Common Mistakes to Avoid for Beginners

Improve your English writing and speaking skills by avoid these 30 common mistakes. Learn about grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation errors to sound more natural.

30 Common Mistakes to Avoid for Beginners

English is a confusing language; there is no doubt about that. There are a lot of mistakes even native speakers make.

30 Common Mistakes to avoid in English: English is a confusing language; there is no doubt about that. There are a lot of mistakes even native speakers make. Below are 30 common observed mistakes with explanations and examples to help you avoid them.

1. Focusing Solely on Grammar

This is the most common mistake new learners make. If you focus on correcting your grammar too much, your English might sound unnatural to a native speaker. Grammar is important, but over-focusing can hurt your ability to speak fluently.

2. Confusing ‘in time’ and ‘on time’

‘On time’ means punctual. For example: “I am always on time.” ‘In time’ means before a deadline. For example: “I submitted my college assignment just in time.”

3. Misusing Gender Pronouns

It is common to mix up he, she, him, and her. This can be a problem for learners from languages without gender-specific pronouns. For instance, confusing ‘he’ and ‘she’ may not affect the meaning much but can lead to funny mistakes.

4. Fun and Funny

‘Fun’ is a noun, while ‘funny’ is an adjective. For example: “The rides were fun” and “My friend is funny”. Something that causes enjoyment and pleasure is ‘fun’, while something that makes you laugh is ‘funny’.

5. Singular and Plural Errors

Sometimes, learners miss the ‘s’ at the end of a word to make it plural. Problems also arise with uncountable words or names ending with an ‘s’. For instance, “There are a lot of Smiths in our building,” not “Smithies.”

6. Less and Fewer

‘Less’ and ‘fewer’ are often confused. Use ‘fewer’ for countable nouns: “There are fewer people.” Use ‘less’ for uncountable nouns: “There is less water.”

7. A and The

‘A’ is used when referring to something for the first time, while ‘the’ is used for something specific or already mentioned. Avoid these articles when speaking about things in general.

8. Who and That

‘Who’ is for people, and ‘that’ is for objects. For example: “The boy who yelled wolf” and “The cycle that rolled off the hill.”

9. Overusing “Very”

Instead of saying “very happy,” it’s more natural to say “thrilled” or “ecstatic.” Overusing ‘very’ can make your text sound repetitive.

10. Using the Wrong Preposition

Using the wrong preposition is a common mistake. For instance, it’s “interested in” not “interested on.”

11. Incorrect Conjugation of Irregular Verbs

For example, “He goes to work every day” but “He went to work yesterday.”

12. Mixing Up Their, There, and They’re

‘Their’ is possessive, ‘there’ refers to a place, and ‘they’re’ is a contraction for ‘they are’. For example: “They’re going to their house over there.”

13. Misplacing Modifiers

Modifiers should be placed next to the word they modify. “She almost drove for six hours,” and not “She drove for almost six hours.”

14. Using Double Negatives

Avoid double negatives like “I don’t have no money.” Instead, say “I don’t have any money.

15. Mispronouncing Words

Keep practicing pronunciation. For instance, “pronunciation” is often mistakenly pronounced as “pronounciation.”

16. Wrong Word Order in Questions

It should be “Where are you going?” not “Where you are going?”

17. Redundant use of Expressions

Avoid redundancy. Instead of saying “return back,” just say “return”.

18. Confusing Affect and Effect

‘Affect’ is a verb, while ‘effect’ is a noun. For example: “The weather affects my mood” and “The effect was surprising.

19. Incorrect Use of Apostrophes

Use apostrophes for contractions: “They’re” (they are) and possessive: “John’s book.”

20. Overusing Passive Voice

While not necessarily incorrect, overusing passive voice can make sentences less direct. Try to use active voice where possible.

21. Using Much and Many Incorrectly

‘Much’ should be used with uncountable nouns and ‘many’ with countable nouns. For example: “How much water?” and “How many apples?”

22. Improper Use of “Me” and “I”

Use “I” as the subject and “me” as the object. For example: “John and I went to the store.” and “The gift was for John and me.”

23. Ending Sentences with Prepositions

While often acceptable in spoken English, it’s best to avoid this in formal writing. Instead of “Where are you at?” use “Where are you?”

24. Incorrect Comparative and Superlative Forms

For short adjectives, add -er for comparisons and -est for superlatives. “Shirt is shorter” and “shortest,” not “more short.”

25. Using “That” instead of “Who”

Use “who” when referring to people and “that” for things. For example: “The man who spoke” not “The man that spoke.”

26. Forgetting to Use “To” in Verb Infinitives

For example: “I want to eat,” not “I want eat.”

27. Misusing “Then” and “Than”

‘Then’ refers to time, and ‘than’ is used for comparisons. For example: “I had breakfast, then I went to work.” “She is taller than I am.”

28. Incorrect Use of “Lay” and “Lie”

‘Lay’ requires a direct object, but ‘lie’ does not. “I lay the book down” versus “I need to lie down.”

29. Misuse of Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns should refer back to the subject. “I did it myself,” not “Myself did it.”

30. Using Conditional Sentences Incorrectly

For example: “If I were you, I would…” instead of “If I was you, I would…”.

Note: Steps to Start Improving Instantly

• Go on the Internet and look for common mistakes made while learning English for your native language.
• Keep a pen and paper beside you.
• Write down all the mistakes you have been making.
• Understand the correct way to use the words or phrases.
• Make your own sentences using these words and phrases.