mistakes and practicing their grammar skills, students can improve their writing and communication skills.

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Grammar and punctuation are essential in the English language and gaining confidence in how to avoid any grammatical errors is a valuable part of a student’s learning journey

–Seema Passi, Primary English teacher, Apeejay School, Saket