7 Common Errors In Grammar In Everyday English

It is seen as a language of education and opportunity. Despite this overwhelming presence of English in all the major fields, English is not seen as a native language by Indians. But it is a second language for a vast majority of people. In a country with many regional languages, a lot of errors pull into the grammar and vocabulary of a common English speaker in India.

Being non-native speakers, writing and speaking this foreign language has its own set of problems. Grammatical errors are made in various forms. These errors can easily confuse and distort the meanings of the sentences. Being able to identify and reduce these errors allows to avoid the confusion, thereby paving the path to clearer communication.

Here are 7 of the most common grammatical mistakes to watch out for.

1. Usage of ‘Myself’ in the self-introduction

• INCORRECT: Myself, I am Ajay Kumar.
• CORRECT: I am Ajay Kumar.

Yes, it is true that most of us make this error of introducing ourselves as “Myself, Ajay Kumar”. It is observed that people mess up between the possessive pronoun ‘myself’ and the personal pronoun ’I’. Hence, the correct way of introducing oneself is “I am Ajay Kumar”.

2. Incorrect usage of ‘Cope up’

• INCORRECT: I cannot cope up with the pressure.
• CORRECT: I cannot cope with this pressure.

 ‘Cope’ is a verb, which means to manage or to survive. It is often followed by the preposition ‘with’ and never followed by ‘up’. Even professionals make this error.

 Hence “I am finding it difficult to cope up with this situation” is incorrect. The correct way of usage will be “I am finding it difficult to cope with this situation”.

3. Incorrect usage of ‘by walk’

• INCORRECT: I came to office by walk.
• CORRECT: I came to office on foot.

"I usually go to the market by walk". It is incorrect to say ‘by walk’ but we can say ‘by car’, ‘by bike’, ‘by bus’, ‘by train’, ‘by flight’ because it is the “foot” which is being used to travel and not “walk”. Hence, “I usually go to the market on foot” is the appropriate sentence.

4. Incorrect usage of ‘Prefer’

• INCORRECT: I prefer coffee than tea.
• CORRECT: I prefer coffee to tea.

Most of the people say “I prefer coffee than tea”, which is an incorrect way of using the word ‘prefer’. ‘Prefer’ is followed by the preposition ‘to’. The correct usage will thus be “I prefer coffee to tea”.

5. Usage of Me Vs. I

• INCORRECT: She gave chocolates to Priya and I
• CORRECT: She gave chocolates to Priya and me.

“She sent the mails to Sandy and I”. This sentence may sound to be correct but it is actually incorrect. If you take Sandy out of the sentence, then the sentence becomes “She sent the mails to I”. It’s wrong because ‘I’ can never be used as the object of the sentence. Hence, the right sentence will be” She sent the mails to Sandy and me”.

6. Usage of does vs do

• INCORRECT: Does she has an umbrella?
• CORRECT: Does she have an umbrella?

“Does she has an umbrella?” sounds and is incorrect as firstly, she is third person pronoun and takes the singular verb in present form. Have is the singular verb and will be taken by all three third person pronouns. Secondly, the helping verb ‘does’ is used at the beginning and the main verb ‘does’ denotes ownership or possession. So, the correct usage is ‘Does she have an umbrella?’

7. Incorrect usage of noun ‘hair’

• INCORRECT: Lata has white hairs.
• CORRECT: Lata has white hair.

The nouns that cannot be individually counted are called as Uncountable nouns. All the hair on one’s head is considered uncountable. So, such uncountable nouns cannot have a plural noun and will not be pluralized with an ‘s’. ‘Hairs’ is a completely wrong usage. The form will remain as ‘Hair’ only.

Grammar and vocabulary are the two essential souls of English. It is such errors that put one in awkward moments. The knowledge of both grammar and vocabulary is very essential for the confident and fluent use of the language. Hence, the above grammar errors will help you to avoid such errors in your language, which will serve as a right way of creating enthusiasm in speaking English confidently.

The writer of the article is Personal Excellence Coach in one of the Top 10 rated Personality Development Institutes in India in 2019. For more such Personal excellence and transformational tips, visit website www.nirmitiacademy.com.