Common Mistakes in English Grammar

English grammar can be quite tricky, and even native speakers often make mistakes. Whether you're a student, professional writer, or simply someone who wants to improve their English, it's essential to be aware of common grammar errors. In this article, we'll explore some of these mistakes and provide examples to help you understand and avoid them.

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

One of the most frequent errors is incorrect subject-verb agreement. This happens when the subject and verb in a sentence don't agree in number. For example:

• Incorrect: The group of students is going on a trip. (singular subject with a plural verb)
• Correct: The group of students are going on a trip. (plural subject with a plural verb)

2. Misuse of Apostrophes

Apostrophes are often misused, especially when it comes to possessives and contractions. Here are a couple of examples:

• Incorrect: The cat's ate my lunch. (improper use of apostrophe)
• Correct: The cats ate my lunch. (no need for an apostrophe)
• Incorrect: They're going to the movies. (mistaken contraction)
• Correct: They are going to the movies. (proper contraction)

3. Confusing Its and It's

The difference between "its" and "it's" often causes confusion. "Its" is used to show possession, while "it's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has." Take a look at the following examples:

• Incorrect: Its raining, so we brought our umbrellas. (missing apostrophe)
• Correct: It's raining, so we brought our umbrellas.
• Incorrect: The dog wagged it's tail. (improper use of apostrophe)
• Correct: The dog wagged its tail.

4. Run-on Sentences and Fragments

Run-on sentences occur when two or more independent clauses are incorrectly joined without proper punctuation. Fragments, on the other hand, are incomplete sentences. Let's see some examples:

• Incorrect: I woke up late I missed the bus. (run-on sentence)
• Correct: I woke up late, so I missed the bus. (correctly punctuated)
• Incorrect: Walking down the street. (fragment)
• Correct: I was walking down the street. (complete sentence)

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