Practice
Common English mistakes: a practical learning guide
A small grammar mistake rarely stops a conversation, but one careful check can make a sentence easier to understand. This guide gives you a repeatable way to find that check.
Notice frequent English mistakes and revise a sentence by checking its verb, noun, article, word order, and question form.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
What time does the shop open? /wɒt taɪm dʌz ðə ʃɒp ˈəʊpən/
The short answer
To correct a common English mistake, first identify the sentence job: statement, question, past event, quantity, or description. Then check the grammar pattern for that job and compare your sentence with a clear example.
She goes to work by bus every day.
Why it works: With she in the present simple, the verb needs goes, not go.
5 more examples
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We met at the library yesterday.
Yesterday points to a finished past event, so meet changes to met.
Not this:We
meetat the library on Tuesdays. What changes: A regular schedule uses the present simple. -
I need some information about the course.
Information is usually uncountable, so use some information rather than informations.
Not this:I need
three factsabout the course. What changes: Facts is countable and can take a number. -
Is there a bank near here?
A singular countable noun such as bank needs a determiner in this sentence.
Not this:Is there
any cashnear here? What changes: Cash is uncountable, so it does not use a. -
What time does the shop open?
A present-simple question uses does before a singular subject, while the main verb stays open.
Not this:What time
do the shops open? What changes: Plural shops takes do, not does. -
I have lived here for two years.
This form connects a past starting point with the present situation.
Not this:I
livedthere in 2022. What changes: A finished time in the past normally uses the simple past.
Read the full guide
Keep a short list of errors you make more than once. A useful list has three parts: your original sentence, the corrected sentence, and one reason for the change. Review the list before you write or speak again. This builds a habit of checking patterns rather than memorising isolated corrections.
Begin with the meaning you want
Before you correct grammar, decide what time and situation the sentence describes. Are you talking about a routine, something finished, or something continuing now? A sentence becomes easier to check when you know its job.
I study English after dinner on weekdays.
This is a routine, so study is present simple. It does not need am studying unless the action is happening now.
Which time word tells you that an action is finished: yesterday or every day?
Yesterday normally points to a finished past action.
Match the present-simple verb to the subject
In a present-simple statement, I, you, we, and they use the base verb: I work and they work. He, she, and it usually need -s or -es: she works and it closes. This is a small ending, but it is one of the most useful checks for A2 learners.
My brother watches football on Saturday.
My brother is one person, so watches has -es. With my brothers, use watch.
The bus leaves at eight.
Bus is singular, so the timetable statement uses leaves.
Use past forms for finished events
Words such as yesterday, last week, and two hours ago often signal the simple past. Regular verbs usually add -ed, but common verbs such as go, see, and meet have different past forms. Learn each past form in a short sentence instead of as a list item.
They arrived late because the train stopped.
Arrived and stopped both describe a finished event. The time can be understood from the situation or added directly.
What is the past form of go in We ___ home after the concert?
Use went: We went home after the concert.
Check countable nouns and small words
A singular countable noun normally needs a word before it. Use a or an when the listener does not know which one you mean, and use the when the thing is already clear in the conversation. Some nouns, including advice, furniture, and information, are usually uncountable in English.
Could you give me some advice?
Advice is uncountable in this use. To count it, say a piece of advice or two pieces of advice.
I bought a new notebook.
Notebook is a singular countable noun, so it needs a before it.
Build questions with the right order
English questions often put an auxiliary before the subject. With be, move be forward: Are you ready? With ordinary present-simple verbs, use do or does: Do you work here? Does she work here? Keep the main verb in its base form after do or does.
Where do your parents live?
Do comes before the subject your parents, and live stays in its base form.
How do you ask about the price of a singular item?
Ask: How much does it cost?
Make a correction habit you can keep
Choose one pattern for a week. Write three short sentences with it, say them aloud, and compare them with a reliable example. When someone corrects you, write the full corrected sentence and the reason. Over time, a small personal error list becomes a practical review tool.
Original: She go to the office. Correction: She goes to the office.
The correction is specific: she needs the present-simple verb form goes.
Original: Where you live? Correction: Where do you live?
The corrected question adds do before the subject and keeps live in the base form.
Before you go
Remember this
Find the job of the sentence before changing it. Check the verb and subject first, then nouns and articles, then question order. Save useful corrections with an example of your own, and return to the same pattern until it feels familiar.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Common English mistakes: a practical learning guide"
What is the best way to correct an English mistake?
Start by deciding what the sentence is meant to say. Then check one pattern at a time, such as the verb tense, the subject and verb, an article, or question order. Save the corrected sentence with a short reason, so you can recognise the same pattern later.
She goes to work by bus every day.
Why do I make mistakes with he, she, and it?
In present-simple statements, he, she, and it usually need a verb ending in -s or -es. Compare she goes with they go. Practise the subject and verb together in a full sentence instead of trying to remember the ending by itself.
They go to work by bus every day.
When should I use a, an, or the?
Use a or an with one non-specific countable thing, choosing an before a vowel sound. Use the when the listener can identify the particular thing. A singular countable noun usually needs one of these words or another determiner before it.
We met at the library yesterday.
Why are some English nouns not plural?
Some common nouns are usually uncountable when they name a general substance, idea, or category. Information and advice are examples. Use some information or a piece of advice when you need to show an amount, rather than adding a plural ending.
We meet at the library on Tuesdays.
How can I improve my English questions?
Check whether the question needs be, do, or does before the subject. After do or does, keep the main verb in its base form. Make several questions about ordinary daily topics, then compare the word order with a reliable learner example.
I need some information about the course.
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