A teacher with 30 years of experience learns which errors interfere with communication and which even native speakers make. The list below focuses on errors that consistently catch a British speaker's attention — particularly in written communication.
Make vs do
Wrong: "I did a mistake." / "I made my homework."
Make = create or produce. Do = activities and tasks. Learn common collocations — there is no single rule.
Correct: I made a mistake. / I did my homework.
Present perfect vs past simple
Wrong: "I have seen him yesterday."
Present perfect (have + past participle) = past connected to now. With a specific past time reference (yesterday, last week), use simple past.
Correct: I saw him yesterday. / I have already seen that film.
Articles (a, an, the)
Wrong: "I am going to the school." / "She is teacher."
Article use is one of the hardest aspects for speakers of languages without articles (Russian, Arabic, Chinese).
Correct: I am going to school. / She is a teacher.
Uncountable nouns
Wrong: "Can I have an information?" / "We have many furnitures."
Information, furniture, advice, news, knowledge — these cannot be pluralised or take "a/an" in English.
Correct: Can I have some information? / We have a lot of furniture.
Adjectives vs adverbs
Wrong: "She speaks very good." / "He drove careful."
Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs modify verbs. "She speaks well" — well modifies the verb speaks.
Correct: She speaks very well. / He drove carefully.
For, since and ago
Wrong: "I am here for three years." / "I left two years before."
For + duration. Since + start point. Ago + past time reference from now.
Correct: I have been here for three years. / I left two years ago.
If clauses
Wrong: "If I will go, I will call you."
First conditional: if + present simple, will + infinitive. Never use will or would in the if-clause.
Correct: If I go, I will call you. / If I had known, I would have told you.
Prepositions of time
Wrong: "I will meet you in Monday."
At + specific time. On + day/date. In + longer period.
Correct: I will meet you on Monday. / The meeting is at 3pm.
Double negatives
Wrong: "I don't have no money."
Two negatives make a positive in standard English. "I don't have no money" means "I have some money."
Correct: I don't have any money. / I can't do anything about it.
Comparative adjectives
Wrong: "This is more better." / "She is the most cleverer."
More/most are used with long adjectives. Shorter adjectives add -er/-est. Never use both forms together.
Correct: This is better. / She is the cleverest person in the room.
The fastest way to eliminate persistent errors is targeted correction from a qualified teacher over 2–6 months. See our verified English teachers.