What are the Common Grammar Mistakes people make?

Even after all levels of education and experience, there are people who mess up with the rules of grammar. Common grammar mistakes are inevitable and certain things are definitely confusing. So, what you say and how you put it down in words does matter, especially if it's a professional environment.

Therefore, here are some common grammar mistakes people commit while writing and the ways you can accurately use them.

#1. Woman and women

Proper Usage-

The woman who works in this department is from China. (Singular)

The women who work in this department are from China. (Plural)

#2. Bring and take

Proper Usage-

Please bring the annual report copy to my cabin.

Please take all these reports to the receptionist.

#3. Irregardless and unthaw

If you are using the two words informally, things sound okay. But making it a habit would also make you appear as a fool. Unnecessary and senseless prefixes are against the rules. using the words regardless and thaw are sufficient.

#4. Impact, affect, and effect

Maybe, you haven't mastered the difference between impact, affect, and effect till now, but you definitely should. You just use them casually or to clutch the safer place. But don't do that. Understand - Affect (verb) is to do something that creates an Effect (noun). Impact, once strictly used as a noun is a greater term that indicates something absolutely profound.

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#5. Alot and a lot

The spell checker too catches the error here. But at times even the grammar nazis miss out this common grammar mistake. When you want to say something's in abundance, get abundant space in the word too - A lot.

#6. Loose and lose

Loose: Your clothes are too big.

Lose: You missed an opportunity, a bet or a game.

#7. Principle and principal

Principle: Policy, law and moral rules that influence your actions

Principal: Headmaster or administrator, remember school principal?

#8. Borrow and lend

Incorrect: He borrowed me his car for the evening.

Correct: He lent me his car for the evening.

#9. Lay and lie

Use lay if it can be replaced with the variants of put or place, else use lie.

Proper Usage-

I need to lie down right away.

Sonya lay on the sofa after coming home from work yesterday.

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#10. The subject and verb agreement

In a sentence, the subject and verb must agree in numbers, no matter if they are singular or plural. So, in case of singular subject, singular verb, and plural subject mean plural verb.

Incorrect: Two best things about the party was music and food.

Correct: Two best things about the party were music and food.

#11. Comma after intro elements

There shouldn't be a missing comma after the intro elements. You must remember to give the reader a brief pause and avoid any confusion or misinterpretation.

Incorrect: Just in case you haven't noticed no name appears in the article.

Correct: Just in case you haven't noticed, no name appears in the article.

#12. Incomplete sentence formation

These are also called as sentence fragments that might lack a subject, complete verb or both. It's a meaningless sentence.

Incorrect: He gave his wife an extravagant gift after the conflict. In spite of everything.

Correct: In spite of everything, he gave his wife an extravagant gift after the conflict.

#13. It's or its?

Really simple, it's can be assumed to be an abbreviation of it is or it has. But without the apostrophe, its mean belonging to it. For instance, I don't believe it's (it is) Friday, and, the dog was licking its tail.

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