🔹 COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR

(Advanced Structured Guide for Honours / Competitive Exams)

1️⃣ Errors in Subject–Verb Agreement

📌 Rule:

The verb must agree with its subject in number and person.

❌ Incorrect:

• Each of the boys are present.

• The quality of the mangoes are good.

✅ Correct:

• Each of the boys is present.

• The quality of the mangoes is good.

🧠 Explanation:

The real subject is:

• Each (singular)

• Quality (singular), not mangoes

🔹 Special Cases

a) With “Either / Neither”

• Neither of the answers is correct.

• Either of the students has done it.

b) With “A number of / The number of”

• A number of students are absent. (Plural meaning)

• The number of students is increasing. (Singular)

2️⃣ Errors in Tense Usage

📌 Rule:

Tense must match time reference and sequence of events.

❌ Incorrect:

• He has gone yesterday.

• If I will see him, I will tell him.

✅ Correct:

• He went yesterday.

• If I see him, I will tell him.

🧠 Explanation:

• Present perfect is not used with definite past time.

• In conditional clauses, “if” clause uses present tense.

3️⃣ Errors in Articles (A, An, The)

❌ Incorrect:

• He is a honest man.

• She is the best student in a class.

✅ Correct:

• He is an honest man.

• She is the best student in the class.

🧠 Rule:

• Use “an” before vowel sound (honest → silent h).

• “The” is used for superlatives.

4️⃣ Errors in Prepositions

Common Mistakes:

❌ Discuss about the issue.
✅ Discuss the issue.

❌ Married with her.
✅ Married to her.

❌ Good in English.
✅ Good at English.

📌 Some Fixed Combinations:

• Capable of

• Afraid of

• Different from

• Superior to

• Prefer A to B

5️⃣ Errors in Pronoun Usage

❌ Incorrect:

• Each student must bring their book.

• Between you and I.

✅ Correct:

• Each student must bring his/her book.

• Between you and me.

🧠 Rule:

• Pronoun must agree with antecedent.

• After preposition, use objective case.

6️⃣ Errors in Adjective vs Adverb

❌ Incorrect:

• She sings beautiful.

• He runs very fastly.

✅ Correct:

• She sings beautifully.

• He runs very fast.

🧠 Explanation:

• Adjectives modify nouns.

• Adverbs modify verbs.

• Fast is both adjective & adverb.

7️⃣ Errors in Comparison

❌ Incorrect:

• He is more smarter than you.

• This is the most unique idea.

✅ Correct:

• He is smarter than you.

• This is a unique idea.

🧠 Rule:

• Do not use double comparison.

• Unique has no degree.

8️⃣ Errors in Conjunctions

❌ Incorrect:

• Although he was poor but he was honest.

• Because he was ill so he did not come.

✅ Correct:

• Although he was poor, he was honest.

• Because he was ill, he did not come.

🧠 Rule:

Never use “although–but” or “because–so” together.

9️⃣ Errors in Voice

❌ Incorrect:

• The work is being done by he.

• The letter has wrote by her.

✅ Correct:

• The work is being done by him.

• The letter has been written by her.

🔟 Errors in Modifiers (Advanced Level)

❌ Incorrect:

• Running fast, the bus was missed by him.

• Having finished the work, the TV was switched on.

✅ Correct:

• Running fast, he missed the bus.

• Having finished the work, he switched on the TV.

🧠 Explanation:

The subject must logically perform the action in the participial phrase.

1️⃣1️⃣ Errors in Parallelism

❌ Incorrect:

• She likes reading, to swim and dancing.

• He is not only intelligent but also works hard.

✅ Correct:

• She likes reading, swimming and dancing.

• He is not only intelligent but also hardworking.

1️⃣2️⃣ Common Competitive Exam Traps

Wrong	Correct
Return back	Return
Revert back	Revert
Discuss about	Discuss
Order for	Order
Reply back	Reply
Enter into	Enter