 Let’s be honest—most English learners don’t love grammar. Some find it boring, some find it confusing, and many just…plainly hate it. But if we’re really being honest, the biggest reason English learners often have bad grammar is because they don’t think it really matters. Or they don’t realize how much it matters.
“People still understand me, right?” This seems to be the most common reasoning. Yes, sometimes they do. But not always. Grammar isn’t just about sounding “proper” or impressing your English teacher—it’s about clear communication. A small grammar mistake can change the whole meaning of what you’re trying to say. For example:
People might understand what you mean, but they also might pause and try to guess. That pause can cause confusion—or worse, miscommunication. It’s not just about meaning—it’s also about credibility This is especially true in professional and academic settings. Whether you’re writing an email to a client, delivering a presentation, or speaking at a job interview, grammar mistakes can make you sound less competent, even if you know your stuff. Think about it: if a manager receives two job applications—one with clean, correct grammar and another with frequent mistakes—which one do you think they’ll trust more? The first step: actually caring about grammar Here’s the thing—if you don’t care about your grammar, you won’t improve. Period. You don’t need to love grammar, but you do need to understand that it’s a powerful tool, and one that's a great advantage to have. It helps you express your ideas clearly, connect with people more easily, and sound more professional and confident. Once you understand this, grammar stops being such a drag and becomes part of how you grow as an English speaker. The second step: practice with purpose Studying grammar randomly won’t help much. You need to be intentional. That means:
If you’ve been ignoring grammar, it’s time to change your mindset. Grammar isn’t just a school subject—it’s a life skill. Whether you’re trying to pass the IELTS, get better job opportunities, or just sound more natural in English conversations, grammar matters. All that said, nobody speaks with perfect grammar all the time, not even native speakers! The goal isn’t to become a member of the grammar police. It’s to be clear and credible. So start caring, be intentional, learn from mistakes, and take your English to the next level—one sentence at a time.
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Prepositions can be tricky, especially when certain verbs must be followed by a specific one to sound natural. One common preposition that follows many verbs is "with." In this guide, we’ll explore a list of verbs that are commonly followed by "with" and provide examples to help you use them correctly. We will do this by looking at example sentences that show common mistakes and the correct versions.
1. Agree/Disagree with ❌ I agree his opinion. ✅ I agree with his opinion. ❌ I disagree you on that point. ✅ I disagree with you on that point. 2. Associate with / associate something with ❌ He often associates successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders. ✅ He often associates with successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders. ❌ Many people associate success money. ✅ Many people associate success with money. 3. Argue with ❌ She argued her brother about the TV show. ✅ She argued with her brother about the TV show. 4. Compare with ❌ If you compare this product another brand, you’ll see the difference. ✅ If you compare this product with another brand, you’ll see the difference. 5. Sympathize with ❌ As a former business owner, I can sympathize her situation. ✅ As a former business owner, I can sympathize with her situation. 6. Collide with ❌ The car collided a truck. ✅ The car collided with a truck. 7. Cooperate with ❌ The team cooperated other departments to finish the project. ✅ The team cooperated with other departments to finish the project. 8. Deal with ❌ He knows how to deal this kind of issue. ✅ He knows how to deal with this kind of issue. 9. Interfere with ❌ Don't interfere my work! ✅ Don't interfere with my work! 10. Communicate with ❌ He made sure to communicate regularly even former clients. ✅ He made sure to communicate regularly even with former clients. 11. Provide (somebody) with (something) ❌ The teacher provided the students necessary materials. ✅ The teacher provided the students with necessary materials. 12. Charge with (used in legal contexts) ❌ He was charged robbery. ✅ He was charged with robbery. As you’ve seen, many common verbs naturally pair with "with," and using the wrong preposition can lead to confusing or awkward sentences. The best way to get comfortable with these patterns is through practice—try using them in your daily conversations or writing. Indefinite pronouns are words that refer to nonspecific people or things. Some indefinite pronouns are singular, some are plural, and some can be both, depending on the context. The verb must agree in number with the indefinite pronoun. Indefinite Pronouns and Verb Agreement 1. Singular indefinite pronouns always take a singular verb.
2. Plural indefinite pronouns always take a plural verb
3. Indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural:
Common Learner Errors:
Here's a quick summary:  Practice Exercises: A. Choose the correct verb: 1. Each of the students (is/are) responsible for their own work. 2. Both of the dogs (barks/bark) loudly. 3. Some of the dye (is/are) leaking from the bottle. 4. Nobody (was/were) at the door. 5. Most of the participants (has/have) given their feedback . B. Correct the errors in the following sentences: 1. Everybody are welcome to submit an essay. 2. None of the participants is ready. 3. Many of the pots is broken. 4. Any leftover food are discarded. 5. Some of the butter are melting. Answers:
A. Choose the correct verb: 1. Each of the students is responsible for their own work. 2. Both of the dogs bark loudly. 3. Some of the dye is leaking from the bottle. 4. Nobody was at the door. 5. Most of the participants have given their feedback . B. Correct the errors in the following sentences: 1. Everybody [is] welcome to submit an essay. 2. None of the participants [are] ready. 3. Many of the pots [are] broken. 4. Any leftover food [is] discarded. 5. Some of the butter [is] melting.  In the sentence "He expects to promote next year," the error is in the verb "promote." The intended meaning is that he expects to be promoted (to receive a promotion), but "promote" here is incorrectly used as an active verb, which implies that he would be promoting someone else. However, he is the one who is expected to receive the promotion, so the passive form "to be promoted" should be used:
Many English learners confuse verbs that imply receiving an action (passive meaning) with those that imply doing an action (active meaning). This often occurs with verbs that describe actions being done to a person, such as "promote," "appoint," "select," or "invite." These verbs typically require the passive voice when the subject is receiving the action or when an action that is done to the subject rather than by the subject. How to Make the Passive Voice The passive voice is commonly structured as follows:
Then what is "to be" + past participle? This is called the passive infinitive, and it is commonly used to express expectations, desires, and obligations.
More Examples of This Common Error with Passive Verbs: 1. Incorrect: She hopes to appoint as team leader.
2. Incorrect: They want to select for the project.
3. Incorrect: I invited to the ceremony last year.
4. Incorrect: He hopes to recognize for his achievements.
5. Incorrect: Edith assigned to a new role.
6. Incorrect: The report needs to finish by Friday.
In each corrected sentence, the passive form is used to show that the subject is receiving the action, not performing it. Using the passive form makes the sentences both grammatically correct and clearer in meaning. Grammar Exercise. Correct the errors in the following sentences. 1. The author wants to remember as sharp and quick-witted. 2. The recommendations need to submit next month. 3. The sculpture stolen by an unknown guest last night. 4. Those trees brought down by the strong hurricane a few weeks ago. 5. Amy expects to praise for doing a great job. _________________ Answers (jumbled) 3. The sculpture was stolen by an unknown guest last night. 5. Amy expects to be praised for doing a great job. 2. The recommendations need to be submitted next month. 4. Those trees were brought down by the strong hurricane a few weeks ago. 1. The author wants to be remembered as sharp and quick-witted. Question: What is the error in the sentence, "This flash drive is contain the files you need"? The error in "This flash drive is contain the files you need" is the incorrect addition of an extra "be" verb, specifically "is," which is unnecessary and grammatically incorrect in this sentence structure. Many English learners mistakenly add an extra "be" verb (like "is") when forming sentences, especially when using verbs like "contain," "consist," "include," and "belong," which are commonly misinterpreted as needing auxiliary verbs. In English, verbs stand alone in the simple present tense without needing an auxiliary verb as long as the sentence is not negative and is not a question. The verb "contain" is one of these verbs. When we say "This flash drive contains the files you need," the verb "contains" is in the simple present form, which already expresses the intended meaning without needing an extra "be" verb. Adding "is" in front of "contain" mistakenly forms a structure that would typically only be correct in the present continuous tense (e.g., "is containing"), but "contain" is rarely used in the continuous form, as it describes a state rather than an ongoing action. The correct sentence then is:
Common Verbs That Often Lead to This Error Here are a few more examples of state or stative verbs that learners sometimes incorrectly pair with "be":
✅"This book belongs to me."
✅ "The team consists of experts."
✅ "The report includes the findings."
✅ "She owns a car."
✅ "He has two dogs." The main takeaway for English learners is to avoid adding an extra "be" verb with verbs that already describe a complete state or condition in the simple present form. Exercise -- Find and correct the error in the following sentences: 1. Don is prefer the blue shelves to the black ones. 2. This tool is measure the humidity inside this room. 3. They are recognize the seriousness of this situation. 4. My dog is always know the sound of my voice. 5. I am remember the names of everyone in my class. ____________________________________ Answers (jumbled): 3. They recognize the seriousness of this situation. 1. Don prefers the blue shelves to the black ones. 4. My dog always knows the sound of my voice. 2. This tool measures the humidity inside this room. 5. I remember the names of everyone in my class. Characteristic of the English language, we have certain expressions that are paired only with specific words or structures. Below is the list of special expressions that are used with verb-ing or gerunds. Gerunds are verbs ending in -ing, such as running, skydiving, and cycling, that function as nouns. For example, in the sentence "Skydiving is a very expensive hobby", the word skydiving is a noun, not a verb, that refers to an activity and is used as a subject.
1. 'have' expressions a. have trouble + verb-ing - I had trouble getting the car to the garage. b. have difficulty/have a difficult time + verb-ing - The students have difficulty understanding your instructions. c. have a problem + verb-ing - She said she was having problems finishing her manuscript. d. have a hard time + verb-ing - I told the boss I had a hard time marketing the product to new customers. e. have fun + verb-ing - Did you have fun taking pictures at the theme park? f. have a good time + verb-ing - I hope the children are having a good time visiting their cousins. 2. spend (one's) time + verb-ing expressions Examples: He spent the summer catching catfish near the lake. Did you spend the whole morning playing video games? I spent time at the park just watching the cherry blossoms shed their petals. 3. waste (one's) time + verb-ing expressions The professor told us not to waste our time reading this paper. Annie wasted no time in preparing for the long trip. They say the boss often wastes thirty minutes lecturing the group at the start of every meeting. 4. stand, sit or lie + expression of place + verb-ing I must have stood there looking silly in my costume. We would sit on that hillside painting quietly for hours every day. He lay low on the grass hoping he wouldn't be seen. 5. find or catch + noun/pronoun + verb-ing They caught him trying to sneak out company property. The found the children frolicking dangerously close to the swollen river. I came by this sentence today while doing an edit:
You see, the expression [to have difficulty] is one among a special group of expressions that are followed by a verb-ing or a gerund. A gerund is a noun formed from an -ing verb which usually refers to an activity (ex. swimming, hiking), process (ex. aging, weathering) , or state (believing, loving). We then have the structure:
Here are examples:
Note though, that we can also use the preposition "in" when using this expression, as in:
 Applying this rule about using gerunds with 'have difficulty', we can then go back to our sentence earlier:
If you are interested in this special group of expressions used with gerunds, find more examples in the following blog post: Feel free to practice writing your own sentences with the expression [have difficulty + verb-ing in the comments below! Do you sometimes have trouble with uncountable nouns? Watch our short video below or read through this lesson to learn about uncountable nouns and how to minimize your mistakes when using uncountable nouns. So what are uncountable nouns anyway? The Macmillan Dictionary defines it as:
The Cambridge Dictionary says that an uncountable noun is:
In other words, uncountable nouns refer to abstract things and substances that we cannot count because they don't have separate elements. The thing is, it may be easier for an English learner to imagine abstract things as uncountable nouns but there are tricky nouns as well in English that refer to concrete things but are still uncountable, like for example, the noun 'garbage'. You will encounter some nouns like this in our list. The two definitions of uncountable nouns mentioned above give us an idea of what we need to remember with regard to uncountable nouns, also called non-count nouns or mass nouns. Let us review these points below:
10 Commonly Confused Uncountable Nouns Let's us now look at our list of ten commonly confused uncountable nouns. Please note that these ten words are just a few of the many uncountable nouns that cause errors among English learners. For this reason, it is likely that there will be a follow up of this video presenting another list of problematic uncountable nouns. 1. information - Even when you are talking about boxes and boxes of files and data, we should still say "information" and not "informations." Examples:
2. equipment / machinery - Somebody who has a roomful of tools, or even a yardful of tools, has plenty of equipment or machinery, not "equipments" or "machineries". Examples:
3. research - Journals, books, all sorts of academic papers, interviews, experiments -- all of these can be classified as research, but not "researches." Examples:
 4. trash/garbage/rubbish - We unfortunately generate too much trash that one day, the earth may drown in trash, but when that happens, we would still not refer to it as "trashes", just trash. In American English, 'garbage' and 'trash' are usually used while in British English, 'rubbish' is the more common word to refer to things that are thrown away. Examples:
5. evidence - The Oxford English Dictionary notes that "In general English, evidence is always uncountable. However, in academic English, the plural evidences is sometimes used such as in the sentence, 'The cave contained evidences of prehistoric settlement.'" Since we are mostly talking about everyday English, then we would use evidence as uncountable 99% of the time. We would, for example, say pieces of evidence, a lot of evidence, or little evidence. We would never say two evidences or many evidences. Examples:
6. advice - There is bad advice, terrible advice, as well as prudent advice that we don't want to listen to because we just want to do something our own way. There are people who give unsolicited advice and there are likely more who don't want to be on the receiving end of it. Whichever kind of advice you are getting, remember never to say "advices". Examples:
7. stuff - What kind of stuff do you collect? Clothes? Vintage toys? Handbags? Art? Memories? There are many things that fall under the definition of stuff, which is a word we use to refer to things, abstract or concrete, without mentioning the thing itself. No matter how much stuff you have, we will always use the singular form "stuff" and not "stuffs". Examples:
8. furniture - You'd think that furniture is a countable noun given that we can count individual pieces of chairs, tables, beds and couches, right? Unfortunately, that's not the case. Think of furniture as a word that collectively refers to all the furnishings in a house and thereby, we cannot say one furniture or even ten "furnitures". Examples:
 9. luggage - Do you travel light or do you usually bring the kitchen sink? However way you like to travel, everything you bring with you will simply be called luggage, never "luggages". Examples:
10. jewelry - Just like 'furniture', jewelry seems to refer to individual pieces but whether you are talking about just one ring or a chest full of treasures, both will be referred to simply as jewelry and not "jewelries". By the way, jewelry is the American spelling while the British spell it as 'jewellery'. Examples:
Please feel free to leave a comment if you have questions and share this lesson if you found it useful. Image credits: trash - photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com luggage - Photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com |
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