What are the most common English Grammer Mistakes?

Question

Where can I find the most common English grammer mistakes and corrections? Things like semicolons and commas with the word "however" for example.... also commonly misspelled words.....
I'm left handed and it's been show that lefties have a harder time remembering the spelling of words with more than 1 double letter, the whole "I" before "E" thing, whether to use an "S" or a "C" or both.... etc.......
Any tips to remembering these things? What has worked for you? Please share. I am intelligent, but my memory fails me often. Please help.

Answer 1

Here are a number of sites that discuss common errors in grammar. English is a tough langauge. You may also enjoy the poem at the last link, and also this poem ....

When the English tongue we speak
Why is break not rhymed with freak?
Will you tell me why it’s true
We say sew, but likewise few?
And the maker of a verse,
Cannot rhyme his horse with worse?
Beard is not the same as heard,
Cord is different from word,
Cow is cow, but low is low,
Shoe is never rhymed with foe.
Think of hose and dose and lose,
And think of goose and yet of choose,
Think of comb and tomb and bomb,
Doll and roll and home and some.
And since pay is rhymed with say,
Why not paid with said I pray?
Think of blood and food and good;
Mould is not pronounced like could.
Wherefore done, but gone and lone -
Is there any reason known?
To sum up all, it seems to me
Sounds and letters don’t agree.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Spelling "grammar" with an e is a common mistake. ;^)

There are several books available on the subject, obviously. The recent "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" is funny and informative.

The old maxim "I before E except after C, or when sounded as A as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh'" was a good mnemonic device I used as a lad. The rhymes helped a lot (not "alot" as some would write it!) Unfortunately, I don't remember many others.

There are many other common mistakes like the ones someantha lists above, but the state of the language has deteriorated so badly that some of the more esoteric mistakes are largely forgiven, if even noticed at all. Dangling participles litter the linguistic landscape, and even Captain Kirk allows himself to boldly split infinitives no man has split before. Many well-educated people don't even notice. I expect this post right here should be shot through with red ink, and yet I flatter myself by deeming it one of the less-illiterate posts on this forum today.

Whaddaya gonna do?

Answer 3

Do you really want to find the most common English grammer mistakes? If so then tune into this website and possibly today there will be a question come on my question and answer site.

Answer 4

No joke, but just read Yahoo Answers for a while and you'll find the most common. I'm starting to think that 90% of the population is almost illiterate.

Answer 5

The most common one is using an apostrophe for a plural.
When it should just be plural with no apostrophe. I'm just using things in writing because it seems like that's what you are asking. Verbal ones are different.
They're and their are often confused.
Ending a sentence with a preposition is a common one.
Is and Are are often used incorrectly. Is is singular. Are is plural.

Answer 6

Using passive forms of expression (ie: a "decision will be made" bad. "legislators will decide. good)

Using incomplete sentences: This is usually the result of beginning a sentence with one of the following: for, and, nor, but, or, yet (FANBOY). Remember "subject PLUS verb."

Ending a sentence with a preposition. "What drugs are you on? bad. "What drugs have you taken? good.

That many don't even recognize these examples as problematic proves that these are among the most common mistakes.

Answer 7

The biggest problem I've seen is incorrect use of the words their, there and they're. A close second is incorrect use of other homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently). Examples are: to, two, too

Answer 8

To read about common problems in grammar and punctuation:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6354/grammar.html

Types of errors covered include sentence fragments, run-on sentences, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, dangling/misplaced modifiers, commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes, dashes, ellipses, and punctuation with parenthetical citations.

Answer 9

I am a lefty also but do not have problems with spelling but with comma placement. Spellcheck solves most problems.

Answer 10

The one i hate the most is when some one tells me a phone number like 555-6709 and they say 555-67o9 insted of 555 -67zero9.