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The 2024 Grammar Guide
120 Grammar and Vocabulary Mistakes to Avoid
Last Updated: Nov. 22, 2023 www.englishgrammar.org
The purpose of this book
English is full of problems for a foreign learner. While some of these problem points are easy to explain, others cause difficulty even for the advanced students and learners. For example, how exactly is the present perfect tense used? What are the differences between big, large and great , between come and go? Is unless the same as if not? This eBook is a guide to questions of this kind. It addresses 120 points which regularly cause problems for the foreign learner. Rules and guidelines are given, using as little linguistic terminology as possible.
Who will benefit from this book?
This book is aimed at students who wish to improve the quality of their sentences. It is compiled for the use at school or at home.
How to use this book?
Entries are arranged alphabetically. Each entry contains an explanation of a problem, examples of correct usage and typical mistakes. Explanations are, as far as possible, given in simple everyday language.
- Besides, except and apart from
- Between and among
- Between and during
- Between and from
- Big, large and great
- Born and borne
- Bring and take
- But
- Change of tense
- Close and shut
- Cloth and clothes
- Collective nouns
- Come and go
- Common preposition + noun combinations
- Comparatives and superlatives
- Comparatives: a common error
- Conjunctions
- Correlatives
- Dead and died
- Determiners
- Do and make
- Double negatives
- During and for
- Each and every
- Each other and one another
- East, eastern, north, northern etc.
- Elder and eldest
- End and finish
- Enough
- Especially and specially
- Except and except for
- Expect and hope
- Expressions without prepositions
- Far and a long way
- Gerund
- Historic present
- I don't mind
- If clauses
- Imperative sentences
- Indirect questions
- Invent and discover
- Inversion of subject and verb
- Its and it’s
- Joining sentences
- Keep and put
- Kind and kinds, sort and sorts etc.
- Less and fewer
- Lie and lay
- Like and as
- Say and tell
- Scarcely...when
- Search and search for
- Sincerely
- Singular and plural nouns
- Subordinate clause
- Suggest
- Than and as
- Thank you and please
- Told and asked
- Too and very
- Transitive verbs
- Two words or one
- Unless and if
- Verbs
- -ward and –wards
- Well and good
- Why not + infinitive
- Whether and if
- Whose and who’s
- Will or shall?
- Yes and no
1. According to
- (^) Incorrect: According to me , she should have resigned earlier.
- (^) Correct: In my opinion , she should have resigned earlier. We do not give our own opinions with according to.
2. Across and through
The difference between across and through is similar to the difference between on and in. We use through to talk about movement in three dimensional spaces with things on all sides.
- (^) We walked across the field. (= We were on the field.)
- (^) We walked through the wood. (= We were in the wood.)
3. Adjectives ending in -ly
- (^) Incorrect: She smiled friendly.
- (^) Correct: She smiled in a friendly way.
- (^) Incorrect: He laughed silly.
- (^) Correct: He gave a silly laugh Here the error lies in using an adjective instead of an adverb. We use adverbs to modify verbs. Most adverbs end in –ly; there are also a few adjectives that end in – ly. Examples are: costly, friendly, lively, likely, lonely, lovely, silly and ugly. There are no adverbs costly/costlily or friendly/friendlily.
4. Ago and before
- (^) Incorrect: His father died three years before.
- (^) Correct: His father died three years ago.
8. Alternate and alternative
Alternative means ' different', 'instead', 'on the other hand'.
- (^) We will make an alternative arrangement if these plans don't suit you.
- (^) I had to go. There was no alternative. Alternate m eans 'every second' or 'in turns'. He only comes to work on alternate days.
9. Altogether and all together
Altogether means ‘ entirely ’ or ‘ everything considered’.
- (^) I don’t altogether agree.
- (^) It is altogether wrong to ill-treat animals. All together simply means ‘ everybody / everything together’.
- (^) They all went out together.
- (^) She put the glasses all together in the sink.
10. Any and some
Both some and any suggest an indefinite amount or number. Some is more common in affirmative clauses. Any is used in questions and negative clauses. Compare:
- (^) I need some pencils. (NOT I need any pencils.)
- (^) Have you got any pencils?
- (^) Sorry, I haven't got any pencils.
11. Anyhow and somehow
- (^) Incorrect: He did it anyhow.
- (^) Correct: He managed to do it somehow.
- (^) Incorrect: He keeps his things somehow in his desk.
- (^) Correct: He keeps his things anyhow in his desk. (= He doesn’t keep his things in order.)
- (^) Incorrect: He may not come but somehow I shall.
- (^) Correct: He may not come but anyhow I shall. (= I will certainly come.) Use 'anyhow' to mean 'in disorder'. ‘Anyhow’ can also mean 'for certain'.
12. Articles
The misuse of the and a is very common. Here are the basic rules for the use and omission of articles. Proper nouns (e.g. John, Alice and India) do not take articles.
- (^) Incorrect: The John is my friend.
- (^) Correct: John is my friend.
- (^) Incorrect: The Tokyo is a big city.
- (^) Correct: Tokyo is a big city. A singular common noun (e.g. boy, cat, tree, book, apple etc.) must have an article.
- (^) Incorrect: There is cat on roof.
- (^) Correct: There is a cat on the roof. A plural common noun cannot be used with the article a. It is usually used with no article, though 'some' is sometimes used before it. Compare:
- (^) A spider has eight legs.
- (^) Spiders have eight legs.
15. At first and first
At first is used to talk about the beginning of a situation. It is often followed by but. In other cases, we usually use first.
- (^) At first everything seemed fine, but then things started going wrong.
- (^) I first met her at a restaurant.
16. Avenge and revenge
- (^) Incorrect: I must revenge my father.
- (^) Correct: I must avenge my father.
- (^) Incorrect: I must revenge my enemy.
- (^) Correct: I must take revenge on my enemy. These two words are often confused. To 'avenge my father' means to ‘punish someone who has hurt my father’.
17. Back and again
When used with a verb, back suggests a return to an earlier situation or a movement in the opposite direction.
- (^) Give me my watch back. (NOT Give me my watch again.)
- (^) Take your money back.
- (^) Put the book back on the shelf when you have finished with it.
- (^) These mangoes aren't good. I am taking them back to the shop. When used with a verb, again suggests repetition.
- (^) I did not hear what you said. Please say it again.
- (^) That was a lovely song. Can you play it again?
18. Bath and bathe
In British English, the verb bath is used to mean 'wash oneself in a bath tub'.
- (^) Children should bath regularly. The verb bath is not used in American English. Instead, the expressions 'have a bath' or 'take a bath' are used.
- (^) As I was feeling hot, I took a bath. In British English, bathe means 'swim for pleasure'. It is very formal. In an informal style, we use the expressions 'have a swim' or 'go for a swim'.
- (^) He said he had a good bathe. In American English, bathe is used to mean 'take a bath'.
- (^) I always bathe before I go to bed. (= I always take a bath before I go to bed.) Note that to lie in the sun is to sunbathe.
19. Beat and win
Beat is usually followed by an object which refers to the person you are playing or fighting against.
- (^) She always beats me at poker. Win can also be followed by an object, but it usually refers to things like money or prize. You can also win in a game, a race, a battle or an argument.
- (^) She won the first prize in the quiz competition.
- (^) She always wins when we play poker.
20. Because
- (^) Incorrect: He did not come to school. Because he was ill.
- (^) Correct: He did not come to school because he was ill.
Cases where begin is not possible We start (but not begin) a journey or a machine.
- (^) We started in the morning and reached before sunset. (NOT We began in the morning...)
- (^) How do you start a washing machine? (NOT How do you begin a washing machine?)
- (^) At last the train started. (NOT At last the train began.)
24. Beside and besides
Beside is a preposition. It means 'by' or 'next to'.
- (^) The mother sat beside her children.
- (^) Who is that fat lady sitting beside Peter? Besides is similar to as well as. It is used to add new information to what is already known.
- (^) Besides the violin, he can play the guitar and the piano.
- (^) Who was at the party besides Jane and Peter?
25. Besides, except and apart from
These expressions often cause confusion. Besides usually adds whereas except subtracts. Compare:
- (^) Besides mathematics , we have to learn physics and chemistry. (We learn three subjects.)
- (^) He can play all musical instruments except the flute. (He can’t play the flute.)
Apart from can be used in both senses.
- (^) Apart from mathematics , we have to learn physics and chemistry. (= Besides mathematics, we have to ...)
- (^) He can play all musical instruments apart from the violin. (= He can play all musical instruments except the violin.)
26. Between and among
We use between with two or more clearly separate people or things. We use among when the reference is to a group, a crowd, or a mass of people or things which we do not see separately.
- (^) She sat between Alice and Mary. (Two clearly separate people)
- (^) She sat among her students.
- (^) There is a tourist home between the woods, the river and the hills. (Three clearly separate things)
- (^) The tourist home is hidden among the trees. We use between , not among, after difference.
- (^) What is the main difference between a square and a rectangle?
27. Between and during
- (^) Incorrect: England grew prosperous between Queen Victoria's reign.
- (^) Correct: England grew prosperous during Queen Victoria's reign.
- (^) Incorrect: The First World War was fought during 1914 - 18.
- (^) Correct: The First World War was fought between 1914 - 18. Two events must be mentioned if you want to use between.
30. Born and borne
The passive form of the verb born (be + born) is used to talk about coming into the world at birth.
- (^) He was born to poor parents.
- (^) I was born on a Friday.
- (^) She was born in Italy. Borne is the past participle form of the verb bear. It is sometimes used to mean 'give birth to' or 'carry'.
- (^) She has borne eight children. (= She has given birth to eight children.)
31. Bring and take
- (^) Incorrect: I don't know what to bring when I leave for the conference.
- (^) Correct: I don't know what to take when I leave for the conference.
- (^) Incorrect: I shall bring my wife with me when I go.
- (^) Correct: I shall take my wife with me when I go.
- (^) Incorrect: Take that book to me at my desk.
- (^) Correct: Bring that book to me at my desk. Use bring when something is being moved towards the speaker.
- (^) Bring me that book. Use take when something is being moved away from the area of the speaker.
- (^) Take that file with you. (Here the file is being moved away from the area of the speaker.)
32. But
- (^) Incorrect: He is the fastest runner and he came last.
- (^) Correct: He is the fastest runner but he came last.
But is the conjunction to use when the second main clause gives unexpected or contradictory information.
33. Change of tense
The first verb in a sentence establishes the tense of any verb that comes later. If you begin writing in the past, don’t change to the present. Similarly, if you begin writing in the present, don’t change to the past.
- (^) Incorrect: In the story, the king loses his kingdom, but he regained everything in the end.
- (^) Correct: In the story, the king loses his kingdom, but he regains everything in the end.
- (^) Incorrect: The team won yesterday, but goes and loses this afternoon.
- (^) Correct: The team won yesterday, but went and lost this afternoon.
34. Close and shut
There is little difference of meaning between close and shut.
- (^) Shut/close your eyes.
- (^) Can you close/shut the door?
- (^) They close/shut the shops at 8 o'clock. Cases where close is preferred We close (and not shut) roads, letters, bank accounts, meetings etc.
- (^) You should close your existing account before opening a new account. (NOT You should shut your existing account …)
35. Cloth and clothes
Cloth is the material used for making clothes. Clothes are things you wear.
- (^) His clothes are made of expensive cloth.
