Common Grammar Mistakes
Review the grammar mistakes that recur most often across everyday English, and the reasoning that helps correct them.
Mistakes that cross contexts
Some grammar mistakes appear in nearly every kind of communication.
While some mistakes are specific to a single grammar topic, others recur across conversation, writing, emails and academic work alike. These mistakes tend to cluster around a small set of areas: subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, countable and uncountable nouns, and negation.
In the sentence She don’t like coffee., the subject she and the verb don’t do not agree with one another, a mistake that shows up in speech and writing regardless of topic or setting.
This lesson gathers these recurring mistakes together, so they can be recognised no matter which topic or context they appear in.
Before you begin
Common grammar mistakes is one topic within Grammar in Context.
This lesson focuses on general, recurring grammar mistakes. For an overview of the topic as a whole, including links to every related lesson, begin with the Grammar in Context page.
Subject-verb agreement
The verb must match the subject, even when other words come between them.
01
Not
The verb does not match the subject.
She don’t like coffee.
02
Correct
The verb matches the subject.
She doesn’t like coffee.
Words between the subject and verb can be misleading.
Not: The list of items are on the table.
Correct: The list of items is on the table.
The subject here is the list, not items, even though items is the noun sitting closer to the verb.
Articles
A, an and the are often dropped where English requires them.
A missing indefinite article
Not: She works as engineer.
Correct: She works as an engineer.
Singular, countable nouns like engineer generally need an article.
A missing definite article
Not: Please close door.
Correct: Please close the door.
The is needed here, since a specific, already-known door is being referred to.
An unnecessary article
Not: I love the music.
Correct: I love music.
When speaking about music in general, rather than one specific piece or style, no article is used.
Prepositions
Certain words are fixed to a specific preposition, without a clear pattern.
Interested in, not interested for
Not: I’m interested for languages.
Correct: I’m interested in languages.
Married to, not married with
Not: She is married with a doctor.
Correct: She is married to a doctor.
Depend on, not depend of
Not: It depends of the weather.
Correct: It depends on the weather.
Pairings like these are generally learned individually, since the correct preposition does not follow a single consistent rule.
Countable and uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns do not take a plural form or “many.”
Making an uncountable noun plural
Not: I need some informations.
Correct: I need some information.
Information is uncountable in English, and has no plural form.
Much, many, less and fewer
Not: There are much people here today.
Correct: There are many people here today.
Many and fewer pair with countable nouns like people; much and less pair with uncountable nouns.
Double negatives
Standard English uses a single negative to state a negative idea.
Two negatives in one clause
Not: I don’t know nothing about it.
Correct: I don’t know anything about it.
In standard English, anything pairs with the existing negative don’t, rather than adding a second negative word.
Pronoun agreement
A pronoun must match the noun it refers to.
Matching number
Not: Every student must bring their own laptop, if he wants to attend.
Correct: Every student must bring their own laptop, if they want to attend.
Mixing singular and plural references to the same noun within one sentence reads as inconsistent.
Reflexive pronouns for emphasis or reference back
Not: Myself and my colleague attended the meeting.
Correct: My colleague and I attended the meeting.
Myself is reserved for referring back to the subject, not for replacing “I” as a subject.
A useful decision guide
Check the sentence against each of these areas in turn.
01
Does the verb match the true subject of the sentence?
Find the subject first, ignoring any words that sit between it and the verb.
02
Does a singular, countable noun need an article?
Check for a missing “a,” “an” or “the.”
03
Is the noun countable or uncountable?
Match “many” or “few” to countable nouns, and “much” or “little” to uncountable ones.
04
Does the sentence contain more than one negative word?
Standard English generally uses a single negative to state a negative idea.
Check your understanding
Can you spot the mistake?
Choose the correct version of each sentence.
Which sentence is correct?
✅ Exactly! The true subject is “the list,” which is singular.
❎ Not quite. Identify the true subject of the sentence, not the nearest noun.
“Items” is not the subject here.
Which sentence is correct?
✅ Exactly! A singular, countable noun like “engineer” needs an article.
❎ Not quite. Check whether an article is missing before “engineer.”
Which sentence is correct?
✅ Exactly! “Information” is uncountable and has no plural form.
❎ Not quite. Check whether “information” can be made plural.
Which sentence is correct?
✅ Exactly! Standard English uses one negative word per clause.
❎ Not quite. Count how many negative words appear in each sentence.
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the mistake correctly.
Why is “The list of items are on the table” incorrect?
✅ Exactly! Subject-verb agreement mistakes often come from a noun sitting between the true subject and the verb.
❎ Not quite. Identify which noun the verb is actually meant to agree with.
Why is “I’m interested for languages” incorrect?
✅ Exactly! Certain words are simply fixed to one particular preposition.
❎ Not quite. Think about which preposition regularly follows “interested.”
Why does “I don’t know nothing about it” read as a double negative in standard English?
✅ Exactly! Standard English uses a single negative word to express one negative idea.
❎ Not quite. Count the negative words in the sentence.
Try it another way
Complete each sentence with the correct word or form.
Type the missing word or words shown in brackets.
✅ Exactly! “Doesn’t” agrees with the singular subject “she.”
❎ Not quite. Use the form of “do not” that matches “she.”
✅ Exactly! “Depend” is fixed to the preposition “on.”
❎ Not quite. Think of the preposition that regularly follows “depend.”
✅ Exactly! “Many” pairs with the countable noun “people.”
❎ Not quite. Check whether “people” is countable or uncountable.
Edit the sentence
Correct the mistake in each sentence.
Use the note in brackets to decide what needs to change.
Please close door. (add the missing article)
✅ Exactly! “The” is needed for this specific door.
❎ Not quite. Add “the” before “door.”
She is married with a doctor. (correct the preposition)
✅ Exactly! “Married” is fixed to the preposition “to.”
❎ Not quite. Replace “with” with “to.”
Myself and my colleague attended the meeting. (correct the pronoun)
✅ Exactly! “I” replaces “myself” as the subject of the sentence.
❎ Not quite. Replace “myself” with “I,” and adjust the word order.
Quick review
These mistakes cluster around a small, recurring set of areas.
Subject-verb agreement depends on the true subject, not the noun closest to the verb.
Articles are often missing before singular, countable nouns, or added where general nouns need none.
Prepositions are often fixed to a specific word, without a single consistent rule.
Uncountable nouns take no plural form, and pair with “much” rather than “many.”
Standard English uses a single negative word to express one negative idea.
Pronouns need to match the noun they refer to, in both number and role.
Remember
These mistakes recur because they cross so many contexts.
Subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, countable and uncountable nouns, and negation appear in nearly every sentence written or spoken. Reviewing them together, rather than one topic at a time, makes the recurring pattern easier to catch.