Some English mistakes repeat across learners from very different first languages, simply because English grammar handles these situations differently than most other languages. Here are ten of the most common.
1. "I have 25 years" instead of "I am 25 years old"
English uses "to be" for age, not "to have." Correct: "I am 25 years old."
2. Confusing "make" and "do"
Generally: "make" is for creating something (make a decision, make dinner); "do" is for activities/tasks (do homework, do the laundry).
3. Missing articles (a/an/the)
Many languages don't use articles at all, so they're easy to forget. "I bought book" → "I bought a book."
4. Wrong preposition after certain verbs
"Married with" → "married to." "Depend of" → "depend on." Prepositions after verbs often don't translate directly and need to be memorised as fixed pairs.
5. "Since" vs. "for"
Use "since" with a specific starting point (since 2020, since Monday) and "for" with a duration (for three years, for a week).
6. Double negatives
"I don't know nothing" is non-standard in English (though common in some dialects informally). Standard English uses one negative: "I don't know anything."
7. Overusing "very" instead of a stronger word
"Very good" works, but "excellent," "outstanding," or "impressive" often communicates more precisely — see our synonyms guide.
8. Literal translation of idioms
Idioms rarely translate word-for-word. Learn them as full phrases — see our idioms notes.
9. Confusing "its" and "it's"
"It's" always means "it is" or "it has." "Its" (no apostrophe) shows possession: "The dog wagged its tail."
10. Word order in questions
"Where you are going?" → "Where are you going?" Questions need the subject and auxiliary verb swapped.