Common Errors in Everyday English

16 common errors we make in everyday English

India has the second highest number of English speakers, but it is still a foreign language and the common mistakes we make prove it!Fix these 16 mistakes and go closer to becoming a flawless English speaker.

According to a research, India has the second highest number of English speaking population in the world. It is a second language for a vast majority of people. In a country where many regional languages are used, a lot of errors creep into the grammar and vocabulary of an average English speaker in India.


Writing and speaking in English as a non-native speaker has its own set of problems. Grammatical errors come in many forms and can easily confuse and obscure meaning. Some common errors are with prepositions most importantly, subject verb agreement, tenses, punctuation, spelling and other parts of speech.

Prepositions are tricky, confusing and significant in sentence construction.

Here are 16 English grammar mistakes Indians commonly make:

1.
Incorrect: Myself I am Suresh babu.
Correct: I am Suresh babu.

While introducing oneself, it is usually observed that the users mix up both the possessive pronoun 'myself' and the subject pronoun 'I'.

2.
Incorrect: I am having four brothers and three sisters.
Correct: I have four brothers and three sisters.

Present continuous tense cannot be used for pragmatic situations such as this. Simple present tense should be used.

3.
Incorrect: He do not have a laptop.
Correct: He does not have a laptop.

Do not should not be used after the subject pronoun (He, She, It).

4.
Incorrect: Does she has a car?
Correct: Does she have a car?

The helping verb does is used at the beginning and the main verb have denotes possession or ownership.

5.
Incorrect: (Question) "Today office is there?" (Answer) "No office is not there. Today is Bharat bandh."
Correct: (Question) "Is today a working day?" OR "Are we working today?" (Answer) "Yes we are working today or no we are not working today."

6.
Incorrect: That only, she is very arrogant.
Correct: That was what I said. She is very arrogant.

Saying "That only" was the wrong way to emphasize what the speaker has already said.

7.
Incorrect: Last before year she got very good marks. Correct: Year before last she got good marks.

Phrases that can be used: Month before last, Day before last, Week before last.

8.
Incorrect: He did not wrote the test last week.
Correct: He did not write the test last week.

The helping verb 'did' is followed by the present tense of the verb and not the past tense form.

9.
Incorrect: I cannot cope up with this pressure.
Correct: I cannot cope with this pressure.

The meaning of the verb cope is to manage. 'Cope' is followed by the preposition 'with', and never followed by 'up'. Even professionals commit this error.

10.
Incorrect: I came to office by walk.

Correct: I came to office on foot.

We can say "by car", "by bike", "by bus", "by train" and "by flight". However, we cannot say "by walk", as it is the "foot" which is being used to travel and not "walk".

11.
Incorrect: What is the time in your watch?
Correct: What is the time by your watch?

12.
Incorrect: Our classroom is in the 2nd floor.
Correct: Our classroom is on the 2nd floor.

13.
Incorrect: The price of this mobile phone is higher than yours.
Correct: The price of this mobile phone is higher than that of yours.

While comparing two individuals/things than is followed by the pronoun that.

14.
Incorrect: His son-in-laws have come home.
Correct: His sons-in-law have come home.

In plural form, it is always mothers-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law.

15.
Incorrect: He has white hairs.
Correct: He has grey hair.

All the hair on one's head is considered uncountable and so, "hairs" is almost always incorrect.

16.
Incorrect: I prefer coffee than tea.
Correct: I prefer coffee to tea.

'Prefer' is always followed by the preposition 'to'.

Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary both are essential for confident and fluent use of English language. Regularly read standard newspapers in English and as far as possible, use grammatically, logically, and meaningfully correct English.

- Authored by Philip Sunil Solomon, ELT expert, language trainer, currently working in English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad. Author of books -- 'Objective General English' and 'Word Power: Vocabulary Builder', published by Oxford University Press.