Common mistakes
Errors that even advanced speakers make.
Grammar mistakes
Subject-verb agreement
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| The team are ready. (US) | The team is ready. |
| The data shows... | The data show... (formal) |
| Everyone have finished. | Everyone has finished. |
Prepositions
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| I'm interested for... | I'm interested in... |
| It depends of... | It depends on... |
| I'm good in English. | I'm good at English. |
| I agree to you. | I agree with you. |
| I'm waiting the train. | I'm waiting for the train. |
Articles
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| I need information. ✓ | (Correct as is) |
| I need an information. | I need (some) information. |
| She is doctor. | She is a doctor. |
| I go to the work. | I go to work. |
Tense confusion
| Incorrect | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I'm working here since 2020. | I've worked here since 2020. | "Since" requires perfect |
| I'm not seeing the problem. | I don't see the problem. | "See" is a state verb |
| Did you ever been to Paris? | Have you ever been to Paris? | Experience = present perfect |
Word choice mistakes
Confusing pairs
| Words | Difference |
|---|---|
| affect / effect | Affect = verb, effect = noun (usually) |
| its / it's | Its = possessive, it's = it is |
| their / there / they're | Possessive / place / they are |
| then / than | Time / comparison |
| fewer / less | Countable / uncountable |
False friends by language
| Your language | Looks like | Actually means |
|---|---|---|
| Actually (DE/ES) | actually | currently/really |
| Sympathetic (DE) | sympathetic | showing compassion |
| Eventually (ES) | eventually | in the end |
| Sensible (FR) | sensible | practical/reasonable |
Pronunciation mistakes
| Word | Common error | Correct |
|---|---|---|
| comfortable | com-FOR-ta-ble | COMF-ter-ble |
| vegetable | ve-GE-ta-ble | VEJ-tə-bəl |
| entrepreneur | entry-preneur | on-trə-prə-NER |
| colleague | col-LEE-gue | COL-eeg |
Business language mistakes
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| "I would like to ask you a question." | "I have a question." (more direct) |
| "Please revert back to me." | "Please get back to me." |
| "Do the needful." | "Please handle this." |
| "Kindly do..." | "Please..." |