10 common mistakes English learners make (and how to fix them)
From “I am agree” to “informations”, these are the errors teachers see every day. Learn why they happen and how to avoid them.
Every learner makes mistakes, and that's a normal part of learning. But some mistakes are so common that they can follow you for years if nobody points them out. Here are ten that English teachers see every day, with a simple fix for each.
1. “I am agree”
Agree is a verb, not an adjective, so it doesn't need am.
Say: I agree with you. or I don't agree.
2. “She don't like coffee”
With he, she and it, the present simple negative uses doesn't.
Say: She doesn't like coffee.
3. “I have 25 years”
In English, we use be for age, not have.
Say: I'm 25. or I'm 25 years old.
4. “Can you give me some informations?”
Some nouns are uncountable in English, so they have no plural form. Common ones include information, advice, news, furniture, luggage, equipment and homework.
Say: Can you give me some information? or Can I give you a piece of advice?
5. “I'm living here since 2020”
For something that started in the past and continues now, English uses the present perfect, not a present tense.
Say: I've lived here since 2020. or I've been living here since 2020.
6. “He said me that...”
Say can't be followed directly by a person, but tell can.
Say: He said that he was tired. or He told me that he was tired.
7. “I'm boring in this class”
Adjectives ending in -ing describe the thing that causes a feeling. Adjectives ending in -ed describe how a person feels.
Say: I'm bored. This class is boring. (Unless you really mean that you make other people bored!)
8. “Explain me the problem”
Explain needs to before the person.
Say: Can you explain the problem to me? or Can you explain to me what happened?
9. “I look forward to meet you”
In look forward to, the word to is a preposition, so it is followed by a noun or an -ing form.
Say: I look forward to meeting you.
10. “Make a photo”
Many languages use one verb where English uses several. Combinations like these are called collocations, and they are best learned as fixed phrases.
- take a photo, a break, a shower, an exam
- make a mistake, a decision, a phone call, friends
- do homework, the dishes, your best, someone a favor
How to stop repeating a mistake
Keep a mistakes notebook. Every time a teacher, an app or a quiz corrects you, write down the incorrect sentence with the correct version next to it. Read the list once a week. Within a month or two, the correct form will start to feel natural, and you'll notice the mistake before you make it.
