Do you know that English is a confusing language? It is. Well, very confusing, but there are many rules that guide us as to how and when to use some words and its derivatives  that can make it less confusing. While learning words in English, building your vocabulary and mastering correct pronunciation is not a major task, learning how to use the words correctly with a proper grammar sense is what separates an amateur English speaker from a seasoned one. And I know, your aim is to polish your mastery over the English language so well that you come across as a native English speaker. While everyone has their own learning curves, there are some mistakes that people commonly make in speaking the English language.





Grammar mistakes are a complete no-no when it comes to spoken English. So, let me help you understand some of the common mistakes and how you can avoid them. In today’s blog, we will discuss two of the most common grammar mistakes that people make. Let’s get started.


Wrong use of past tense

Tenses is something that people take time to understand and get comfortable using. The mistake people usually make is with using a word, or words, in the past tense, and mixing up two words that don’t belong together. You will hear a lot of new English speakers use words like ‘had went’, ‘had did’, ‘had saw’ in sentences. It might now seem wrong to you, because after all you are simultaneously using using two words in the past tense. But here’s what makes it wrong. For instance, when you say, ‘had did my running’, ‘running’ is the verb, and ‘did’ is the auxiliary verb and had is the part that defines the tense. So, when you use one word to define the tense (in this case – had) you don’t have to superimpose the tense by using did as well. The correct auxiliary verb usage here would be done. So, the right sentence will be ‘I had done my running before you showed up’.

The other mistake people make is saying things like ‘One of my friend’, or ‘one of the best way’. Why it is wrong? Because when you say, ‘one of’ it means that it is one of the options or one of the subjects among many. So, the right way of putting that would be saying, ‘one of the best ways’ or ‘one of my friends’.

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you have been making these mistakes, because you learn something new every day, and I am sure you won’t make these mistakes again. 

- By Chander Madan


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