50 Common Grammar Mistakes Non-Native Speakers Make

Countable singular nouns need an article (a/an/the). Jobs always need "a" or "an".

In American English, specific places use "the". British English sometimes omits it.

Superlatives (best, worst, most) always need "the" before them.

"Advice" is uncountable — never use "a" or "an". Same for: information, furniture, equipment.

General, abstract concepts (life, love, time, nature) don't need "the".

Use "good at" for skills and subjects, not "good in".

"Discuss" is transitive — it takes a direct object. No "about" needed.

"Wait" requires "for" before the object. Same pattern: "look for", "ask for".

Use "arrive at" for specific places and "arrive in" for cities/countries.

"Marry" takes a direct object — no preposition needed. Or say "got married to".

"Since" indicates an action that started in the past and continues — use present perfect.

"Yesterday" is a specific past time — use simple past, not present perfect.

Time clauses with "when", "after", "before" use present tense, not future.

After "did/didn't", always use the base form of the verb (go, not went).

Present perfect uses "has/have" + past participle. "Gone" is the participle, "went" is simple past.

In American English, collective nouns (team, group, company) take singular verbs.

"Everyone", "everybody", "someone" are grammatically singular — use "has", not "have".

"News" looks plural but is uncountable singular. Same for: mathematics, physics, economics.

"There is" for singular, "there are" for plural. Match the verb to what follows.

"One of" is always singular — the verb agrees with "one", not the plural noun after "of".

In English, adverbs of degree usually go after the object, not between verb and object.

The object (English) comes right after the verb, then the adverb (very well).

Frequency adverbs (always, never, often) go after "be" or before other verbs.

In indirect questions, use statement word order (subject + verb), not question order.

"Explain" uses "to" before the person. Same for: describe, suggest, report.

"Agree" is a verb, not an adjective. Don't use "am/is/are" before it.

-ED describes how you feel. -ING describes what causes the feeling.

"Borrow" = take FROM someone. "Lend" = give TO someone.

"Say" doesn't take an indirect object. "Tell" does: tell + person + to + verb.

The correct collocation is "take a trip" or "make a journey", not "make a travel".

"Revert" means to return to a previous state, not to reply. Common in Indian English.

"Do the needful" is outdated British English. Modern English uses "handle this" or "take care of this".

"Out of station" is Indian English. The standard phrase is "out of town" or "away".

"Can" already means "able to". Don't combine them. Use "I can do it" or "I am able to do it".

"Last year" is a specific past time — use simple past. Present perfect is for unspecified times.

"Every" and "each" are always followed by a singular noun.

"Myself" is a reflexive pronoun — use it for emphasis ("I myself did it") or reflexive actions, not as the subject.

"Information" is uncountable — no plural form. Same for: advice, equipment, furniture, luggage.

"Fewer" for countable nouns (friends, items). "Less" for uncountable nouns (water, time).

Don't combine "more" with -er comparatives. Use "more" with long adjectives, "-er" with short ones.

"According to" is for citing others, not yourself. Use "in my opinion" or "I think".

"To" here is a preposition, not part of the infinitive. It's followed by a gerund (-ing).

"At the earliest" is regional English. Use "as soon as possible" or "at your earliest convenience".

In standard English, "doubt" means uncertainty/distrust. For questions, say "I have a question".

"Prepone" (opposite of postpone) is used in Indian English but not recognized internationally.

"Suggest" uses a that-clause or gerund, never "suggest + person + to".

"Enjoy" is always followed by a gerund (-ing), never an infinitive (to + verb).

"Despite" takes a direct object — no "of". "In spite of" uses "of", but "despite" never does.

"Habituated" is overly formal. The natural phrase is "used to" + gerund.

"Let me tell you one thing" sounds confrontational. Use "Let me explain" for a neutral tone.