Common Mistakes Guide

50 Common English Writing Mistakes

Review frequent errors and the clear rules or patterns that correct them.

The essential idea

Most writing errors are recurring patterns, not random failures. This guide collects 50 high-frequency problems with verbs, nouns, word order, articles, prepositions, pronouns, and sentence structure so you can recognise and correct them reliably.

Do not try to memorise the whole list at once. Mark the errors you actually make, record the corrected phrase with an example, and focus on two or three patterns in each editing session.

What makes it effective?

Pattern based

Learn the rule and a useful example together.

Prioritised

Fix errors that affect meaning or recur often before rare details.

Contextual

Check how a word behaves inside the whole sentence.

Repeatable

Use a short personal checklist on every new piece of writing.

A step-by-step method

    1

    Write the first draft

    Concentrate on meaning before interrupting every sentence to edit.

    2

    Check verbs

    Review tense, agreement, auxiliaries, and verb patterns.

    3

    Check noun phrases

    Review countability, number, determiners, and articles.

    4

    Check connections

    Review prepositions, pronouns, clauses, and sentence boundaries.

    5

    Record your patterns

    Save each recurring error with its correction and one original example.

Corrections in context

Situation: A learner edits a short update by checking one pattern at a time.

Focus: A systematic correction

Draft: I have sent the report yesterday, but one of the figures are wrong. I look forward to discuss it on Monday.

Edited: I sent the report yesterday, but one of the figures is wrong. I look forward to discussing it on Monday.

Why these corrections work

  • Yesterday requires the past simple.
  • The head of ‘one of the figures’ is singular.
  • Look forward to is followed by -ing.
  • On is used with a day.

Useful phrases

Check time

  • Is the time finished or connected to now?
  • Does every verb match the timeline?
  • Is there a future time clause?

Check nouns

  • Is the noun countable here?
  • Does it need a singular or plural form?
  • Does it need an article or determiner?

Check structure

  • Is this a direct or indirect question?
  • Does this verb take -ing or to + verb?
  • Are two complete clauses joined correctly?

Common mistakes to avoid

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Avoid: She go to work by bus.

Use: She goes to work by bus.

A third-person singular subject takes -s in the present simple.

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Avoid: They was late.

Use: They were late.

Use were with you, we, and they.

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Avoid: I am agree.

Use: I agree.

Agree is a verb, not an adjective.

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Avoid: I am knowing the answer.

Use: I know the answer.

Know is normally stative and not used in a continuous form.

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Avoid: I have seen her yesterday.

Use: I saw her yesterday.

Use the past simple with a finished past time.

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Avoid: I live here since 2020.

Use: I have lived here since 2020.

Use the present perfect for a state continuing from the past.

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Avoid: When I will arrive, I will call.

Use: When I arrive, I will call.

Use the present simple in a future time clause.

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Avoid: I look forward to meet you.

Use: I look forward to meeting you.

To is a preposition in this expression, so it is followed by -ing.

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Avoid: She suggested to leave early.

Use: She suggested leaving early.

Suggest is followed by an -ing form or a that-clause.

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Avoid: He made me to laugh.

Use: He made me laugh.

Use the bare infinitive after make + object.

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Avoid: I want that you help me.

Use: I want you to help me.

Use want + object + to-infinitive.

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Avoid: I didn't went.

Use: I didn't go.

Did already carries the past tense, so use the base verb.

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Avoid: Where you are going?

Use: Where are you going?

Invert the subject and auxiliary in a direct question.

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Avoid: Can you tell me where is it?

Use: Can you tell me where it is?

An indirect question uses statement word order.

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Avoid: The news are good.

Use: The news is good.

News is grammatically singular.

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Avoid: People is waiting.

Use: People are waiting.

People is a plural noun in this meaning.

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Avoid: I need an advice.

Use: I need some advice.

Advice is uncountable.

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Avoid: We bought new furnitures.

Use: We bought new furniture.

Furniture is uncountable.

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Avoid: There are less cars today.

Use: There are fewer cars today.

Use fewer with plural countable nouns.

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Avoid: I have much friends here.

Use: I have many friends here.

Use many with plural countable nouns.

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Avoid: Every students received a form.

Use: Every student received a form.

Every is followed by a singular countable noun.

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Avoid: One of my friend called.

Use: One of my friends called.

The noun after one of is plural.

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Avoid: This is more easier.

Use: This is easier.

Do not use more with an -er comparative.

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Avoid: She is the most tallest player.

Use: She is the tallest player.

Do not combine most with an -est superlative.

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Avoid: My car is same as yours.

Use: My car is the same as yours.

The fixed expression is the same as.

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Avoid: It depends of the weather.

Use: It depends on the weather.

The standard combination is depend on.

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Avoid: We discussed about the plan.

Use: We discussed the plan.

Discuss takes a direct object without about.

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Avoid: She explained me the rule.

Use: She explained the rule to me.

Use explain something to someone.

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Avoid: I arrived to the station.

Use: I arrived at the station.

Use arrive at for a specific place and in for a city or country.

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Avoid: He is married with Ana.

Use: He is married to Ana.

The standard combination is married to.

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Avoid: I am interested on art.

Use: I am interested in art.

The standard combination is interested in.

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Avoid: We went in London.

Use: We went to London.

Use to for movement towards a destination.

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Avoid: I have a meeting in Monday.

Use: I have a meeting on Monday.

Use on with days and dates.

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Avoid: She was born on 1995.

Use: She was born in 1995.

Use in with years.

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Avoid: He is good in maths.

Use: He is good at maths.

The standard combination is good at.

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Avoid: I bought a new equipment.

Use: I bought some new equipment.

Equipment is uncountable.

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Avoid: The life is expensive here.

Use: Life is expensive here.

Use no article for life in general.

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Avoid: I went to the home.

Use: I went home.

Home normally takes no article or preposition after go.

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Avoid: She is engineer.

Use: She is an engineer.

A singular countable job noun needs an article.

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Avoid: It was an useful lesson.

Use: It was a useful lesson.

Choose a/an by sound; useful begins with a consonant /y/ sound.

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Avoid: The company changed it's policy.

Use: The company changed its policy.

Its is possessive; it's means it is or it has.

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Avoid: Your welcome.

Use: You're welcome.

You're is the contraction of you are.

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Avoid: The manager, she approved it.

Use: The manager approved it.

Do not repeat the subject with an unnecessary pronoun.

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Avoid: Me and Sam finished it.

Use: Sam and I finished it.

Use a subject pronoun in subject position.

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Avoid: Between you and I, …

Use: Between you and me, …

A preposition is followed by an object pronoun.

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Avoid: This is the person which called.

Use: This is the person who called.

Use who for people in a relative clause.

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Avoid: The book who I borrowed…

Use: The book that I borrowed…

Use that or which for things.

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Avoid: I was tired, I went home.

Use: I was tired, so I went home.

Do not join independent clauses with only a comma.

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Avoid: Although it was late, but we continued.

Use: Although it was late, we continued.

Do not use although and but for the same contrast.

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Avoid: I like coffee, tea and to swim.

Use: I like coffee, tea, and swimming.

Keep items in a list grammatically parallel.

Before you finish

  • Every sentence has a clear subject and a complete verb where required.
  • Verb tense and agreement are consistent with the intended time and subject.
  • Nouns, articles, prepositions, and pronouns have been checked in context.
  • The final version has been read once for meaning and once for accuracy.
  • Your personal high-frequency errors received a separate pass.
  • All 50 examples were used as patterns, not isolated sentences.

Keep editing one recurring pattern at a time.

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