The Grammar Police Won’t Arrest You, But Here’s How to Avoid Silly Mistakes

You won’t see grammar cops patrolling the streets, but in the world of English testing:

🚨 Small errors = big score drops (even if your meaning is clear)
🚨 Examiners have pet peeves (and they notice them instantly)
🚨 Some mistakes make you sound less fluent than you actually are

The good news? Most common errors are surprisingly easy to fix once you know what to look for.

The 5 Most Common Grammar Crimes (And How to Fix Them)

1. The "Am/Is/Are" Overkill
❌ "I am agree with the statement."
✅ "I agree with the statement."
💡 Remember: Some verbs don’t need helpers!

2. The Article Assassin
❌ "I want to visit Canada and see Niagara Falls."
✅ "I want to visit Canada and see the Niagara Falls."
💡 Specific landmarks usually need "the"!

3. The Preposition Bandit
❌ "I’m interested on studying abroad."
✅ "I’m interested in studying abroad."
💡 Prepositions are tricky – memorize common combos!

4. The Tense Thief
❌ "Yesterday I go to the store."
✅ "Yesterday I went to the store."
💡 Time words = time travel for verbs!

5. The Countable Culprit
❌ "I need some informations about the test."
✅ "I need some information about the test."
💡 Some nouns are forever singular!

The Grammar Survival Kit

1. Keep a "Most Wanted" list of your personal frequent errors
2. Read your writing backward to spot mistakes more easily
3. Learn common collocations (words that naturally go together)

Pro Tip: If you’re unsure whether a noun is countable, try putting a number before it.
"3 informations" → Sounds wrong? It’s uncountable!

Vocabulary Builder (B1/B2 Level)

1. Pet peeve (n.) – Something that annoys someone particularly
   Example: "Examiners’ pet peeves include article mistakes."
2. Sabotage (v.) – To deliberately ruin something
   Example: "Small errors can sabotage your test score."
3. Collocation (n.) – Words that frequently appear together
   Example: "‘Make a decision’ is a common collocation."
4. Uncountable (adj.) – Cannot be counted as separate items
   Example: "‘Information’ is an uncountable noun."
5. Fluency (n.) – Ability to speak smoothly and easily
   Example: "Good grammar improves perceived fluency."

Activity: Choose 3 vocabulary words and use them to write one grammar tip.