20 Writing Mistakes Even Native Speakers Make

Writing is not a very easy task and requires immense learning and practice. If you are a writer by profession and make mistakes quite often, do not worry because there are certain grammatical mistakes that even native speakers make. Following are 20 most common mistakes that almost everyone make: Me and I The use of ‘me’ and ‘I’ in any sentence could be mistaken quite often. Both of these words are correct to use but you have to recognize which one fits well in the sentence. ‘Alex and me are going out for dinner’ is incorrect but ‘Alex and I are going out for dinner’ fits well so you can recognize this by reading it. Lose and loose The difference between both is that lose is a verb which expresses the loss of something while loose is an adjective which means released from attachment or not bounded together. While a few writers mistakenly add an extra ‘o’, majority confuse both the words and so here is the difference between both. Its and it’s Both are correct in their own context but writing experts suggests people to avoid the latter because of being categorized as a slang word. ‘It’s’ is a short form of it is which is to be used in a different manner from its. In simpler words, ‘its’ is a possessive pronoun! There, their and they’re Many writers unintentionally confuse these three words for each other which is not a flaw within you. There is an adverb, there is a possessive pronoun and they’re is simply a short form of they are. Whose and who’s The former is a possessive form of who while the latter is a short form of who is so you must keep this in mind. Students are often aware of this difference but still forget when it is time to apply. Your vs. You’re Your is a possessive pronoun and is used formally in almost every formal situation while you’re is a slang of you are. While in a hurry, people might interchange these terms with one another. Write and right As a college student, you must be aware of the differences between the two terms but confusing these words is common when in hurry. Write is a verb and right is an adjective so make sure you use them wisely in your writing. Effect and affect Former is a noun which means a result while latter is a verb which means to act on. Accept and except Accept is a verb which means to take or receive while except is a preposition which means excluding. Gone and went Gone is the past participle while went is the past tense of ‘to go’. Comma splice You must have made a mistake when two independent clauses are linked with only a comma in between which violates the rules of English. Hear and Here Here is an adverb while hear is verb so use both of these similar words carefully when writing. Irregardless and regardless A common mistake that some native speakers even made was the use of irregardless instead of regardless. Irregardless is not any word in the dictionary! Plural form and apostrophe Students often use the apostrophe in an incorrect manner due to which a word does not changes into plural. For example, a lot of cats instead of ‘a lot of cat’s’ can define this point. Use of prepositions inappropriately Another mistake that even native speakers make is the use of prepositions incorrectly, Dangling participle A mistake that can completely change the meaning and flow of your writing is dangling participle. Two, too and to With to as a preposition, too as an adverb and two as Noun, students often mistake one of these words with the people. Then and than Then is an adverb which means immediately or soon afterwards while than is used after comparative adjectives. Were, where and we’re Were is a past tense of ‘to be’, where is an adverb while we’re is a short form of we are. Could have and could of A common argument that remains between native speakers and foreigners is that could of is very close to could have so they confuse both.