Do You Make These 11 Common Grammar Mistakes When You Write?

1. Loose vs. lose

This one drives a lot of people crazy, including me.

In fact, it’s so prevalent among bloggers that I once feared I was missing something, and
somehow “loose” was a proper substitute for “lose” in some other English-speaking countries.

Here’s a hint: it’s not.

If your pants are too loose, you might lose your pants.

2. Me, myself, and I

One of the most common causes of grammatical pain is the choice between “me” and “I.”

Too often people use “I” when they should use “me.” Since “I” sounds stilted and proper, it
must be right, right? Nope.

The easy way to get this one right is to simply remove the other person from the sentence and
then do what sounds correct.

You would never say “Give I a call,” so you also wouldn’t say “Give Chris and I a call.” Don’t
be afraid of me.

And whatever you do, don’t punt and say “myself” because you’re not sure whether “me” or
“I” is the correct choice. “Myself” is only proper in two contexts, both of which are
demonstrated below.

Many consider Chris a punk, but I myself tolerate him. Which brings me to ask myself, why?

3. Different than vs. Different from

This one on our list of common grammar mistakes slips under the radar a lot, and I’ll bet I’ve
screwed it up countless times.

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It boils down to the fact that things are logically different from one another, and using the word
“than” after “different” is a grammatical blunder.

This vase is different from the one I have, but I think mine is better than this one.

4. Improper use of the apostrophe

Basically, you use an apostrophe in two cases:

 For contractions (don’t for do not)

 To show possession (Frank’s blog means the blog belongs to Frank)

If still in doubt, leave the apostrophe out. It causes more reader confusion to insert an
apostrophe where it doesn’t belong than it does to omit one.

Plus, you can always plead the typo defense if you leave an apostrophe out, but you look
unavoidably dumb when you stick one where it doesn’t belong.

5. Parallelism

Back when I talked about how to write bullet points, one of the tips involved keeping each
bullet item in parallel by beginning with the same part of speech.

For example, each item might similarly begin with a verb:

 Deliver …
 Prompt …
 Cause …
 Drive …

When writing a list of items in paragraph form, this is even more crucial, and failing to stay in
parallel can result in confusion for readers and scorn from English majors.

Check out this non-parallel list in a sentence:

Over the weekend, Kevin bought a new MacBook Pro online, two software programs, and
arranged for free shipping.

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Do you see the problem? If not, break the list into bullet points and it becomes clear:

Over the weekend, Kevin:

 Bought a new MacBook Pro online

 Two software programs
 Arranged for free shipping

Stick the word “ordered” in front of “two software programs” and you’re in parallel. Your
readers will subconsciously thank you, and the Grammar Police won’t slam you with a citation
for one of these common grammar mistakes.

6. i.e. vs. e.g.

Ah, Latin … you’ve just gotta love it.

As antiquated as they might seem, these two little Latin abbreviations are pretty handy in
modern writing, but only if you use them correctly.

The Latin phrase id est means “that is,” so i.e. is a way of saying “in other words.” It’s
designed to make something clearer by providing a definition or saying it in a more common
way.

The Latin phrase exempli gratia means “for example”, so e.g. is used before giving specific
examples that support your assertion.

7. Could of, would of, should of

Please don’t do this:

I should of gone to the baseball game, and I could of, if Billy would of done his job.

This is correct:

I should have gone to the baseball game, and could have, if Billy had done his job.

Why is this one of our common grammar mistakes?

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They could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been correct, except that the ending of those contractions
is slurred when spoken.

This creates something similar to a homophone, i.e., a word that is pronounced the same as
another word but differs in meaning, e.g., of, which results in the common grammar mistake of
substituting of for have.

8. This or these

When you’re deciding whether to use this or these, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

This helps you reference or point out something. What you’re referencing or pointing out is
likely going to be singular, but the concept can be general.

In common grammar mistake #7 above, I used this twice. First, to preface an example, and

then to reference a statement I just made.

You’ll only use these if you’re referencing plural nouns:

These avocados look ripe. Or, these documents need your signature.

This would be correct if the noun you’re pointing out is singular:

This bird keeps flying by my window.

Associating this with singular nouns and these with plural nouns will guide you in the right
direction. 

9. Proper grammar for from this to that

Now that we know this is for referencing singular nouns, it’s easier to explain when to use that.

You’ll need to know the proper grammar for from this to that if you’re considering different
options.

That will likely also reference a singular noun, but it’s a singular noun you’re comparing or
contrasting with another singular noun:
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We could go this way or that way home.

That helps you distinguish between two or more singular nouns. You’ll go from this to that if
you need to discuss more than one possibility.

10. Affect and effect

Affect and effect are often confused, but one is a verb and the other is a noun.

The verb “affect” describes something that “manipulates or causes a change.”

An emotional piece of news may affect how you feel after you hear it.

The noun “effect” refers to an “outcome or result.”

If you associate “special effects” in movies with “effects,” you’ll remember that “effect”
should be used as the noun to describe an outcome.

11. Commas in a list

How you use commas in a list will depend on the specific writing style you follow.

For instance, at Copyblogger we use the Oxford comma, which means we include a comma
before “and” when we are about to conclude a list:

Make sure to pick up milk, bread, and eggs from the grocery store. 

Even though there are different schools of thought regarding whether or not to use the Oxford
comma, when you want to write a good sentence, you do always need to use commas to
separate the multiple items you reference in a list — it’s just proper punctuation.

he given illustrative expressions would enable the non native speaker to notice how words can be used in
appropriate contexts.

The meaning of the word depends on the context in which it is used.

Most of the words and grammatical expressions are misused, abused and confused by non native
speakers.

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ABILITY vs CAPACITY :

Ability can refer to your power to do things that could be physical or mental.

Rick's ability as a technician is amazing.

Capacity literally means the power to receive or contain.

The seating capacity of the stadium is 50 000.

Ability can be acquired whereas capacity is inborn.

ACHE vs PAIN :

Ache is a dull pain. Pain is more severe and persistent than Ache. Ache is temporary.

I have a headache.

When you have a chest pain, it is continuous and a very serious issue.

ACRONYM vs ABBREVIATION :

An Acronym is made up of the initial letters or syllables of a compound term. An Acronym is a

pronounciable word.

NATO can be from North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

PRO Public Relations Officer, is pronounced with individual letters. An abbreviation is a shortened form of
a word or words. Dr. stands for a doctor.

AFFECT vs EFFECT :

Affect means to influence.

Please put on a sweater as the chilly weather will affect you.

Effect as a verb does mean to bring about, or produce.

Certain changes were effected by the Trump’s administration.

Used as a noun in a sense of result or outcome. It has no effect on the administration.

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A LITTLE vs LITTLE :

I have a little money, means that I have some money, but not much.

I have little money means, I have hardly anything. I have almost nothing. A Little is a positive and Little is
negative.

AMONG vs BETWEEN :

You are among when more than two people or things are involved.

Trish divided his property among his three children.

Between is used when two persons or things are involved.

You can choose between coffee and tea.

ASLEEP vs SLEEP :

You fall asleep. Samantha is fast asleep. Asleep is usually used when you want to refer to the state or
condition a person is in.

Sleeping expresses an activity.

CyndI is sleeping. She is sleeping soundly. Madonna is sleeping like a log.

But never use : you are asleep fast, nor can you say : Steffi is soundly sleeping.

AWAIT vs WAIT :

Sade will be awaiting for you can be an incorrect expression. It should have been : Sade will be waiting for
you.

Await never followed by for. I await your follow. I am waiting for you.

As such, I am awaiting your response and conclusion to this clarification.

What are some common mistakes in English usage and how can we avoid them?

When using if with the past conditional tense, you don’t use would.

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  Wrong: If I would have went, I would have seen them.
 Correct: If I had gone/had I gone, I would have seen them.
Similarly, if and would do not go together for the future conditional. Use the simple past
instead for making suggestions about events that might happen in the future. It seems
counterintuitive, but it’s correct.

 Wrong: If he would come tomorrow, we could borrow his car.

 Correct: If he came tomorrow, we could borrow his car.
The words hardly, barely, and scarcely function as a negative, so they aren’t used with not:

 Wrong: I can’t hardly wait.

 Correct: I can hardly wait.
I could care less is wrong and makes no sense. The correct expression is I couldn’t care less.

Who and whom are not optional or interchangeable. Whom is used for direct or indirect objects.

An easy way to tell is to check whether them/him/her or they/he/she fits:

 Whom do you wish to see? (I wish to see him.)

 Who turned off the lights? (He turned off the lights.)
 She was the teacher who showed up drunk every day. (She showed up drunk.)
 She was the teacher whom the school fired for showing up drunk. (The school fired
her.)
 With whom? (With her, with them)
Watch out for dangling participles:

 Wrong: As your lawyer, settling your case is what you should do. (‘Settling your case’
is not a lawyer.)
 Correct: As your lawyer, I advise you to settle your case.
Countable and uncountable nouns:

 Countable nouns are discrete items such as cars, people, dogs, computers, houses. For
these, you use number and fewer:

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 o The number of houses in London is tremendous. There are fewer people and
cars in a small village than in a large city.
 Uncountable nouns are masses or abstract quantities, such as water, sugar, pain,
energy (unless put in units). For these, you use amount and less:
o You should use less sugar. There is a large amount of water in the basement. It
takes less energy to heat a small house than a large one.

What are some common pronunciation mistakes people do in English?

Well, we clearly know how to use our words. Maybe it's time we learn to say them as well!

1. POEM: It's poe-um, not poy-em.

2. EPITOME: It's epi-tumi, not epi-toe-m.
3. DEBRIS: It's de-bree, not debriss.
4. POIGNANT: It's poi-nyant, not poig-nant.
5. ASTHMA: It's azma, not as-tha-maa.
6. WEDNESDAY: It's wenz-day, not wed-ness-day.
7. PIZZA: It's peet-za, not pi-za.
8. LINGERIE: It's lawn-zhuh-ray, not lin-guh-ree.
9. BOWL: It's bohl, not ba-ohl.
10.CHUTZPAH: It's hoot-spah, not choot-spah.
11.BREAKFAST: It's brek-fust, not bray-k-faast.
12.VIDEO: It's vid-i-yoh, not wee-diyo.
13.DISCRETION: It's dis-kreh-shun, not dis-kree-shun.
14.VIOLIN: It's va-yuh-lin, not vo-ee-lin.
15.MONK: It's munk, not mawnk.
16.EXTEMPORE: It's ex-tem-purree, not ex-tem-pour.
17.BURY: It's be-rry, not buh-rry.
18.DENGUE: It's den-gee, not den-gyoo/den-goo.
19.TOMB: It's toom(b), not taw-mb.
20.CHASSIS: It's sha-see, not chay-sis.
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21.COUPON: It's koo-pawn, not koo-pun.
22.MARIJUANA: It's mar-uh-wah-nuh, not mary-joo-anna.
23.IRON: It's aye-urn, not eye-run.
24.BANQUET: It's ban-kwet, not ban-kway.
25.MOJITO: It's mo-hee-toh, not mo-jee-toh.
26.RESTAURANT: It's res-tuh-rawnt, not res-trawnt.
27.ENGINEER: It's en-juh-near, not in-jee-near.
28.ENTREPRENEUR: It's on-truh-pren-yur, not en-tray-pren-yur.
29.DATA: It's day-ta, not daa-taa.
30.DEMON: It's dee-mon, not dey-mon.
31.TOUR: It's too-uhr, not toor.
32.SUBTRACT: It's sub-tract, not sub-stract.
33.GENRE: It's zhon-ruh, not jen-ner.
34.PRONUNCIATION: It's pro-nun-cia-shun, not pro-noun-cia-shun.

What are some of the words which Indians pronounce in a unique way?

1. Volkswagen
a. (Wrong pronunciation) Volks-Wagon
b. (Right pronunciation) Foaks-Vaa-gun
2. Louis Vuitton
a. (Wrong pronunciation) Loo-Is Vee-Ton
b. (Right pronunciation ) Loo-Ee We-Taahn
3. Lamborghini
a. (Wrong pronunciation) Lambor-Ginni
b. (Right pronunciation) Lambor-Gee-Nee
4. Adidas
a. (Wrong pronunciation) Uh-Deed-Aas
b. (Right pronunciation) Aah-Dee-Das
5. Amazon
a. (Wrong pronunciation ) Ama-Zohn
b. (Right pronunciation) Ama-Zun
6. Benetton
a. (Wright) Ben-E-Ten
b. (Right) Bene-Tawn
7. Chevrolet
a. (Wrong) Shev-Ro-Let
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 b. (Right) Shev-Ro-Ley
8. Avon
a. (Wrong) A-Vawn
b. (Right) A-one
9. Asus
a. (Wrong) A-Soos
b. (Right) A-Seuss
10. Del monte
a. (Wrong) Del Mont
b. (Right) Del Mon-Tay
11. Nike
a. (Wrong) Naik
b. (Right) Nai-Key
12. Versace
a. (Wrong) Ver-Saa-Kay
b. (Right) Ver-Saa-Chi
13. Samsung
a. (Wrong) Sam-sung
b. (Right) Sam-song
14. Schwarzkopf
a. (Wrong) Shwartz-Cop
b. (Right) Shwartz-Kof
15. Hyundai
a. (Wrong) Hyoon-Die
b. (Right) Hun-Day
16. Adobe
a. (Wrong) A-Dobe
b. (Right) Uh-Doe-Be
17. Renault
a. (Wrong) Re-Nault
b. (Right) Re-No
18. van Heusen
a. (Wrong) Van Hoo-Sen
b. (Right) Van-Hew-Son
19. Porsche
a. (wrong) Porsh
b. (Right ) Por-Shaa

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