What are the most common mistakes in English? How can you avoid them or improve your overall English language skills?

In this article, you’ll learn what mistakes you, as an English learner, need to watch out for. Whether you’re getting ready to take an important English exam, or you just had an embarrassing “oops” moment when chatting with your friends, knowing and understanding the most common types of mistakes in English is a must if you want to improve your skills. 

While this won’t necessarily ensure that you avoid these mistakes, it will help you be more effective at monitoring your own progress—both successes and failures. 

Do you make these mistakes in English? Keep reading to find out!

Table of Contents

1. Pronunciation: Common Mistakes in Spoken English
2. Common English Vocabulary Mistakes
3. Word Order Mistakes
4. Most Common English Grammar Mistakes
5. Other Mistakes
6. The Biggest Mistake
7. Final Thoughts

1. Pronunciation: Common Mistakes in Spoken English

First up on our list of English mistakes: pronunciation. Many new English-learners struggle to master this aspect of the language, so I thought I would go over this one first.

1 – Always pronouncing words as they’re spelled

Many learners become confused with English spelling vs. English pronunciation. There are numerous words in English that are spelled very differently from how they’re actually pronounced, which can be very frustrating.

The most common error here usually has to do with “silent” letters. These are letters that appear in a word when written, but aren’t pronounced when spoken. Here are two examples:

	Mistake	Explanation
Knife	Pronouncing the k, as in “k-nife.”	The letter “k” in this word is silent, meaning it’s not pronounced. The word “knife” really sounds like “nife” when spoken,  but needs to be spelled with the “k.”
Gnat	Pronouncing the g, as in “g-nat.”	The letter “g” in this word is silent,  meaning it’s not pronounced. The word “gnat” really sounds like “nat” when spoken, but needs to be spelled with the “g.”

To avoid making this common English mistake, you’ll need to memorize how to spell these words! There’s really no shortcut here.

Other commonly made mistakes in spoken English include incorrect pronunciation of certain paired letters. Here’s a great example: 

	Mistake	Explanation
Elephant	Pronouncing the “p” and “h” separately, by their traditional sounds.	While it makes perfect sense to do this, no one is going to understand you.  In English, whenever the letters “p” and “h” are put together like this, it’s pronounced as one sound, which is the “f” sound.  So “elephant” really sounds like “elefant” when spoken.

When it comes to mistakes like this, the best way to avoid them is to study up on these compound sounds and memorize how they work. It’s difficult even for native English speakers, but once you have it, you have it! 

2 – Not including the last syllable in words

When speaking, it can be difficult to pronounce certain words in their entirety, and many new English learners tend to drop the final syllable of words. But it’s very important to include this final syllable! In English, the final syllable often holds essential information about the word (or even the entire sentence), especially when you’re talking about something that happened in the past or present, or when mentioning a plural noun.

For example, we use the ending -s or -es to indicate that a noun is plural—if you drop this sound, people may end up missing some important information about what you’re saying. 

Important Final Syllable	Mistake	Explanation
-s or -es	Saying “biscuit” instead of “biscuits“	The -s or -es at the end of a noun indicates that it’s plural. If you’re ordering biscuits and don’t make the “-s” sound at the end, the waitress may think you only want one biscuit!
-d or -ed	Saying “help” instead of “helped“	The -d or -ed at the end of a verb indicates that it happened in the past. If you say that you “help” someone, the person you’re speaking with may think you’re currently doing so, even if it really happened in the past.
-ing	Saying “garden” instead of “gardening“	The -ing at the end of a verb indicates the gerund form of that verb. Including or omitting this ending can totally change the meaning of a sentence!

This isn’t a lesson about word endings, but hopefully you can see why it’s important for you to always pronounce the entire word. 

3 – Mispronouncing the “th” sound

Many English learners struggle with the “th” sound in words. This is because there are two ways you can pronounce this sound: harsh or soft.

For example, in the words “that” and “there,” the “-th” sound is harsh. On the other hand, in the word “through,” it sounds softer. 

The best way to avoid this mistake is to memorize which “th” words have which pronunciation. It will also be helpful for you to do a lot of listening! Watch English TV shows, listen to English music with lyrics, and pay close attention to pronunciation when speaking with English-speaking friends. You’ll get the hang of it in no time! 

→ Do you struggle with pronunciation? If so, check out EnglishClass101’s Ultimate Pronunciation Guide! 

2. Common English Vocabulary Mistakes

Some of the most common mistakes made in English have to do with vocabulary. 

English is one of those languages with a huge vocabulary and many words that sound and look very similar to each other. This is often a struggle for native English speakers, and sometimes a nightmare for those learning it as a second language.

In this section, I’ll outline a few of the most commonly confused words with their meanings. Like most things in the English language, you’ll just have to memorize these.

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
Its	Possessive personal pronoun.	“That’s a cute dog. What is its name?”
It’s	Contraction of “it is.”	“It’s very gloomy today.”

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
Here	Referring to a place close to the speaker.	“What are you doing here?”
Hear	To sense a sound; to listen.	“Wait! I hear something.”

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
Very	To a great extent.	“Thank you. You’re very kind.”
Vary	To be different from another thing.	“The results may vary.”

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
Affect	To unintentionally produce a change in something.	“The breakup didn’t really affect me.”
Effect	As a verb: To intentionally produce a change in something. As a noun:  1. A change or quality that results from a certain action (or another cause). 2. Special lighting, sounds, or other attributes, such as in a movie.	VERB: “You will effect these changes on Monday” NOUN:  1. “What are the effects of eating too much sugar?” 2. “The effects in The Great Magician were incredible.”

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
Who	Referring to a person performing an action (subject).	“Who are you, and what do you want?”
Whom	Referring to a person that an action was performed upon (object).	“To whom are you engaged?”

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
Bored	As an adjective: to not be entertained. As a verb: to cause someone to become bored.	ADJ: “I’ve never been so bored in my life!” VERB: “The teacher bored me with that lecture.”
Boring	As an adjective: not fun or entertaining. As a verb: in the process of causing someone to become bored.	ADJ: “This is a boring game.” VERB: “You’re boring me with your technical talk.”

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
Fun	Amusing or entertaining.	“You’re a fun person to be around.”
Funny	Having a sense of humor.	“Roger is really funny, isn’t he?”

	Definition	Example in a Sentence
There	Referring to a place far from the speaker.	“Is that your notebook over there?”
Their	Personal possessive pronoun, used to refer to something belonging to more than one person.	“I don’t know what their problem is.”
They’re	Contraction of “they are.”	“They’re out getting breakfast together.”

3. Word Order Mistakes

One of the most common English mistakes for non-native speakers is using incorrect word order. 

English is an SVO (Subject + Verb + Object) language, so English learners whose native language has a different sentence structure tend to make mistakes here. 

Here’s a list of the most common mistakes in English that relate to word order, and how to fix them.

1 – Putting the Subject Before the Verb in Questions

This is an easy mistake to make, and confuses many English learners! After all, English is an SVO language, so shouldn’t the subject always come before the verb? 

Well, this is true in most cases. But in questions, the verb usually comes before the subject. Here are some examples:

Incorrect	Correct
“Where I can get food?”	“Where can I get food?”
“What I should do?”	“What should I do?”

2 – Putting Adjectives Before Nouns 

This is a very common error for English-learners whose native language puts the adjective after the noun. In English, though, it’s very important to put the adjective before the noun. Here are some examples:

Incorrect	Correct
“Is the dog brown yours?”	“Is the brown dog yours?”
“She watched the sunset beautiful.”	“She watched the beautiful sunset.”

3 – Incorrect Placement of Other Modifiers

English gets a little more tricky when it comes to the placement of modifiers in sentences. While English is pretty flexible for the most part, there are some situations where modifiers need to be placed a certain way to make sense. Here are just a couple of examples:

Incorrect	Correct	Explanation
“I eat always oatmeal for breakfast.”	“I always eat oatmeal for breakfast.”	In these two examples, because the modifiers describe the extent of something, they need to come before the verb.
“Josie likes kind of tofu.”	“Josie kind of likes tofu.”
“Do you tomorrow have a meeting?”	“Do you have a meeting tomorrow?”	Here, an adverb of time is used. Usually, adverbs of time come after the verb or phrase being talked about.

→ Don’t worry if this is very confusing to you! It’s even confusing for native English speakers. If you feel like you need more help on this topic, you can read my articles on English Word Order and English Sentence Patterns, or ask us a question in the comments. 

4. Most Common English Grammar Mistakes

The only thing less fun than word order? English grammar! 

There are a few common mistakes in English grammar that can really slow learners down, so I’ll cover some of them here for you. Note that most English grammar mistakes involve verbs, so you may want to pay special attention to this part of speech while studying.  

1 – Using Incorrect Verb Tenses

This may be the most common English grammar mistake that learners make, and even native speakers don’t always get verb tenses right. I’m not going to go into very much detail here, but will briefly cover the basics with a few examples:

Incorrect	Correct	Explanation
“I sleep well last night.”	“I slept well last night.”	“Last night” implies that the past tense must be used. “Sleep” is present tense, while “slept” is past tense, and therefore correct.
“She went to the mall tomorrow.”	“She will go to the mall tomorrow.”	“Tomorrow” implies that the future tense must be used. “Went” is the past tense of “to go,” while “will go” is the future tense, and therefore correct.
“He cooked dinner right now.”	“He’s cooking dinner right now.”	“Right now” implies that the present tense must be used. “Cooked” is the past tense of “cook,” while “cooking” is the present tense, and therefore correct.

2 – Using the Infinitive Form of Verbs Incorrectly

Closely linked to the mistake above, many English learners struggle with knowing how and when to use the infinitive form of verbs (“to [verb]”). Here are some examples:

Incorrect	Correct
“Would you like drink a glass of wine?”	“Would you like to drink a glass of wine?”
“Please to go to the store with me.”	“Please go to the store with me.”
“Do you want play chess after dinner?”	“Do you want to play chess after dinner?”
“What would you to like for dessert?”	“What would you like for dessert?”

3 – Incorrect Subject-Verb Agreement

In English, like in many other languages, it’s important for verbs to agree with the subject. However, unlike in other languages, the only things that need to agree are the number and tense, because English has no grammatical gender. 

It’s very easy to make mistakes in terms of subject-verb agreement, but once you start seeing how it works, you’ll get the hang of it quickly! 

Number

Incorrect	Correct	Additional Notes
“The cat run away.”	“The cat runs away.”	“The cat” and “Willow” are both singular nouns, so the verb needs to reflect that.  Verbs in the singular form take the letter “-s” at the end.
“Willow love anime.”	“Willow loves anime.”
“They enjoys kayaking.”	“They enjoy kayaking.”	“They” is a plural noun, so the verb needs to reflect that.  Verbs in the plural form do not take an “-s” at the end.
“I hopes for a bright future.”	“I hope for a bright future.”	“I” is a singular noun, but it breaks the above-mentioned rules a little.  When “I” is used as the subject, the verb does not take an “-s” at the end.

Tense

Incorrect	Correct	Additional Notes
“Henry take the book from her.”	“Henry took the book from her.”	In this case, the verb “take” needs to be conjugated into the past tense, as it’s implied from the sentence that the action happened in the past.
“I buy a notebook tomorrow.”	“I will buy a notebook tomorrow.”	Here, the verb “buy” needs to be conjugated in the future tense, as it’s implied from the sentence that the action is going to happen in the future.
“Oh no! The oven is explode!”	“Oh no! The oven is exploding!”	This sentence suggests that the action is taking place right now, so the verb needs to take the present form.

→ Learn more about English verb conjugation by reading our relevant article. 

4 – Although ___, but ___.

Another common grammar mistake English learners make is using the sentence structure “Although ___, but ___.” This is incorrect because the word “although” implies the same meaning as the word “but,” so using them together like this is redundant, similar to using a double negative sentence. 

Incorrect	Correct
“Although she was tired, but she went jogging.”	“Although she was tired, she went jogging.” OR “She was tired, but she went jogging.”
“Although the dog was dirty, but he still loved it.”	“Although the dog was dirty, he still loved it.” OR “The dog was dirty, but he still loved it.”
“Although the rain came, but they continued their journey.”	“Although the rain came, they continued their journey.” OR “The rain came, but they continued their journey.”

5. Other Mistakes

There are a few other mistakes that new English learners commonly make. These mistakes don’t fall neatly into specific categories, but they’re still worth mentioning! 

1- Formal vs. Casual

English tends to be pretty flexible when it comes to formal vs. casual speech and writing. Unlike some other languages, there aren’t many different words for varying levels of respect or formality—which might be why it’s so easy to use the wrong level of formality in different situations.

To help you out, here’s a quick breakdown of things to keep in mind:

	Example Settings	Words/Phrases
Formal	Business environments Meeting a friend’s parents or family members Writing school essays Writing business documents	In situations like these, you should do the following: ❖ Use Mr./Mrs./Miss when addressing someone ❖ Always use “please” and “thank you” ❖ Avoid using slang words or phrases ❖ Use complete sentences with proper grammar
Casual	Hanging out with friends Writing personal pieces, fiction, or business-related writing that’s meant to be more casual	In situations like these, it’s okay to: ❖ Talk to people on a first-name or nickname basis ❖ Omit “please” and “thank you” if they’re not really necessary ❖ Use slang words and phrases (as long as they’re appropriate for the people you’re with) ❖ Speak or write in fragments

Whenever you’re in doubt, though, it’s best to use more formal language. If the other party wants you to start speaking more casually with them, they’ll let you know! 

2- Apostrophes 

Apostrophes (‘) even confuse native English speakers! They have a wide variety of uses, and until you’ve been using the language for a while, the rules of usage can seem very ambiguous. 

Essentially, there are two situations when you should use apostrophes:

• To show possession (adding an ‘s)
• To create contractions

Becoming familiar with these rules can help you avoid common English writing mistakes! 

Possession

Example	Explanation
“Mickey’s hamster”	The hamster that belongs to Mickey
“The horse’s mane”	The mane that belongs to the horse
“Jesus’ disciples”	The disciples that belong to Jesus Note here that only an apostrophe is added to “Jesus” instead of an ‘s. This is because it’s a proper noun that ends with the letter “s.” There are some people who will add the entire ‘s to the word, but it’s more common to add only the apostrophe. For more information on this topic, you can visit this page.

Contractions

Example	Explanation
“I’ll go.”	Contraction of “I will”
“He’s a monster.”	Contraction of “he is”
“We’re already late!”	Contraction of “we are”
“Elizabeth shouldn’t’ve done that!”	Contraction of “should not have”

Note that when using contractions, the apostrophe usually takes the place of one of the letters. However, in the last example, you’ll notice two things:

1. There are two apostrophes

2. One of the apostrophes replaces two letters

The reason this contraction has two apostrophes is because it consists of three words combined instead of only two.

The second apostrophe replaces two letters simply because this is how contractions work with the word “have.” When used as part of a contraction, only the last two letters are used. This is another rule you’ll just have to memorize and practice.

3- I.E. or E.G.

Here’s another one that trips up even native English speakers—probably because it’s not actually English, it’s Latin. The abbreviation “i.e.” stands for the Latin phrase id est, which means “in other words.” On the other hand, “e.g.” stands for the Latin phrase exempli gratia, which means “for example.”

You use “i.e.” when you’re going to explain something another way, using different words. You use “e.g.” when you’re going to give an example of something you mentioned, usually to help the reader (or listener) better understand what you’re saying.

Here are some examples:

I.E.	E.G.
“I’m really stuck on the book I’m writing (i.e. I’m almost ready to give up).”	“Lewis is so irresponsible (e.g. he never washes the dishes or vacuums).”
“Penny hasn’t spoken to Joe in months (i.e. they’re relationship is over).”	“Cats have so many fascinating qualities (e.g. they’re very independent).”
“Quinten didn’t show up for the final (i.e. he won’t graduate this year).”	“Do you have any special skills? (E.g. drawing, writing, or singing)”

6. The Biggest Mistake

Whew! We covered a long list of potential English mistakes. But there’s still one more mistake we have to talk about: being afraid of making mistakes.

No one enjoys the embarrassment, frustration, or hopelessness that accompanies a mistake. But mistakes are part of being human, and they can actually be a good thing if you let them! If nothing else, the negative feelings that come with failure will inspire you and drive you to avoid those feelings in the future.

That said, it’s mistakes that help us learn. Someone who never makes mistakes (i.e. they never leave their comfort zone) never learns either, and that person can never grow beyond themselves. 

If you want to overcome mistakes, you have to face them. If you want to master English (or anything, really), you have to be willing to make a few mistakes along the way. When you acknowledge mistakes as the extremely effective learning tools they are, it no longer seems like the end of the world when you make one! 

7. Final Thoughts

Having read this article, you should have a much better idea of the most common mistakes made in English and how to avoid them. On your path to mastering English, it may feel like there’s countless rules and nuances holding you back, but don’t let hopelessness get the best of you! Keep studying, keep practicing, and keep believing in your ability to get better.

→ Read this quick article on the five most common problems English learners face for more information on how to overcome problems and achieve your goals!

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Before you go, let us know in the comments which of these mistakes you have the hardest time with. Did this article help you with them at all? We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Happy English learning!