Even advanced learners can make grammar mistakes, but recognizing and correcting them is key to improving your language skills. Here’s a list of common grammar mistakes and tips on how to fix them:

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

Mistake:
“The list of items are on the table.”
Fix:
“The list of items is on the table.”

  • Rule: The verb must agree with the subject, not the object of a preposition (e.g., “list” is singular, so use “is”).

2. Misusing “Your” and “You’re”

Mistake:
“Your going to love this!”
Fix:
“You’re going to love this!”

  • Rule: “Your” shows possession (e.g., “Your book”), while “you’re” is a contraction of “you are.”

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

Mistake:
“There going to the park with they’re friends.”
Fix:
“They’re going to the park with their friends.”

  • Rule:
    • “Their” = possession (e.g., “their car”).
    • “There” = location (e.g., “over there”).
    • “They’re” = contraction of “they are

4. Dangling Modifiers

Mistake:
“Running to the bus, the rain soaked her coat.”
Fix:
“Running to the bus, she felt the rain soak her coat.”

  • Rule: The subject being modified must be clear (e.g., “she” is the one running, not the rain).

5. Misplaced Apostrophes

Mistake:
“The cat ate it’s food.”
Fix:
“The cat ate its food.”

6. Double Negatives

Mistake:
“I don’t need no help.”
Fix:
“I don’t need any help.”

  • Rule: Avoid using two negatives in the same sentence.

7. Incorrect Use of “Me” and “I”

Mistake:
“Me and my friend went to the store.”
Fix:
“My friend and I went to the store.”

  • Rule: Use “I” as the subject and “me” as the object. Test by removing the other person: “I went to the store” (correct), not “Me went to the store.”

8. Confusing “Affect” and “Effect”

Mistake:
“The new policy will effect everyone.”
Fix:
“The new policy will affect everyone.”

  • Rule:
    • “Affect” = verb (to influence).
    • “Effect” = noun (the result).

9. Run-On Sentences

Mistake:
“I love reading it helps me relax I read every day.”
Fix:
“I love reading because it helps me relax. I read every day.”

  • Rule: Use conjunctions (e.g., “because,” “and,” “but”) or break into separate sentences.

10. Misusing “Fewer” and “Less”

Mistake:
“There are less people here today.”
Fix:
“There are fewer people here today.”

  • Rule: Use “fewer” for countable items (e.g., “fewer books”) and “less” for uncountable items (e.g., “less water”).

11. Incorrect Comparisons

Mistake:
“She is taller than me.”
Fix:
“She is taller than I.”

  • Rule: Use the subject pronoun after “than” when comparing subjects (e.g., “She is taller than I [am]”).

12. Confusing “Who” and “Whom”

Mistake:
“Who should I give this to?”
Fix:
“Whom should I give this to?”

  • Rule: Use “who” for the subject and “whom” for the object. Test by answering the question: “I should give this to him” → “him” = “whom.”

13. Overusing Passive Voice

Mistake:
“The report was written by me.”
Fix:
“I wrote the report.”

  • Rule: Use active voice for clarity and directness.

14. Misplacing “Only”

Mistake:
“She only ate the cake.” (Implies she did nothing else with the cake.)
Fix:
“She ate only the cake.”

  • Rule: Place “only” directly before the word it modifies.

15. Confusing “Then” and “Than”

Mistake:
“She is better then him.”
Fix:
“She is better than him.”

  • Rule:
    • “Then” = time (e.g., “We went to the park, then we ate lunch”).
    • “Than” = comparison (e.g., “She is taller than me”).

16. Using “Literally” Incorrectly

Mistake:
“I was literally dying of laughter.”
Fix:
“I was figuratively dying of laughter.”

  • Rule: “Literally” means something actually happened. Use “figuratively” for exaggeration.

17. Misusing “Between” and “Among”

Mistake:
“Share the candy among you and me.”
Fix:
“Share the candy between you and me.”

  • Rule: Use “between” for two items and “among” for three or more.

18. Confusing “Lay” and “Lie”

Mistake:
“I’m going to lay down.”
Fix:
“I’m going to lie down.”

  • Rule:
    • “Lay” = to place something down (requires an object, e.g., “Lay the book down”).
    • “Lie” = to recline (no object, e.g., “I lie down”).

19. Overusing Commas

Mistake:
“I went to the store, and, I bought milk.”
Fix:
“I went to the store and bought milk.”

  • Rule: Use commas sparingly and only where necessary for clarity.

20. Confusing “Bring” and “Take”

Mistake:
“Can you bring this to the office?” (When moving away from the speaker.)
Fix:
“Can you take this to the office?”

  • Rule: Use “bring” for movement toward the speaker and “take” for movement away.