9 Most Common English Grammar Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Given the rise of global communication, grammar has taken on greater significance than ever. Grammatical errors may disorient readers and even lead to miscommunication between parties involved.

Understanding and avoiding common errors are integral parts of becoming an excellent writer. Here are nine of the most frequently committed English grammar mistakes, along with ways to avoid them: 1. Mixing up adverbs and adjectives

1. Apostrophes in the Wrong Place

Slightly perilous is using apostrophes. Apostrophes are tricky little critters–they form contractions and possessives as well as pluralize words.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with apostrophes is misusing them inappropriately, such as using it’s and its interchangeably. Apostrophes should only ever be used when necessary for clarity – other times leave it out completely; when making plural names plural simply add an “s” or an “es”, not an apostrophe!

2. Mixing Up “Well” and “Good”

English grammar rules can be difficult for even native English speakers to master, leading to common errors like using “well” instead of “good.” While such errors may appear minor, they can cause unnecessary confusion and make your writing appear less professional.

Every sentence in English requires both a subject and verb; otherwise, it’s considered a sentence fragment.

A dangling modifier is a grammatical error which occurs when a modifier word is too distant from what it modifies, creating confusion in the sentence and detracting from its meaning. Subject and verb should remain close together for proper understanding.

3. Using Words with a Comparative Aspect

Aspect is a method for marking actions with different implications at different times. Many languages, including English, distinguish aspect and tense separately. Others do not.

Misplaced or dangling modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that are too far removed from their target words for modification, causing sentences to sound awkward and confusing.

Example: It would be incorrect to say, “His parents loved him despite everything” since “love” is plural and the subject is singular. For accuracy, the phrase should read as: ‘his parents loved him despite his disability.”

4. Using Apostrophes in the Wrong Tense

One of the most frequent mistakes people make with apostrophes is using them incorrectly to form plural nouns, instead of just showing ownership (ie: “King’s book” instead of “King’s books”). For instance, when writing “The book belongs to King” instead of writing out all three variants “The books belong to King”.

Care should also be taken not to use an apostrophe after “s” when writing contractions, as this can create confusion for readers. For example, “Joneses’ family” should not be written as “Joneses’ family.” An exception might be when you write the possessive of singular nouns like “its.” However, even then using its’ is still incorrect.

5. Using Apostrophes in the Wrong Order

Use of an incorrect order is one of the most frequent errors people make. Apostrophes should only be used to show possession, form contractions and plurals for irregular nouns, or make contractions and plurals for certain irregular nouns.

When adding plurals of nouns that end in “s,” an additional “s” should be added to make them plural; however, if an already plural noun does not end with “s,” an additional apostrophe should not be included.

Another common apostrophe error involves its and its’. Remember these rules to help avoid making any apostrophe errors that might compromise your writing as being unprofessional or even illegal.

6. Using Apostrophes in the Wrong Phrase

Arranging apostrophes haphazardly shows you are unfamiliar with the rules governing possessives, contractions, and plurals. Furthermore, multiple forms that look alike like its/it’s can become confusing when written incorrectly.

People often make the mistake of adding an apostrophe + s to plural nouns, for instance when writing “The Greenwoods.” An apostrophe should only ever be used in cases pertaining to ownership; when in doubt it’s better to omit. This rule especially applies when writing proper nouns.

7. Using Apostrophes in the Wrong Paragraph

Rules for using apostrophes are relatively straightforward: they indicate ownership or contraction and connect letters that have been removed to shorten groups of words (elision). But it can be easy to get confused: its and it’s are similar words with different meanings – Its denotes belonging to someone while it’s short for “it is.”

Additionally, when writing plurals or possessives using words that end in S, use lower case letters after your apostrophe instead. This will prevent unnecessary confusion.

8. Using Apostrophes in the Wrong Sentence

Misuse of apostrophes is all too often, leading to confusion. To ensure proper usage, it’s crucial that one understands when and how apostrophes should be used, as well as any rules concerning contractions, plurals, or possessives.

Typically, when nouns ending in “s” are singular and possess more than one owner, add an apostrophe and “s” together. Examples: Votes included four yes’es, three no’es, and two maybe’s. This also applies to initialisms or ranges of years: For instance, “The 60s were big news that year – their trend being most unattractive.

9. Using Apostrophes in the Wrong Paragraph

As a writer, it’s essential that each sentence you create be complete – that means having both a subject and verb in place. Otherwise it becomes an incomplete thought called a sentence fragment.

Erroneously using apostrophes can be highly confusing. Apostrophes should only be used when words are possessive form – for instance contractions such as can’t and shouldn’t as well as singular nouns like everyone, nobody and everybody – not when making plurals such as initialisms and ranges of years which would only serve to confuse readers further. Instead simply add -s or -es to make your words plurals.