Grammar Guide

10 Common Grammar Mistakes Pakistani Students Make

Fix these errors to improve your writing score and professional communication

8 min read

As an English teacher and IELTS instructor in Pakistan for over 10 years, I've noticed the same grammar mistakes appearing repeatedly in student writing. Here are the 10 most common errors and how to fix them.

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1. Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

❌ Incorrect:
  • "He have many books."
  • "The students is waiting."
  • "Each of them are responsible."
✅ Correct:
  • "He has many books."
  • "The students are waiting."
  • "Each of them is responsible."
Rule: The verb must agree with the subject in number. Singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs.

2. Article Usage (a, an, the)

❌ Incorrect:
  • "I need a advice."
  • "He is a engineer."
  • "University is expensive."
✅ Correct:
  • "I need some advice."
  • "He is an engineer."
  • "The university is expensive."
Rules: Use "a" before consonant sounds, "an" before vowel sounds. Use "the" for specific nouns. Some nouns are uncountable (advice, information).

3. Preposition Errors

❌ Incorrect:
  • "I'm good in English."
  • "Depends of the situation."
  • "Married with someone."
✅ Correct:
  • "I'm good at English."
  • "Depends on the situation."
  • "Married to someone."
Tip: Prepositions often don't translate directly from Urdu. Learn common collocations and practice them.

Quick Reference: Mistakes 4-10

4. Tense Consistency

❌ "I went to school and eat lunch."

✅ "I went to school and ate lunch."

5. Countable vs Uncountable

❌ "I have many informations."

✅ "I have much information."

6. Word Order in Questions

❌ "Where you are going?"

✅ "Where are you going?"

7. Apostrophe Misuse

❌ "The student's are waiting."

✅ "The students are waiting."

8. Comma Splices

❌ "I studied hard, I passed the test."

✅ "I studied hard, so I passed the test."

9. Double Negatives

❌ "I don't know nothing."

✅ "I don't know anything."

10. Run-on Sentences

❌ Long, complex sentences without proper punctuation or conjunctions.

✅ Break into shorter, clearer sentences.

Practice Makes Perfect

The best way to avoid these mistakes is through consistent practice and feedback.

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