Common grammatical errors

Common grammar mistakes explained

1 Your vs. you’re

Much like to and too, your and you’re are homophones. That means they
sound the same when spoken aloud but have two different meanings.

Your is a possessive pronoun. It indicates that something belongs to a

singular second person.

You forgot your backpack at school yesterday.

You’re is a contraction of you are.

You’re expected to arrive no later than 6 p.m.

2 Who vs. whom

Who is the subject of a sentence, whereas whom is the object of a sentence.

Who will be hosting the party this weekend?

To whom should I send the package?

3 Who’s vs. whose

Who’s is a contraction of who is. Whose is the possessive form of who, a

relative pronoun.

Who’s ready for the exam on Friday?

Whose laptop is this?

4 Affect vs. effect

Affect is a verb that means “to cause an effect.” Effect is a noun that refers to
a result.

How will a heat wave affect your vacation plans?

An increased budget will have a major effect on hiring.

5 Who vs. that

Who refers to a person. That refers to an inanimate object. However, that can
also refer to a group of people in cases where the group, rather than its
members, is emphasized.

My brother is the one who solved the mystery.

I took a course that changed my perspective on climate change.

We’re part of an organization that promotes native plant cultivation.

6 That vs. which

That is used to introduce a clause that adds necessary information to a

sentence. Which is used to introduce a clause that adds detail but isn’t critical
to the sentence.

One of my dogs, the one that ate a rock, needs to see a vet.

My other dog, which is a terrier, also needs to see the vet.

7 I.e. vs. e.g.

I.e. is short for id est and is used to clarify statements. E.g. is short for exempli
gratia and is used to provide examples.

I’ll be late again tomorrow (i.e., my car is still in the shop).

Additionally, a comma should follow these abbreviations, and they should be

enclosed in parentheses.

I’ve read lots of novels over the past year (e.g., A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The
Fault in Our Stars).

8 Then vs. than

Then indicates when something will happen. Than is used to compare people
or things.

First we’ll go over the homework; then we’ll watch the presentation.

Our cousins are taller than us.

9 Each and every

Each refers to two items. Every refers to three or more items.

Additionally, each refers to the individual items in a group, while every refers
to the group as a whole.

Each of my children made me a Mother’s Day card.

Every one of my coworkers is going to the dinner.

10 More than vs. over

More than indicates the literal quantity of things being discussed. Over can
indicate an object’s physical position or a figurative amount larger than
another mentioned in the same sentence.

She owns more than ten jackets.

We’re going to come in over our budget.

11 Less vs. fewer

Less is used to describe an abstract or otherwise uncountable amount of

items. Fewer is used for countable numbers of items.

The students had less time to work on the assignment today.

If fewer people used disposable water bottles, there would be less plastic in landfills.

12 Me vs. I

I and me are both first-person singular pronouns. Use I when you’re the
subject of the sentence and me when you’re the object of the sentence.

It was almost midnight, so I didn’t stop to pick up my shoe.

You want me to dance with you?

13 A lot vs. allot vs. alot

A lot can be a pronoun or an adverb. It means “often” or “a large

amount.” Allot is a verb that means “to distribute.” Alot is not a word. Avoid it
in your writing.

There were a lot of jellyfish.

We were allotted two notebooks and five pens each.

14 Farther vs. further

Farther refers to literal distance. Further means “more.”

The island looked farther away than ever.

We want no further communication with your company.

15 Like vs. such as

Like is used to make a comparison, while such as is used to provide specific

examples.

The couch has black and white spots like a dalmatian.

We have many pizza toppings, such as peppers, pineapple, and pepperoni.

16 May vs. might

Generally, may is used in the present tense to ask for permission and to
indicate something that is likely to happen. Might is used with the past tense
and to describe things that are either unlikely or didn’t happen.

May I bring a guest to the book signing?

There might have been time for discussion, but the fire alarm went off.

17 Past vs. passed

Past refers to something that has already happened. It can be a noun, an

adjective, a preposition, or an adverb. Passed is a verb.
Our grandfather told us stories about the past.

The SUV passed on our right.

18 Based off vs. based on

This is an example of language evolving, and perhaps one day, based off will
be considered grammatically correct. But currently, based on is considered to
be the correct phrasing. Both of these phrases are used to indicate the facts
or circumstances that drove a specific decision or conclusion.

Based on the rain in the forecast, I decided not to water my garden today.

Another version of this phrase, based off of, is never correct.

19 Compliment vs. complement

A compliment is a kind word or bit of praise for another person or thing.

To complement someone or something means to enhance their skills or
assets with other skills or assets.

I liked Dara’s presentation, so I paid her a compliment.

Dara’s background in UX design complements my front-end development experience.

20 Misplaced modifiers

A misplaced modifier is a word or phrase that’s too far away from the noun it’s
modifying. A misplaced modifier can make a sentence confusing for readers.
Here is an example of a sentence with a misplaced modifier, which is bolded:

My sister adopted another cat named Ghost.

So she has two cats named Ghost now?

Here is a corrected version of this sentence:

My sister adopted another cat and named her Ghost.

20 Dangling Modifiers
I love the name of this mistake -- it makes me think of a dramatic, life-or-death situation
such as hanging precariously off a cliff. (Of course grammar mistakes are never that
drastic, but it helps me remember to keep them out of my writing.)

This mistake happens when a descriptive phrase doesn't apply to the noun that
immediately follows it. It's easier to see in an example taken from my colleague over
on the HubSpot Sales Blog:
After declining for months, Jean tried a new tactic to increase ROI.

What exactly is declining for months? Jean? In reality, the sentence was trying to say
that the ROI was declining -- not Jean. To fix this problem, try flipping around the
sentence structure (though beware of passive voice):

Jean tried a new tactic to increase ROI after it had been declining for months.

Better, right?

21 Passive voice

The passive voice isn’t inherently incorrect, but many writers use it when the
active voice would be a more accurate, clearer choice.

Passive voice: Breakfast was prepared by me.

Active voice: I prepared breakfast.

22 Possessive nouns
Possessive nouns are versions of nouns that show ownership. Often, they
use apostrophes.

For a singular possessive noun, the apostrophe goes before the s.

Maryam’s notebook.

For a plural possessive noun, the apostrophe goes after the s.

The students’ grades.

That said, there are different schools of thought about what to do when a
singular possessive noun ends in the letter s. Some say the apostrophe goes
at the end, without adding an s.

That’s James’ car.

Chicago style stipulates that when a name ending in s becomes possessive,

you add an apostrophe and an s.

That’s James’s car.

23 Commas

Commas are versatile punctuation marks, so it’s easy to use them incorrectly.
Commas are used to create short pauses within sentences, such as to
separate items in a list, distinguish independent clauses, or note appositives.

I went to the store for butter, flour, and milk.

I went to the store for butter flour and milk.

24 Semicolons
Semicolons are most frequently used to separate independent clauses within
a sentence.

For example, you could use a semicolon in the sentence:

Call me tomorrow; I'll have an answer for you by then.

Notice that each clause could be its own sentence -- but stylistically, it makes
more sense for them to be joined. (If there's a coordinating conjunction
between the two clauses -- like "and," "but", or "or" -- use a comma instead.)

They’re also used to separate items in a serial list when those items contain
punctuation of their own.

Amalia is taking twenty credits this semester; her goal is to graduate early.

I need the weather statistics for the following cities: London, England; Paris,
France; and Perth, Scotland.

There are two options for breakfast: eggs and bacon, which is high in protein and low in carbs;
or oatmeal and fruit, which is high in carbs but has more fiber.

25 Title capitalization

Although it can vary between style guides, the general rules for title
capitalization are:

 Articles are lowercase unless they’re the first or last word of the title

 Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are always capitalized

The Cat in the Hat

Things Fall Apart

26 Apostrophes

Apostrophes create a few types of words:

 Contractions (she did = she’d)

 Singular possessive nouns (Jason’s)

 Shortened colloquial words (it was = ’twas)

In some cases, they also create plurals.

Remember to dot your is.

Remember to dot your i’s.

27 Punctuation’s place in parentheses

When it comes to parentheses and other punctuation, there are a couple of

rules to follow.

 If the text in parentheses is a complete sentence and is separate from

surrounding sentences, the period goes inside the parentheses.

 Additionally, a phrase that could stand alone as a complete sentence

can also be contained inside another complete sentence.

My house has blue trim. (My neighbor’s house has blue trim, too.)

My house has blue trim (my neighbor’s house has blue trim, too).

My house has blue trim (with white windows) and a green door.

Question marks and exclamation marks are the exceptions to the rule. When
they’re part of a parenthetical passage enclosed in another sentence, they
always go inside the parentheses, whether it’s a complete sentence or a
fragment.

Dimo got lost on the way to his interview (but he wasn’t late so they never knew!).

 Use commas after parentheses, not before.

Because parenthetical text usually relates to what’s directly before it, it

shouldn’t follow a comma. However, it’s completely normal to place a
comma after parentheses, without a space.

The party was too quiet, (the DJ canceled) so Gina brought out her guitar.

The party was too quiet (the DJ canceled), so Gina brought out her guitar.

28 Use of Commas
There are entire courses on correct comma usage, but let's go over some of the most
common comma use cases here.

To Separate Elements in a Series

Each element in a series should be separated by a comma. For example: "I brought a
jacket, a blanket, and an umbrella to the park." That last comma is optional. It's called
an "Oxford comma," and whether you use it depends on your company's internal style
guide.
To Separate Independent Clauses

You can use commas to separate independent clauses that are joined by "and," "but,"
"for," "or," "nor," "so," or "yet." For example, this sentence is correctly written: "My
brother is very smart, and I've learned a lot from him."

An independent clause is a sentence that can stand on its own. Here's how to test it:
Would the second part of the sentence (following one of those coordinating
conjunctions) make a full sentence on its own? If so, add a comma. If it doesn't, leave it
out.

To Separate an Introductory Word or Phrase.

At the beginning of a sentence, we often add an introductory word or phrase that

requires a subsequent comma. For example:

In the beginning, I had no idea how to use a comma.

Or:

However, after reading an awesome blog post, I understand the difference.

Other common introductory words and phrases include "after," "although," "when," and
"while."

28 Incomplete comparisons

When you make a comparison in your writing, you need to mention both (or
all) of the things you’re comparing.

My car is faster than my cousin’s car.

An incomplete comparison is a comparison that fails to mention one or more

of the things being compared.

My car is faster.

29 Em dash vs. en dash vs. hyphen

Em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens are frequently mixed up. Here is a quick
look at them:

Em dash: —

En dash: –

Hyphen: –

Use an em dash when another type of punctuation, like parentheses or a pair

of commas, doesn’t quite capture the tone you need. Em dashes have a
quick, casual connotation, so they’re often used to indicate an aside or
sudden tone change in a sentence.
They are afraid of two things—spiders and senior prom.

En dashes are used to show date and time ranges. They can also be used to
link complex compound adjectives when both halves are hyphenated or when
one of the parts is a multi-word noun or an open compound adjective.

We’re open Monday–Saturday.

The Nobel Prize–winning author will be reading from her book at the library tonight.

Hyphens are used to connect words. Often, this is to create a

compound modifier, which is a multi-word adjective.

Antonio Luis–Rodríguez just finished writing his most attention–grabbing novel yet.

30 Subject/verb agreement

In any sentence, the subject and verb need to be in the same tense.

My classmates hopes our teacher will be back soon.

My classmates hope our teacher will be back soon.

31. Its vs. It's

This one tends to confuse even the best of writers. "Its" is possessive and "it's" is a
contraction of "it is." Lots of people get tripped up because "it's" has an 's after it, which
normally means something is possessive. But in this case, it's actually a contraction.

Do a control + F to find this mistake in your writing. It's really hard to catch on your own,
but it's a mistake everyone can make.

32 Falling into pronoun disagreement

A common grammatical mistake for English learners is for their pronouns and
nouns to disagree, when dealing with singular and plural examples.
The straightforward rule is that singular pronouns must go with singular nouns,
and plural pronouns must go with plural nouns.

So, for example:

“Every boy must sign in when they arrive” is incorrect. “Boy” is singular,
and “they” is plural.

The correct phrasing here would be:

“Every boy must sign in when he arrives.”

A business ethics professor made me aware of this mistake. "A business is not plural,"
he told our class. "Therefore, the business is not 'they.' It's 'it.'"

So, what's the problem with this sentence?

To keep up with their changing audience, Southwest Airlines rebranded in

2014.

The confusion is understandable. In English, we don't identify a brand or an entity as

"he" or "she" -- so "they" seems to make more sense. But as the professor pointed out,
it's just not accurate. A brand or an entity is "it."

To keep up with its changing audience, Southwest Airlines rebranded in

2014.

It might seem a little strange at first, but once you start correctly referring to a brand or
entity as "it," the phrasing will sound much more natural than "they."

33. To vs. Too

We've all accidentally left the second "o" off of "too" when texting in a hurry. But in case
the mistake goes beyond that, let's review some usage rules.

"To" is typically used before a noun or verb, and describes a destination, recipient, or
action. Take these examples:

My friend drove me to my doctor's appointment. (Destination)

I sent the files to my boss. (Recipient)

I'm going to get a cup of coffee. (Action)

"Too," on the other hand, is a word that's used as an alternative to "also" or "as well."
It's also used to describe an adjective in extremes. Have a look:

My colleague, Sophia Bernazzani, writes for the HubSpot marketing blog,

too.

She, too, is vegan.

We both think it's too cold outside.

You might have noticed that there's some interesting comma usage where the word
"too" is involved. We'll cover commas a bit more later, but when you're using the word
"too" to replace "also" or "as well," the general rule is to use a comma both before and
after. The only exception occurs when "too" is the last word in the sentence -- then,
follow it with a period.

34. Do’s and Don’ts

I'm not talking about the do's and don'ts of grammar here -- I'm talking about the actual
words: "do's" and "don'ts." They look weird, right? That's because of two things:

1. There's an apostrophe in one to make it plural ... which typically isn't

done, and

2. The apostrophes aren't put in the same place in both words.

Unfortunately, it's AP Style, so we just have to live with it. It's a hot angle for content
formats, so I wouldn't shy away from using it. But when you're checking your writing for
grammatical errors, just remember that the apostrophes should be in different places.

Note: There are different schools of thought about how to punctuate this one
depending on what style guide/usage book you're using. The Chicago Manual
of Style, for instance, recommends "dos" and "don'ts." The important thing is
to be consistent and stick to one style guide, whether it's AP Style, Chicago,
or your own house style guide.

35. Into vs. In to

Let's clarify the "into" versus "in to" debate.

They're often confused, but "into" indicates movement (Lindsay walked into the office)
while "in to" is used in lots of situations because the individual words "to" and "in" are
frequently used in other parts of a sentence. For example, "to" is often used with
infinitive verbs (e.g. "to drive"). Or "in" can be used as part of a verb (e.g. "call in to a
meeting").
So if you're trying to decide which to use, first figure out if the words "in" or "to" actually
modify other words in the sentence. If they don't, ask yourself if it's indicating some sort
of movement -- if it does, you're good to use "into."

36. Lose vs. Loose

When people mix up "lose" and "loose," it's usually just because they're spelled so
similarly. They know their definitions are completely different.

According to Merriam-Webster, "lose" is a verb that means "to be unable to find

(something or someone), to fail to win (a game, contest, etc.), or to fail to keep or hold
(something wanted or valued)." It's like losing your keys or losing a football match.
"Loose" is an adjective that means "not tightly fastened, attached, or held," like
loose clothing or a loose tooth.
A trick for remembering the difference is to think of the term "loosey-goosey" -- both of
those words are spelled with two o's.

37. Assure vs. Insure vs. Ensure

All of these words have to do with "making an outcome sure," which is why they're so
often mixed up. However, they aren't interchangeable.

 "To assure" means to promise or say with confidence. For example, "I
assure you that he's good at his job."

 "To ensure" means to make certain. For example, "Ensure you're free
when I visit next weekend."

 Finally, "to insure" means to protect against risk by regularly paying an

insurance company. For example, "I insure my car because the law
requires it."

38. Between vs. Among

Let's clear this one up: The word "between" is used to refer to two (or sometimes more)
things that are clearly separated, and the word "among" is used to refer to things that
aren't clearly separated because they're part of a group or mass of objects.

So you choose between a red shirt and a black shirt, but you choose among all your
shirts. You walk between Centre Street and Broad Street, but you walk among your
friends.

39. Getting adjectives and adverbs confused

Confusing your adjectives and adverbs often results in speech or writing that
comes off as very informal, and even uneducated – and it’s a great way of
infuriating many English teachers.

Often, you’ll notice this issue happening with words that end in “-ly.”

Here are a couple of grammatically incorrect examples:

“It was a real nice day today.”

“I ran quick to the bus stop.”

And here’s how these two examples would look if they were made
grammatically correct:

“It was a really nice day today.”

“I ran quickly to the bus stop.”

1 Present and Past Tense

There are four present tense forms in the English language.

Present Simple:
Everyday events:
Regular actions

Universal constant facts: The Sun sets in the west.

Give directions or instructions

I Work
Present Continuous: I am Working
Present Perfect: I have worked
Present perfect continuous: I have been working
Rules:
You can use the past tense to talk about events or situations that have finished.
You can also use past tense in English to talk about long-standing events and
situations that have already happened in the past.
For example: When I was a young child, I lived in the countryside.
Here are some frequently used examples of verbs in past simple: are, was,
were and went.