Top 10 Common Grammar Mistakes in English and How to Avoid Them

1. Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

Mistake: Using the wrong verb form with the subject.
❌ She go to school every day.
✅ She goes to school every day.
How to avoid it: Ensure singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs.

She goes to school every day.

2. Misuse of Apostrophes

Mistake: Using apostrophes incorrectly in plurals and possessives.
❌ The cat’s are playing. (Wrong plural)
✅ The cats are playing.
❌ Its raining outside.
✅ It’s raining outside. ("It’s" = "It is")
How to avoid it: Use apostrophes for contractions and possession, not for plurals.

3. Confusing “Your” and “You’re”

Mistake: Mixing up the possessive pronoun and contraction.
❌ Your going to be late.
✅ You’re going to be late.
How to avoid it: Use “your” for possession and “you’re” when meaning "you are."

4. Confusing “Their,” “There,” and “They’re”

Mistake: Using the wrong form.
❌ There going to the park.
✅ They’re going to the park.
How to avoid it:

• Their = Possessive (Their house is big.)
• There = Place (The book is over there.)
• They’re = "They are" (They’re happy.)

5. Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

Mistake: Combining two independent clauses incorrectly.
❌ I love coffee, it is my favorite drink.
✅ I love coffee. It is my favorite drink.
How to avoid it: Use a period, semicolon, or conjunction to separate clauses.

6. Using “Me” Instead of “I” (or Vice Versa)

Mistake: Incorrect subject or object pronoun usage.
❌ Me and John went to the store.
✅ John and I went to the store.
How to avoid it: Use "I" as the subject and "me" as the object.

7. Dangling Modifiers

Mistake: Misplacing descriptive phrases.
❌ Running down the street, my hat flew off. (Sounds like the hat is running!)
✅ As I was running down the street, my hat flew off.
How to avoid it: Ensure the modifier is placed near the noun it describes.

8. Double Negatives

Mistake: Using two negatives in one sentence.
❌ I don’t know nothing about it.
✅ I don’t know anything about it.
How to avoid it: Use only one negative in a sentence to maintain correct meaning.

9. Confusing “Then” and “Than”

Mistake: Using “then” instead of “than” (and vice versa).
❌ She is taller then me.
✅ She is taller than me.
How to avoid it:

• Than is for comparisons (She is taller than me.)
• Then is for time/order (We ate dinner, then we left.)

10. Incorrect Use of “Who” and “Whom”

Mistake: Using "who" when "whom" is needed.
❌ Who should I give this book to?
✅ Whom should I give this book to?
How to avoid it: Use "who" for subjects and "whom" for objects (Try replacing with "he" or "him" to check).

By avoiding these mistakes, you can improve your grammar and communication skills. 🚀