Common English Grammar Mistakes That You Should Avoid
Posted by Infamous | Filed under Communications, Reference And Education, Writing And Speaking
When you slip up on your grammar, you will look like you are uneducated. If you are in a position such as a job interview, you could easily sacrifice your hard work in getting the interview because of a lack of training in grammar. Luckily, English grammar is easy to get down.
The most common of all grammar mistakes in the English language is, without a doubt, the different between “your” and “you are.” When spelled out, it doesn’t seem like it’s hard to distinguish the two. But when you use the contraction “you’re” there can be some confusion. Any time you read “you’re” imagine you are reading “you are” instead to see if it fits. “Your” shows possession, while “you’re” doesn’t.
Probably the second most common mistake in grammar is “there” being confused with “their.” The word “their” shows possession, while “there” is indicating a location. If your neighbors own a pool, you would say “The neighbors often swim in their pool,” and use there as “Sometimes I swim over there.”
This one is a bit more tricky to use: “effect” and “affect.” The word “affect” is used as a verb in just about every situation, while “effect” is a noun. A good example of “affect” would be “The clouds affect the amount of sunlight the ground receives,” while a good example of “effect” would be “Since the rain was gone, there was no effect on driving conditions.” Just remember that “affect” does the action in this case.
When migrating to English from another language, you will agree the change isn’t easy. Some grammar structure is hard to get down, such as using “a” and “an.” When using “an,” you should verify the next word either starts with a vowel or sounds like it does. It’s easy to see that a word starts with a vowel, but a word such as “hour” could throw newcomers off. The best bet would be to learn different words and how they sound to prevent making a mistake.
The American youth typically get the difference between “good” and “well” wrong. If asked how you are feeling, and you wish to convey you are doing well, you do not say “I am doing good.” Instead you would say “I am doing well,” since well is a noun, while “good” is an adjective. Obviously the context would be out of place.
Closing Comments
Practice English grammar all you can, and your efforts will pay off. It will take a fair amount of time to get all of it down. But once you do, you will appear intelligent and will be able to converse with others without having to sacrifice your self image in the process.
Learn more about Online English Tests and English Grammar Learning.