3 most common grammar mistakes

The three main grammar mistakes made are sentence structure (fragments), punctuation (mainly comma) and the use of the wrong word.

Fragments are incomplete sentences. They are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. In order to correct the fragment, we need to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Punctuation may also be needed. Example of a fragment is “NUS offers many courses in engineering. Such as electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering.” It should be written as “NUS offers many majors in engineering, such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering.” Another example of a fragment is “Why the use of solar energy?” It should be written as “Why use solar energy?”

Commas should be used after introductory clauses, phrases or words that come before the main clause. Commas are used to separate independent clauses when they are joined by the coordinating junctions (FANBOYS). Examples of comma errors are “Consequently the economy would be stimulated and benefit from the increased industrial activity” and “The match was over but the crowd refused to leave.” The correct usage of the comma should be ““Consequently, the economy would be stimulated and benefit from the increased industrial activity” and “The match was over, but the crowd refused to leave.”

Finally it is the use of the wrong word. Therefore, the correct word should be used for the right occasion. One example of the use of the wrong word is “From the industry perspective, this will enable more trained personal in the area of green chemistry.” Instead of using the word personal, the word personnel should be used as personnel refers to a body of persons. Another example is “I found less coding errors this week than last week.” The word less should be replaced by fewer since coding errors can be counted.

I believe more practice is needed in order to minimise the various grammatical errors.