COMMON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS:
1. Subjunctive Mood Errors
Used for hypotheticals, wishes, or non-real situations.
❌ If I was you, I would apologize.
✅ If I were you, I would apologize.
❌ I wish she was here.
✅ I wish she were here.
2. Faulty Parallelism
Items in a list or structure must follow the same grammatical pattern.
❌ She likes swimming, to run, and biking.
✅ She likes swimming, running, and biking.
❌ He is smart, hardworking, and has discipline.
✅ He is smart, hardworking, and disciplined.
3. Dangling Modifiers
Modifier does not clearly refer to the subject.
❌ Walking down the street, the trees looked beautiful.
(Who is walking?)
✅ Walking down the street, I noticed the trees looked beautiful.
4. Split Infinitives (Context-Sensitive)
Sometimes acceptable, but often avoided in formal writing.
❌ She decided to quickly finish the task.
✅ She decided to finish the task quickly.
(Note: modern usage allows split infinitives if clearer.)
5. Improper Use of “Which” vs “That”
* That = essential clause
* Which = non-essential (with commas)
❌ The book which you gave me is good.
✅ The book that you gave me is good.
❌ The car that is parked outside, is mine.
✅ The car, which is parked outside, is mine.
6. Comma Splices
Joining independent clauses with just a comma.
❌ She loves coffee, she drinks it daily.
✅ She loves coffee; she drinks it daily.
✅ She loves coffee, and she drinks it daily.
7. Incorrect Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pronoun must match its antecedent in number and gender.
❌ Everyone should bring their notebook.
(Formally incorrect, though common)
✅ Everyone should bring his or her notebook.
(Modern alternative: their is now widely accepted in informal/formal contexts.)
8. Ambiguous Pronoun Reference
Unclear what the pronoun refers to.
❌ When John met Mark, he was angry.
(Who is angry?)
✅ When John met Mark, John was angry.
