When you slip up on your grammar, you will look like you are uneducated. If you are in a position such as a job interview, you could easily sacrifice your hard work in getting the interview because of a lack of training in grammar. Luckily, English grammar is easy to get down.

The most common of all grammar mistakes in the English language is, without a doubt, the different between “your” and “you are.” When spelled out, it doesn’t seem like it’s hard to distinguish the two. But when you use the contraction “you’re” there can be some confusion. Any time you read “you’re” imagine you are reading “you are” instead to see if it fits. “Your” shows possession, while “you’re” doesn’t.

Probably the second most common mistake in grammar is “there” being confused with “their.” The word “their” shows possession, while “there” is indicating a location. If your neighbors own a pool, you would say “The neighbors often swim in their pool,” and use there as “Sometimes I swim over there.”

There are many different levels of English grammar mistakes in terms of difficulty. One of the more difficult ones, even for professionals, is discerning between “affect” and “effect.” When using “effect” it is done when using an adjective or adverb, such as with “The effect of using good grammar is appearing more intelligent.” With “affect,” it’s a verb instead, and a sentence would appear as “Learning affects the way others perceive me.”

Don’t fret if you are having problems with some of the more advance English grammar rules. Some take time and practice, while others involve actually learning how words sound. An example is with “a” and “an.” We use “an” when the word succeeding it sounds like it has a vowel sound. You would type “an hour,” for instance. Just looking at the word you may get confused, since “hour” starts with an “h” – but with practice you can avoid such errors.

The American youth typically get the difference between “good” and “well” wrong. If asked how you are feeling, and you wish to convey you are doing well, you do not say “I am doing good.” Instead you would say “I am doing well,” since well is a noun, while “good” is an adjective. Obviously the context would be out of place.

Closing Comments

The English language is a tough one to master. Don’t give up in your struggle to succeed in English, and in as little as a year it’s safe to say you can have the majority of the language down. Keep up with your practice and you will see results.

Learn more about Learn English Online and English Grammar Learning.