There are several rules in the English language that are often broken. Here are five of the most common grammar mistakes you should know about to improve your writing. In fact, when you know which common grammatical errors to look for, it will be easier for you to proofread your work and correct those mistakes during your studies.

Here 5 of the common broken rules of English:

1. Comma splice or run-on sentence

A run-on sentence is a commonly used sentence to join two independent clauses without any conjunction or punctuation. On the other hand, a comma splice has a similar function, but it uses a comma to join two clauses. There are several ways to fix a comma splice and run-on sentence and this can be accomplished using these solutions:

Incorrect sentence: “Bob is a strong boy, he began lifting heavy stuff when he was just three years old.”

• You can separate the clauses into sentences. “Bob is a strong boy. He began lifting heavy stuff when he was just three years old.”
• You can also replace the comma with a semicolon. “Bob is a strong boy; he began lifting heavy stuff when he was just three years old.”
• You can also use a coordinating conjunction. “Bob is a strong boy, for he began lifting heavy stuff when he was just three years old.”
• It’s also possible to replace the comma with a subordinating conjunction. “Bob is a strong boy because he began lifting heavy stuff when he was just three years old.”

2. Pronoun disagreement

A lot of people incur pronoun errors and this often occurs when pronoun do not agree with the nouns they refer to. In fact, if the pronoun is singular then the noun must be singular too. However, plural nouns must be referred to by a plural pronoun as well.

Here’s an example:

Incorrect: “Every boy must bring their own shoes.”

Correct usage: “Every boy must bring his own shoes.”

Writers often commit these pronoun errors when they try to avoid awkward phrasing or they don’t want to be implicated using a sexist language. This is often accepted in most writings, but it’s still important to use it in more formal situations.

3. Improper use of apostrophe

We all know that apostrophes are used to signify possession. Although it is important to keep in mind that it shouldn’t be used after a possessive pronoun like ours, mine, my, hers, his, their, its, or theirs.

Here’s an example:

Incorrect: “My brothers house is close to his’ store.”

Correct usage: “My brother’s house is close to his store.”

In the case of it’s, we need to understand that the apostrophe can only be used to indicate a common contraction like “it is.”

For example:

Incorrect: “its a hot day for January.”

Correct usage: “it’s a hot day for January.”

4. Lack of subject-verb agreement

A lot of writers are confused over the subject-verb agreement and they usually commit grammatical errors when they are writing in the present tense. The basic rule is that a sentence must have subjects and verbs that agree in number. Therefore, if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. However, if the subject is used in plural form, then the verb must also be plural as well.

For example:

Incorrect: “These books is good for most kindergartens.”

Correct usage: “These books are good for most kindergartens.”

5. Misplaced modifiers

The rule of thumb when it comes to misplaced modifiers is to place it directly next to the word it is supposed to modify. The main reason for this is that it will clearly communicate your ideas, so modifiers should clearly refer to a specific word in the sentence.

For example:

Incorrect: “At ten years old, my mother gave me a gaming console for Christmas.”

Correct usage: “When I was ten years old, my mother gave me a gaming console for Christmas.”