The 2020 Grammar Guide
120 Grammar and Vocabulary Mistakes to Avoid
English is full of problems for a foreign learner. While some of these problem points
are easy to explain, others cause difficulty even for the advanced students and
learners. For example, how exactly is the present perfect tense used? What are the
differences between big, large and great, between come and go? Is unless the
same as if not?
This book from wapday25 is a guide to questions of this kind. It addresses 120 points which
regularly cause problems for the foreign learner. Rules and guidelines are given,
using as little linguistic terminology as possible.
Who will benefit from this book?
This book is aimed at students who wish to improve the quality of their sentences.
It is compiled for the use at school or at home.
How to use this book?
Entries are arranged alphabetically. Each entry contains an explanation of a
problem, examples of correct usage and typical mistakes. Explanations are, as far
as possible, given in simple everyday language.
List of Entries
1. According to
2. Across and through
3. Adjectives ending in -ly
4. Ago and before
5. All and every
6. All right and alright
7. Already and all ready
8. Alternate and alternative
9. Altogether and all together
10. Any and some
11. Anyhow and somehow
12. Articles
13. Article a correct use
14. Ask and ask for
15. At first and first
16. Avenge and revenge
17. Back and again
18. Bath and bathe
19. Beat and win
20. Because
21. Because and because of
22. Because and for
23. Begin and start
24. Beside and besides
25. Besides, except and apart from
26. Between and among
27. Between and during
28. Between and from
29. Big, large and great
30. Born and borne
31. Bring and take
32. But
33. Change of tense
34. Close and shut
35. Cloth and clothes
36. Collective nouns
37. Come and go
38. Common preposition +noun combinations
39. Comparatives and superlatives
40. Comparatives: a common error
41. Conjunctions
42. Correlatives
43. Dead and died
44. Determiners
45. Do and make
46. Double negatives
47. During and for
48. Each and every
49. Each other and one another
50. East, eastern, north, northern etc.
51. Elder and eldest
52. End and finish
53. Enough
54. Especially and specially
55. Except and except for
56. Expect and hope
57. Expressions without prepositions
58. Far and a long way
59. Gerund
60. Historic present
61. I don't mind
62. If clauses
63. Imperative sentences
64. Indirect questions
65. Invent and discover
66. Inversion of subject and verb
67. Its and it's
68. Joining sentences
69. Keep and put
70. Kind and kinds, sort and sorts etc.
71. Less and fewer
72. Lie and lay
73. Like and as
74. Look after and look for
75. Lose and loose
76. Many/much and plenty of/a lot of
77. May and can
78. Maybe and perhaps
79. Much and many
80. Neither, nor and not...either
81. Nominative and objective case
82. No sooner..than
83. Nouns that do not have a singular form
84. Nouns with no plural forms
85. Nouns with identical singular and plural forms
86. Numbers
87. On and in
88. Only
89. On time and in time
90. On the whole and the whole of
91. Participles
92. Positive or comparative?
93. Past perfect tense
94. Possessive case
95. Prepositions
96. Present perfect tense
97. Price and prize
98. Pronouns
99. Say and tell
100. Scarcely...when
101. Search and search for
102. Sincerely
103. Singular and plural nouns
104. Subordinate clause
105. Suggest
106. Than and as
107. Thank you and please
108. Told and asked
109. Too and very
110. Transitive verbs
111. Two words or one
112. Unless and if
113. Verbs
114. -ward and -wards
115. Well and good
116. Why not + infinitive
117. Whether and if
118. Whose and who's
119. Will or shall?
120. Yes and no
1. According to
Incorrect: According to me, she should have resigned earlier.
Correct: In my opinion, she should have resigned earlier
We do not give our own opinions with according to.
2. Across and through
The difference between across and through is similar to the difference between
on and in. We use through to talk about movement in three dimensional spaces
with things on all sides.
We walked across the field. (= We were on the field.)
We walked through the wood. (= We were in the wood.)
3. Adjectives ending in -ly
Incorrect: She smiled friendly.
Correct: She smiled in a friendly way.
Incorrect: He laughed silly.
Correct: He gave a silly laugh
Here the error lies in using an adjective instead of an adverb. We use adverbs to
modify verbs. Most adverbs end in -ly; there are also a few adjectives that end in
ly. Examples are: costly, friendly, lively, likely, lonely, lovely, silly and ugly. There
are no adverbs costly/costlily or friendly/friendlily.
4. Ago and before
Incorrect: His father died three years before.
Correct: His father died three years ago.
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