01/02/2026
GRAMMAR REVISION AND MOST FAMOUS MISTAKES TO AVOID
Simple Present
- Normal: She eats breakfast daily.
- Negative: She does not eat breakfast.
- Question: Does she eat breakfast?
Present Continuous
- Normal: She is eating breakfast now.
- Negative: She is not eating breakfast.
- Question: Is she eating breakfast?
Simple Past
- Normal: She ate breakfast yesterday.
- Negative:
- She did not eat breakfast.
- Question: Did she eat breakfast?
Past Continuous
- Normal:
- She was eating breakfast when he called.
- Negative: She was not eating breakfast.
- Question: Was she eating breakfast?
Simple Future
- Normal:
- She will eat breakfast tomorrow with me
- Negative: She will not eat breakfast.
- Question: Will she eat breakfast?
Future Continuous
- Normal:
- She will be eating breakfast tomorrow at 9 a.m.
- Negative: She will not be eating breakfast.
- Question: Will she be eating breakfast?
* Present Perfect
- Normal:
- She has eaten breakfast recently
- Negative: She has not eaten breakfast.
- Question: Has she eaten breakfast?
Present Perfect Continuous
- Normal: She has been eating breakfast for 1 hour.
- Negative: She has not been eating breakfast.
- Question: Has she been eating breakfast?
Past Perfect
- Normal: She had eaten breakfast before she went to work.
- Negative: She had not eaten breakfast.
- Question: Had she eaten breakfast?
Past Perfect Continuous
- Normal: She had been eating breakfast ..,
- Negative: She had not been eating breakfast.
- Question: Had she been eating breakfast?
Future Perfect
- Normal: She will have eaten breakfast.
- Negative: She will not have eaten breakfast.
- Question: Will she have eaten breakfast?
Future Perfect Continuous
- Normal: She will have been eating breakfast.
- Negative: She will not have been eating breakfast.
- Question: Will she have been eating breakfast?
Zero Conditional
- Normal: If she eats breakfast, she feels better.
- Negative: If she does not eat breakfast, she does not feel better.
- Question: If she eats breakfast, does she feel better?
First Conditional
- Normal: If she eats breakfast, she will feel better.
- Negative: If she does not eat breakfast, she will not feel better.
- Question: If she eats breakfast, will she feel better?
Second Conditional
- Normal: If she ate breakfast, she would feel better.
- Negative: If she did not eat breakfast, she would not feel better.
- Question: If she ate breakfast, would she feel better?
Third Conditional
- Normal: If she had eaten breakfast, she would have felt better.
- Negative: If she had not eaten breakfast, she would not have felt better.
- Question: If she had eaten breakfast, would she have felt better?
- اخطاء أخرى
*A comprehensive list of common grammar mistakes with clear explanations and examples to help you avoid them*
1. The Big Three: There/Their/They're
These sound identical but have completely different meanings.
· There: Refers to a place. (Hint: The word here is inside there—both refer to a place).
· Incorrect: Their going to be over they're. ❌❌
· Correct: They're going to be over there.✅✅
· Their: Shows possession (something belongs to them).
· Incorrect: The students left there books in the classroom.❌❌
· Correct: The students left their books in the classroom.✅✅
· They're: A contraction of they are.
· Incorrect: There going to be late for there own party.❌
· Correct: They're going to be late for their own party.✅
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2. It's vs. Its
· It's: Only ever a contraction of it is or it has.
· Incorrect: The company changed it's policy.❌
· Correct: The company changed its policy✅. (The policy belongs to it, the company).
· Correct: It's been a long day. (It has been...)✅
· Its: A possessive pronoun, showing that something belongs to "it." No apostrophe is needed for possession here, just like with his, hers, yours, theirs.
Trick: If you can replace it's with it is or it has, you're using it correctly. If you're showing ownership, use its.
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3. Your vs. You're
Another classic homophone error.
· Your: A possessive pronoun, showing something belongs to you.
· Incorrect: Is this you're jacket?❌
· Correct: Is this your jacket?✅
· You're: A contraction of you are.
· Incorrect: Your going to love this movie.❌
· Correct: You're going to love this movie.✅
Trick: Try replacing you're with you are. If it fits, you've used it correctly.
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4. Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must agree in number (singular/plural) with its subject.
· Incorrect: The list of items are on the desk❌. (The subject is the singular "list," not "items.")
· Correct: The list of items is on the desk.✅
· Incorrect: She and her friend likes to travel❌. (The compound subject "She and her friend" is plural).
· Correct: She and her friend like to travel.✅
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5. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
A modifier (a word or phrase that describes something) should be placed next to the thing it modifies.
· Misplaced: I nearly ate the whole pizza. ❌
(This implies you almost ate it, but didn't).
· Correct: I ate nearly the whole pizza✅. (You did eat, and you ate almost all of it).
· Dangling:
Walking into the room, the light was bright. (Was the light walking? No.)
· Correct: Walking into the room, I noticed the light was bright. (The person who was walking is now the subject).
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6. Then vs. Than
· Then: Refers to time (next, at that time).
· We went to the store, and then we went home.
· Than: Used for comparisons.
· She is taller than I am.
· I would rather read than watch TV.
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7. Affect vs. Effect
This is tricky, but a good rule of thumb works 95% of the time.
· Affect: Usually a verb meaning "to influence."
· The bad weather will affect our travel plans.
· Effect: Usually a noun meaning "the result."
· The bad weather had a negative effect on our travel plans.
Trick: If you can put "the" in front of it, you probably need the noun effect (the effect). If you're describing the action of influencing, use the verb affect.
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8. Apostrophe Catastrophes
Apostrophes are for contractions and possession, not for making words plural.
· Possession Correct: The dog's bowl. (One dog). The dogs' bowl. (Multiple dogs).
· Plural Incorrect:
I bought two apple's.❌
· Plural Correct: I bought two apples.
· Incorrect (common on signs):
Fresh berry's for sale! Open on Sunday's.❌❌
· Correct: Fresh berries for sale! Open on Sundays.
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9. Could Of, Should Of, Would Of
This is always wrong. It's a mistake based on how we speak the correct form:
· Incorrect: I should of gone to the party.❌
· Correct: I should have gone to the party✅. (The contraction is should've, which sounds like "should of").
Always use could have, ✅should have, ✅would have.✅✅✅
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10. Me vs. I
Knowing when to use "me" or "I" is a common struggle.
· The rule: Remove the other person from the sentence to see which pronoun sounds right.
· Incorrect: She gave the tickets to my friend and I.❌❌
· Test: "She gave the tickets to I." Sounds wrong. So it should be...
· Correct: She gave the tickets to my friend and me.✅
· Incorrect: Me and John are going to the game.✅
· Test: "Me is going to the game." Sounds wrong. So it should be...
· Correct: John and I are going to the game.✅
Pro Tip: It's polite to put the other person first ("my friend and me," "John and I").
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Quick-Fire Round: Other Common Errors
· Loose vs. Lose:
· Loose (adj.): Not tight. (Your pants are loose).
· Lose (v.): To misplace or not win. (Don't lose your keys).
· Who's vs. Whose:
· Who's: Contraction of who is.
· Whose: Possessive pronoun (Whose book is this?).
· Fewer vs. Less:
· Fewer: For things you can count individually. (Fewer apples, fewer people).
· Less: For things you can't count (mass nouns). (Less water, less stress).
· Everyday vs. Every day:
· Everyday (adj.): Normal, commonplace. (These are my everyday shoes).
· Every day (adv.): Each day. (I go for a walk every day).
The best way to avoid these mistakes is to read often and practice writing. When in doubt, look it up!
Here’s a clear summary of the main prepositions of time in English:
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1. AT
Used for specific, precise times.
· Clock times: at 3:00, at noon, at midnight
· Specific points: at night, at sunrise, at the moment
· Fixed expressions: at Christmas (the holiday period), at the weekend (UK), at present
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2. ON
Used for days and dates.
· Days: on Monday, on weekends (US), on my birthday
· Dates: on June 5th, on New Year’s Day
· Specific day parts: on Monday morning, on that afternoon
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3. IN
Used for longer, less specific periods.
· Months/Seasons/Years: in January, in summer, in 2020
· Parts of the day (general): in the morning, in the afternoon (but at night)
· Duration: in five minutes, in a week (future reference)
· Centuries/Historical periods: in the 19th century, in the past
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4. NO PREPOSITION
Used with:
· Next/last + time: next week, last year
· This/that + time: this morning, that day
· Today, tomorrow, yesterday
· Every + time: every day, every month
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5. Other Common Prepositions of Time
FOR
· Duration of time: for two hours, for a year, for a long time
SINCE
· Starting point in time (used with perfect tenses): since Monday, since 2010, since last week
FROM… TO / UNTIL
· Start and end times: from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
DURING
· Throughout a period or within it: during the movie, during the holidays
BY
· Deadline or no later than: by tomorrow, by the end of the week
UNTIL / TILL
· Up to a point in time: wait until Friday, open till 8 p.m.
BEFORE / AFTER
· Earlier/later than a time: before noon, after work
WITHIN
· Inside a time limit: within a day, within two weeks
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Quick Comparison Table
Preposition Used for Example
at specific times (clock, night) at 7:30, at midnight
on days, dates on Tuesday, on July 4th
in months, years, seasons, general parts of day in April, in the evening
for duration for three days
since starting point (perfect tenses) since 2022
by deadline by tomorrow
during throughout a period during the lecture
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Common Mistakes to Avoid
· ❌ ~~I’ll see you on next Monday.~~ → ✅ I’ll see you next Monday. (no preposition)
· ❌ ~~She works at the morning.~~ → ✅ She works in the morning.
· ❌ ~~We met in 3 p.m.~~ → ✅ We met at 3 p.m.
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Tip: Think of AT as a point, ON as a surface (specific days), and IN as an enclosure (longer periods). Practice with real examples to build intuition!
