No matter how good a student is, he or she obligatorily makes some mistakes. There are various kinds of mistakes, but we want to focus on grammatical complications. Grammar is important in any academic discipline, regardless of the paper type and its topic.
You will surely make several mistakes before you make your paper perfect. That’s why all teachers and professors insist on editing and proofreading after a paper is finished. You can spot some awful errors that will cost you a lot of grades and you will have to contact an academic writing service to submit a professionally written paper on-time.
What are the most typical grammar mistakes all students should avoid? They are:
- Spelling
- Subject-Verb agreement
- Comma issues
- Wordiness
- Squinting modifier
- Adjective/adverb confusion
- Pronoun confusion
- Double negative
Mistake #1
People tend to use free online translation which is a good thing but spelling is one of the typical grammar errors students make. It’s remarkable that not only foreigners but native speakers make it. The examples are numerous. Thus, many folks confuse “your” and “you’re” or mess up the meaning of using an apostrophe in “its” and “it’s”. Another common example is “She was write” and “She was right”. Be attentive and don’t make such ridiculous mistakes that change the entire meaning of the words you write.
Mistake #2
The agreement of a subject and a verb is one of the most widely spread mistakes. Always use a singularity with another singularity. You cannot write “Dean go to work every day”. You should write “Dean goes to work every day”.
Mistake #3
The issue of comma has different variations. There are certain mistakes associated with the placement or absence of comma that lead to various outcomes. We’ll review the most common situations. Try to keep them in your memory.
| Type | Explanation | Wrong | Right |
| Absence of comma after an introductory phrase | All introductory phrases must be followed by a comma. | While his favorite team played he was at home busy with his homework. | While his favorite team played, he was at home busy with his homework. |
| Run-on sentences | It’s demanded to use a comma to connect two clauses that can be used as two different sentences. Use a comma before the conjunction. The only exception is when two clauses are related and brief. | Students know about their homework assignments but are too lazy to accomplish them. | Students know about their homework assignments, but are too lazy to accomplish them. |
| Lack of segments | Sometimes, students write sentences without a certain element that turns them into independent sentences. The comma regulates the confusion. | When they entered the room. They opened their books. | When they entered the room, they opened their books. |
| Comma misuse | At times, students use commas when it’s not required. Commonly, it’s a case for a compound subject (when several nouns are related to one another). | My father, and his business partner, went to a hockey game. | My father and his business partner went to a hockey game. |
| Absence of comma around interrupters | To show additional details in sentences, such as emotions or mood, we use the so-called interrupters. They break the flow and should be pointed out with commas. Otherwise, you will make a serious mistake. | It was unfortunately too late and he had to go to bed. | It was, unfortunately, too late and he had to go to bed. |
Mistake #4
Many students try to use too many words to explain something. It’s always better to use fewer words. Too long sentences confuse readers. Such sentences are unreadable and you’ll understand it with the help of our examples.
Compare:
- The reason Mr. Brown missed the meeting was thanks to the issue of multiple traffic lights because most of them were red in color.
- Mr. Brown missed the meeting because he stopped at many red lights.
Mistake #5
One of the common errors is the implementation of squinting modifiers. This problem occurs when a writer puts some word, clause or phrase that modifies a concrete word in the wrong place.
The wrong way is: “Workers who work rarely receive low salaries”. To overcome this issue, put the modifier before the word that should be modified. “Workers who rarely work receive low salaries”.
Mistake #6
Many folks confuse the use of adjectives and adverbs. Students cannot understand the difference between quick and quick or bad and badly. To overcome this problem, learn one simple tip. Use adjectives with nouns and pronouns. Implement adverbs with verbs, adverbs, and adjectives.
Adjective example: This cheap book can be bought here.
Adverb example: This book can be bought cheaply.
Mistake #7
It’s weird enough but many people cannot define the difference between “You and I” and “You and Me”. The best way to overcome this issue is to skip “you”. Thus, try two variants:
- I should go to England.
- Me should go to England.
The correct version is obvious. If you’re stuck with this issue, simply drop “you” for a moment.
Mistake #8
Finally, many students use two negatives in a row. It’s a huge mistake because such a sequence makes the meaning of a sentence positive. Accordingly, the initial goal of showing a negative outcome fails.
For example: “Bob can’t hardly go to sleep early”. It means that he can easily go to sleep early. The right version is “Bob can hardly go to sleep early”.
Be always careful with grammar. Brush it up and constantly repeat. Thus, you will avoid awful mistakes.
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