Common English Mistakes

Write the numbers 0 – 9 as words.
(zero – nine)

• I ate three eggs for breakfast.
• In this picture you can see one man, two houses, and 12 windows.

• 21,500 live in Higher Campbell Town.
• Higher Campbell Town has a population of 21,500.

• There is a problem in line 6 of the code.

• A five-litres bottle of wine.
• A five-litre bottle of wine.

Either is used when talking about a choice between two things or people.
Neither is used when talking negatively about two things or people.

• Either day is good for me. I am free both days.
• Neither t-shirt is good for me. They are both too small.

When you agree with a positive say yes. When you agree with a negative say no.

• ‘You haven’t had your lunch.’
  'No.'
  (I agree with your negative sentence – I have not had my lunch.)
• ‘Liverpool are the greatest team in the world.’
  ‘Yes, I agree.’
  (I agree with your positive sentence.)

Words like each, every, everybody, nobody, anybody, and neither are singular. They talk about one person or thing.

• Every book on the shelf is new.
  (There are lots of books on the shelf, but we are thinking of them as separate books, not as a collection.)
• Each invoice must have its own number.
• Neither of my shirts was clean.

Now take a look at my page Each or Every.

Usually, reflexive pronouns are not needed after verbs that describe things that you do for yourself.

• I dressed myself and went to breakfast.
  (dressing is done by you)
  I dressed and went to breakfast.
• I feel myself ill.
  (you feel ill)
  I feel ill.

Sometimes the reflexive pronoun can be included for creative emphasis.

• She is only four years old, but she can dress herself.
  (herself is used to emphasise she can dress herself even though she is very young)

Now take the Grammar Quiz Level 2.

Take a look at my page Common English Mistakes FAQs.

It is a list of 200+ of the most common English mistakes FAQs asked by students of English. Each FAQ has a simple explanation and example sentences.