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Speaking English fluently isn’t the same as knowing perfect grammar. Even if you are a native speaker, you can make grammatical errors!
Grammar is the key to master any language. But there are some errors that can turn your life upside down. We all learn grammar as children, but we do not really focus on it. If you have practicing language at the university level, that is when the actual grammar will kick in, and you will be like “We never learned such things.”
English grammar can be really tricky, especially for students. Even when you think you know all the rules perfectly, you don`t stop asking yourself whether I`m using the right “that” or “which” and where to put a comma. Now you are in safe! These quick and helpful rules are easy to remember. 5 simple and understandable examples will lead you through the most common grammatical errors.
Why Grammar is Important
Grammar is generally the first thing to be tested, and the content comes second in any writing. This becomes, especially difficult for those people who love to write and would love to make a career as an online writer, author, a reporter, or anywhere in the academic writing field. Whenever you are doing assignments, you must have seen rules like “no plagiarism” and “no grammatical errors have to be tolerated.”
All your papers are actually tested using sophisticated software where errors can show up. This could lower the mark for students when they actually worked really hard for the project. This does not mean that you are inefficient. Languages are always like this, always full of exceptions and irregularities. Most of the time, you do not know where the mistake is. Therefore, we have got the most common grammar mistakes.
The Most Popular Mistakes to Avoid in the Future
The below mistakes have been found based on internet research. They have been agreed upon by English language majors. As per famous English language enthusiasts, grammar mistakes show that you do not respect the reader and that you are lazy. Additionally, a minor grammatical mistake can change the meaning totally. Now, let us countdown the worst mistakes which are also the most common errors in the English language:
1. Incorrect verb according to the subject
The subject of the sentence (the main person or thing that is doing the actual work) must be appropriately agreed with the verb. Mostly, there are problems with has, have or was, were. Then there are some subjects which always require the verb in either singular or plural form. For example:
- Incorrect: There were a few people who have bicycles.
There is plural in the subject, therefore, the verb must also be the same (have for plural and has for singular):
- Correct: There are few people who have bicycles.
2. Misplaced comma
This is one grammatical error which people with Ph.D. might also make. Proper comma usage has never been given so much prominence, but in reality, it does affect the sentence deeply. Also, as kids, we learned punctuations and always try to prevent yourself from punctuation errors, but this one seemed to be the easiest one. You need to put the comma afterwords also like, therefore, and additionally. Sometimes, people make up a big sentence and put commas in between. This makes the sentence hard to understand. Be careful of this guy! Example:
- Incorrect: He, on the other hand, didn’t even go to meet her.
There should be a comma before “on” and after “hand”:
- Correct: He, on the other hand, didn’t even go to meet her.
Another example:
- Incorrect: He said that he would come to the restaurant, later on, he just canceled by saying that he was busy and finally I understood that he did not want to meet me.
You can see that this sentence is too long and difficult to understand. Plus, there should be a comma after “on.”
3. The/a or no article
This is the mistake, people may commit often. You need to remember some basic rules about countable nouns that require either “the” or “a” and uncountable nouns where plural things do not require any articles. Also, the usage of “a” and “the” depends on whether it is your first time when you mention the object or second, and many other factors. Example:
- Incorrect: Could you give me paper?
- Correct: Could you give me a paper?
4. Between and among
“Among” should be used when you have a choice from several things and “between” when you must choose between 2 things. Example:
- Incorrect: I found it difficult to choose between many styles of dresses.
- Correct: I found it difficult to choose among many styles of dresses.
5. Confusing homophones
Homophones are similar sounding words but they absolutely different meanings. Sometimes, these confused words can make your hard work go waste. It might be confusing to choose which one to put. It is advisable to know the meanings and use them. If you do not know the meaning, do not use it or it is better to use a different word or try to explain with a different phrase. Example:
- Incorrect: I excepted the offer at my job.
- Correct: I accepted the offer at my job.
What can help me stay on good terms with grammar?
Those are the mistakes that students make most of the time while writing their assignments, for example use redundant phrases. It might not be a big deal now, but later on, the mistakes will become the biggest hindrance in your career.
You must be asking how to prevent bad grammar? Some simple ways to avoid bad grammar is to start realizing the mistake every time there is a mistake. Another simple way is to use some application or Google extension that can help you with correcting the mistakes while you write, or use our essay checker and free essay plagiarism checker.
Also, you can try doing some random grammar exercises. They actually prove to be the eye-opener for many people.
