Common Grammar Mistakes

What is an adjective?

Adjectives describe nouns (a person, place, thing). She is a quiet person. (Describes the noun “person”)

Provide examples of adjectives?

slow, quick, happy, quiet

What is an adverb?

Adverbs describe verbs (an action), adjectives, or other adverbs — they tell you how, when, where, or to what extent something happens. She speaks quietly. (Describes the verb “speaks”)

Adverb = adds meaning to the verb.

Provide examples of adverbs?

slowly, quickly, happily, quietly.

What are some adverbs that don’t use ly?

fast, hard, well. He runs fast. (NOT “fastly”). She works hard. (NOT “hardly” – that means barely)

What is the difference between a statement and a question?

A Statements tell information and a Questions ask for information.

What is the structure for a statement?

In statements (normal sentences), the subject comes before the verb:

• Subject → Verb → Rest of sentence

• You picked up the tickets.

  • “You” = subject (who is doing it)

  • “picked up” = verb (the action)

  • “the tickets” = object (what was acted on)

In questions, English usually flips the order by adding a helping verb in front of the subject:

• Helping verb → Subject → Main verb → Rest of sentence

• Did you pick up the tickets?

  • “Did” = helping verb

  • “you” = subject

  • “pick up” = main verb (notice it goes back to base form, not “picked”)

Statement: Subject → Verb → Object

• You ate the cake.

What is the structure for a question?

In questions, English usually flips the order by adding a helping verb in front of the subject:

• Helping verb → Subject → Main verb → Rest of sentence

• Did you pick up the tickets?

  • “Did” = helping verb

  • “you” = subject

  • “pick up” = main verb (notice it goes back to base form, not “picked”)

    Helping Verb → Subject → Main Verb → Object

  • Did you eat the cake?

Please provide an example of a question and a statement?

Is this korean food? The food is korean.

What is a verb?

A verb is a word that shows action (run, eat, play) or state of being (is, are, was, were).

When do you use fewer?

Use fewer with countable nouns (things you can count individually). There are fewer people, fewer cars, fewer dogs.

When do you use less?

Use less with uncountable nouns (things measured in bulk or mass). There is less water, less air, less rice. Less time. Less money.

What are exceptions for using less?

Time, money, distance, and weight. Ex. less than 30 minutes. Less than $50. Less than 10 miles. Less than 5 pounds.

Why do you use your sister, my sister and I, or my sister and me.

More polite or formal. Puts the other person first (just like how we usually say “my sister and I”). Sounds more natural in writing and careful speech.

what is the object of the sentence?

The object is the person or thing that receives the action in a sentence. He called me. Me is the object where the action is being directed to.

what is the subject of a sentence?

The subject is the one who does the action. He called me. He is the subject. He is doing the calling.

When do you use my sister and I vs my sister and me?

Use “my sister and I” when it’s the subject. Use “my sister and me” when it’s the object. Try the sentence without "my sister and" to check if you should use “I” or “me.”

What is a noun clause?

A noun clause is a group of words that works like a noun in a sentence.

• A noun can be the subject of a verb (Dogs bark).

• A noun can be the object of a verb (I like dogs).

• A noun clause acts the same way, but instead of one word like dogs, it’s a whole clause.

Example:

• I know that he is smart → here, “that he is smart” is the thing I know.

• She wondered what time it was → here, “what time it was” is the thing she wondered.

Why “subject + verb order” in noun clauses?

In a direct question, English flips word order:

• Which one is it? → (verb is comes before subject it).

But in a noun clause, we don’t flip. We use normal statement order (subject before verb):

• I want to see which one it is → (subject it comes before verb is).

So:

• Question form = Which one is it? (verb before subject)

• Noun clause form = which one it is (subject before verb)

Why “which one is it” is wrong here

If you said:

• Can I see which one is it?

You’ve accidentally kept the question word order (verb before subject) inside another sentence. English doesn’t allow that — once the question becomes part of a bigger sentence, it has to switch back to statement order.

What’s a noun?

A noun is just a thing word:

• Dog 🐶

• Pizza 🍕

• School 🏫

Nouns can:

• Do something (Dogs bark). → subject

• Have something done to them (I like pizza). → object

What’s a noun clause?

A noun clause is like a mini sentence that acts like a noun.
Instead of just one word (pizza), it’s a whole group of words that answers the question “what?”

Examples:

• I know that he is smart → The thing I know is “that he is smart.”

• She wondered what time it was → The thing she wondered is “what time it was.”

So you can think:
👉 noun clause = a “what thing” in the sentence.

How can “is” and “are” be verbs?

Think of verbs as “what’s happening” or “what something is.”

• Action verbs: run, eat, jump, play.

• “Being” verbs: am, is, are, was, were.

So:

• is = tells us what something is (He is happy).

• are = tells us what something are (They are friends).

Even though “is” and “are” don’t show action like run, they’re still verbs because they tell the state of being.

Why "You" is Plural and "It" is Singular or

Why is "you" used for one person if it’s plural?

“It” is singular because it refers to one thing only — never a person (unless you’re being mean 😅). It” only refers to one thing (object, animal, idea).

“You” used to be plural only in old English. Over time, people started using “you” for both one person and many people.

Think of “you” like a flashlight — it can shine on one person or a whole group.

what is the difference between Could’ve Gone vs. Could’ve Went

❌ "I could've went to the party."

Correct Version:

✅ "I could've gone to the party."

Why:

• “Could’ve” = “could have,” which needs a past participle (the “special past form”) after it.

• The past participle of go is gone (not went).

Memory Trick:

After could’ve, should’ve, would’ve — pick the “fancy past” (gone, done, seen), not the plain past (went, did, saw).

Past vs. Present (with "did") ❓ Did you ate breakfast? (Is this correct?)

Back (Answer):
✅ No!
Correct: Did you eat breakfast?
Tip: After did, use the base form (eat), not past tense (ate).

What is the base form of a verb?

Base Form

• Definition: The simplest, dictionary form of the verb.

• Used For: Present tense (except third person singular), infinitives (“to + verb”).

• Examples:

  • Base form of go → "I go to school."

  • Base form of eat → "They eat lunch."

Base form = the plain word (“go, eat, play”)

what is the past participle?

• Definition: The form used with have/has/had to make perfect tenses, or sometimes as adjectives.

• Usually Ends In: -ed for regular verbs, but many irregular verbs are different.

• Examples:

  • Past participle of go → "I have gone to school."

  • Past participle of eat → "They have eaten lunch."

  • Past participle of play → "We have played soccer."

Past participle = the ‘have’ form (“have gone, have eaten, have played”)

What is the difference between base form, past tense, and past participle?

Base Form	Past Tense	Past Participle	Example Sentence

go

went

gone

I have gone to school.

eat

ate

eaten

She has eaten breakfast.

take

took

taken

He has taken the bus.

run

ran

run

We have run five miles.

write

wrote

written

They have written a letter.

see

saw

seen

I have seen that movie.

do

did

done

He has done his homework.

be

was/were

been

She has been kind.

have

had

had

We have had enough food.

say

said

said

I have said this before.

Memory Trick:

• Base Form: The one you’d look up in a dictionary ("go, eat").

• Past Tense: What happened yesterday ("went, ate").

• Past Participle: The “have/has/had” form ("have gone, have eaten").

When asking a question in the past tense, use did before the subject.

❌ Incorrect:
“How many tickets you picked up for me?”

✅ Correct:
“How many tickets did you pick up for me?”

Why?

• “You picked up” = statement.

• Add “did” to turn it into a question.

Extra Example:

• Statement: You finished your homework.

• Question: Did you finish your homework?

• With “when”: When did you finish your homework?

In English, when you ask a question, the helping verb (did/do/are/will, etc.) usually comes before the subject.

What’s a helping verb?

A helping verb (also called an auxiliary verb) is a small word we add to help make questions, negatives, or certain tenses.

• Examples: do, does, did, is, are, was, were, will, can

Why does a helping verb turn a main verb back to its base form?

In a statement:

• You picked up the tickets.
  Here, picked up is the verb phrase (past tense).

In a question with a helping verb:

• Did you pick up the tickets?

👉 Notice how we switched from picked → pick.
That’s because when you add a helping verb like did, the main verb goes back to its base form (no -ed, no -s). The helping verb carries the tense instead of the main verb.

• Did = shows past tense

• pick = stays in the base form

why is this grammar wrong? how much is it for the under the bridge event?

A smoother, correct version would be:

• “How much is the Under the Bridge event?”
  or

• “How much does the Under the Bridge event cost?”

How much is it for the Under the Bridge event?”

• The structure is: How much is it for [something].

• This works in casual speech when you’re asking about the price of a thing (like “How much is it for the sandwich?”).

• But for events, it sounds a little awkward because “it” is vague.

Correct version:

“How much is the Under the Bridge event?”

• Here, the Under the Bridge event is the subject of the sentence.

• You’re directly asking about the price of the event itself, so there’s no need for “it for.”

Why “for” is odd here:

• “For” is usually used when you’re talking about the cost in exchange for a specific item.

  • “How much is it for a ticket?” ✅ (here, “it” = price, “for a ticket” = what you’re buying).

• With an event, you’re not buying the event itself, you’re buying entry/tickets to it. That’s why “for” sounds mismatched.

👉 If you wanted to keep “for,” the natural way would be:

• “How much is it for a ticket to the Under the Bridge event?”

Subject verb agreement

• Singular subject = verb ends in -s.

• Plural subject = verb has no -s.

1. Singular subject → verb ends with -s

• He runs every morning.

• The cat sleeps on the couch.

• An issue comes up sometimes.

👉 Rule: Most verbs add -s when the subject is he, she, it, or singular noun.

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2. Plural subject → verb has no -s

• They run every morning.

• The cats sleep on the couch.

• The issues come up sometimes.

👉 Rule: Plural nouns + I, you, we, they use the base form (no -s).

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3. Watch out for “There is / There are”

• There is a problem. (singular)

• There are problems. (plural)

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4. Tricky words

• Everyone / Somebody / Each → singular

  • Everyone likes pizza.

• Both / Many / Few / Several → plural

  • Many enjoy the class.

what is the difference between do you know who he is vs do you know who he was?

comes down to time and context.

Do you know who he is?”

• Talking about now / present identity.

• You’re asking if someone knows who the person is currently.

• Example: “Do you know who he is? He’s the CEO of that company.”

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✅ “Do you know who he was?”

• Talking about past identity.

• You’re asking if someone knows who the person used to be.

• Example: “Do you know who he was before becoming famous? He used to be a teacher.”

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Key Difference

• is = his current role/identity.

• was = his past role/identity (which might be different now).

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👉 Quick test:

• If you’re introducing someone at a party → “Do you know who he is?”

• If you’re telling someone about their history → “Do you know who he was?”

what is the difference between got and get?

✅ “LMK if you get an email”

• Means “Let me know if you receive an email (in the future or whenever it happens).”

• Use this when you’re waiting for something to arrive.

• Example: “LMK if you get an email from HR later today.”

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✅ “LMK if you got an email”

• Means “Let me know if you already received an email (in the past).”

• Use this when the email might have been sent already, and you want to check.

• Example: “LMK if you got an email about the meeting yesterday.”

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👉 So:

• waiting for it? → “get”

• checking if it already happened? → “got”

Tricky subect verb agreement

1. Either / Neither / Each / Every / One → Singular

• Either option works for me.

• Neither student was ready.

• Each person has a role.

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2. Either…or / Neither…nor → Verb agrees with the closest subject

• Either the teacher or the students are wrong.

• Neither the students nor the teacher is wrong.

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3. None

• None of the cake is left. (singular thing → “cake”)

• None of the cookies are left. (plural things → “cookies”)

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4. Collective nouns (team, group, family, audience)

• Treat as singular when the group acts as one unit:

  • The team wins the game.

• Treat as plural when focusing on individuals:

  • The team are arguing among themselves. (British English especially uses plural here)

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5. Indefinite pronouns

• Singular: Anyone, everybody, each, nobody, someone → takes singular verb

  • Everybody likes the movie.

• Plural: Few, many, several, both → take plural verb

  • Few know the answer.

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✅ Quick hack:

• If it feels like “one thing,” use singular.

• If it feels like “more than one,” use plural.