Common Grammatical Errors in English
Contents
- 1 Pronoun Disagreement
- 2 Mistakes in Apostrophe Usage
- 3 Lack of Subject-Verb Agreement
- 4 Misplaced Modifiers
- 5 Sentence Fragments
- 6 Missing Comma in a Compound Sentence
- 7 No Clear Antecedent
- 8 Ending a Sentence in a Preposition
- 9 Mixing Up Spellings
- 10 Mixing Up Similar Words
- 11 Unnecessary Commas
- 12 Mixing Up Possessives and Plurals
- 13 Mistakes With Well and Good
- 14 Comparisons That Are Incomplete
- 15 Mixing Up Adverbs and Adjectives
Pronoun Disagreement
For example:
- Incorrect: “Every girl must bring their own lunch.”
- Correct: “Every girl must bring her own lunch.”
Mistakes in Apostrophe Usage
For example:
- Incorrect: “My mothers cabin is next to his’ cabin.”
- Correct: “My mother’s cabin is next to his cabin.”
Lack of Subject-Verb Agreement
For example:
- Incorrect: “These recipes is good for beginning chefs.”
- Correct: “These recipes are good for beginning chefs.”
Misplaced Modifiers
For example:
- Incorrect: “At eight years old, my father gave me a pony for Christmas.”
- Correct: “When I was eight years old, my father gave me a pony for Christmas.”
Sentence Fragments
For example:
- Incorrect: “Sharon stayed home from school the other day. Because she was sick.”
- Correct: “Sharon stayed home from school the other day because she was sick.”
Missing Comma in a Compound Sentence
For example:
- Incorrect: “Jim went to the store and Ella went with him.”
- Correct: “Jim went to the store, and Ella went with him.”
No Clear Antecedent
For example:
- Incorrect: “The dad found the boy, and he was happy.”
- Correct: “The dad was happy when he found the boy.”
Ending a Sentence in a Preposition
For example:
- Incorrect: “What reason did he come here for?”
- Correct: “For what reason did he come here?”
Mixing Up Spellings
For example:
- Incorrect: “There father went to school there.”
- Correct: “Their father went to school there.”
Mixing Up Similar Words
For example:
- Incorrect: “The rain had a good affect on the farmer’s field.”
- Correct: “The rain had a good effect on the farmer’s field.”
Unnecessary Commas
For example:
- Incorrect: “She had a stomach ache, because she ate too much ice cream.”
- Correct: “She had a stomach ache because she ate too much ice cream.”
Mixing Up Possessives and Plurals
For example:
- Incorrect: “The dogs dish was full of bone’s.”
- Correct: “The dog’s dish was full of bones.”
Mistakes With Well and Good
For example:
- Incorrect: “I am doing good in math.”
- Correct: “I am doing well in math.”
Comparisons That Are Incomplete
For example:
- Incorrect: “My hair is smoother and softer.”
- Correct: “My hair is smoother and softer than it was a month ago.”
Mixing Up Adverbs and Adjectives
For example:
- Incorrect: “Susan gave me a real nice bouquet of flowers.”
- Correct: “Susan gave me a really nice bouquet of flowers.”