11 Common Grammar Mistakes You’re Probably Making

No matter what field you’re working in, communication plays a vital role in all walks of life. Besides verbal communication, written communication is also a crucial element to convey your messages accurately and effectively. Writing isn’t an easy chore, especially for novices and non-native English speakers. If English isn’t your first language, you will surely find intricacies in learning its structure and applying the rules while writing. You might be making grammatical mistakes unintentionally while writing due to unawareness of how to use certain words properly. Therefore, we are here with this blog to let you know about the grammar mistakes you’re probably making. You should continue reading this blog till the end to know which mistakes you might be making and how to rectify them. So without any further delay, let’s get started!

1. Advance Vs. Advanced

A single ‘d’ between advance and advanced makes quite a difference between these two words. However, people mistakenly use these words incorrectly in various situations. For instance, while referring to new technology, many people use the adjective advance with it, which is entirely wrong. In this case, advanced should be used, which means futuristic and ultra-modern. On the other hand, the word advance has several meanings, including proceed, promote, approach, etc.

2. Affect Vs. Effect

Do you get confused between the usage of affect and effect? If yes, then you should learn their major differences. Effect is a change that comes due to the consequence of an action. On the other hand, affect is defined as the impact of any action on a certain situation. Let’s look into the difference between these two with the examples:

Chain-smoking has affected his health badly.

Drinking causes harmful effects on your health.

3. Altogether Vs. All Together

When it comes to referring to all members of a group, all together is the correct word to use. Whether it’s about everything or everyone, you must use the “all together” phrase because it is defined as “in a group.” In contrast, altogether means “completely.” Generally, people consider the function of both these words the same, but the difference should be learned, and you must use them precisely. The examples for using these words are as follow:

We went to the party all together.

You haven’t been altogether honest with us.

4. Alternate Vs. Alternative

Alternate and alternative might seem similar words, but they are quite different from one another. The word alternate has different definitions, as it can be used as an adjective, verb, and noun as well. Most commonly, alternate is used for defining a substitute. Kylie was allowed to attend class on alternate days. In this example, you can observe that alternate means “every second day.” In contrast, alternative describes another possibility or chance in a condition. You can use alternative methods to solve this question. The meaning of alternative can be depicted from this example, as it explains the other available options.

5. Amount Vs. Number

The words amount and number are used for describing the quantity of certain types of products. While the usage of both the words is the same, you might have got confused between using them. The major difference between these two words is that the word amount is used for the things that are uncountable, whereas the word number is used for the things that can be counted. For example:

Alina has planted a large number of trees in her garden.

The amount of humidity is rising these days.

6. Apart Vs. A Part

Many people get confused and make mistakes while using the words apart and apart. The reason behind the confusion is due to their similarity in spellings, but both of them have different meanings. Apart is an adverb that denotes the distance between two objects in terms of time or space. For instance, Aria and Ben are standing thirty feet a part. On the other hand, a part is a phrase consisting of two words that is defined as a fraction of a whole. An example for understanding this phrase could be:

Maria is also a part of this play.

In the above examples, you can clearly see the difference between the usage of these two expressions. If you’re unsure whether you’re using either of them correctly, you can run your text through a grammar check tool and make your life easy.

7. Amused Vs. Bemused

Both words, amused and bemused, are derived from the French word “muse.” These words are often mixed up by people, as they think of them as synonyms. However, the actual meanings of these two words are quite different. Amuse means to entertain, and bemuse means confuse. The incorrect usage of amused and bemused can change the whole meaning of your text or conversation. If you’re writing about entertainment, the usage of bemused instead of amused can affect your credibility in the eyes of readers.

8. Appraise Vs. Apprise

The meaning of appraise and apprise is fairly distinct from one another. Appraise and apprise are both verbs, but their meanings aren’t the same. While the estimation of a value, the usage of appraise is quite common as it means to assess the value of something. However, the removal of “a” from appraise turns this word into apprise, which means to tell. So, you can observe that these two terms aren’t even a little correlated. Therefore, you should know the difference between them and avoid mixing them up.

9. Breath Vs. Breathe

People get confused between breath and breathe because of the inability to detect which of them is a noun and verb. Breath is a noun, and the addition of “e” makes it a verb. These closely related terms are often mixed up, but they both have different meanings and uses due to the difference in parts of speech. The word breath refers to the cycle of breathing, whereas breathe is defined as the process of exhaling or inhaling. Both terms are widely used in idioms as well, but the meaning of your phrase can deteriorate due to the misuse of either of the words.

10. Breach Vs. Breech

The pronunciation of both these words is exactly the same, but their spellings and meaning differ from one another. If you’re referring to the violation of something, then you should know that the breach is the correct word to use. In such a situation, if you use breech instead of the breach, the entire meaning of your text would be changed as breech is defined as the part of a cannon. Non-native English speakers often misspell the homophones due to their same pronunciation. However, this mistake should be avoided at any cost as the meaning of words like breach and breech can hugely vary.

11. Bring Vs. Take

The list of commonly confused words is incomplete without bring and take. Both of these words are verbs, and they are used to depict that something or someone is being moved from one place to another. The change of perspectives affects the usage of ‘bring and take.’ For instance, if you’re organizing a party and someone is allotted to get drinks, from your perspective, he/she has to bring drinks to the party. However, from another person’s perspective who’s not the part of your party, he/she is taking drinks to the party. The difference between these two words is due to the perspectives; hence, it’s essential to know in which situation the usage of either of these words would be appropriate.

Final Words

If you’re involved in any type of writing, you will encounter several situations where you could get confused in selecting the appropriate word as per the context of the text. The commonly confused words discussed above can help you clear your views about the differences between closely related terms. You should go through them manually and use a free grammar check to avoid any kind of nuisance that can affect your reputation or career.