Most Common Mistakes in English – Part 1

One of the most difficult things about learning English, is there are so many words with double meanings, words that are spelt the same but pronounced differently, and even many words that are pronounced the same but written differently… And this is just the start.

There are also many words that are commonly confused in terms of grammar and usage. But don’t worry, because that’s why we’re here, and today I’m going to give you a shortlist of some of the most common mistakes in English. 

Let’s get into it. 

The first one is:

Live AND live 

What’s the difference? One is a verb and one is an adjective. 

Verb: To live [ˈlɪv]

I would like to live in New York someday.

(Me gustaría vivir en Nueva York algún día)

Adjective: Live [ˈlaɪv]

He’s never heard live music before. 

(Nunca antes había escuchado música en vivo)

Let’s take the next one:

Affect AND effect 

The first one is a verb: To affect [əˈfɛkt]

He was deeply affected by what you said. 

(Estaba profundamente afectado por lo que dijiste)

Whereas the second is a noun: An effect [ɪˈfɛkt] 

Your words had a positive effect on me. 

(Tus palabras tuvieron un efecto positivo en mí)

You can hear that these two words are very close in terms of pronunciation, and when speaking quickly, you’re probably not going to have any problems at all. You don’t need to think about it too much: they basically sound the same. 

But… if we slow it down, there is a slight difference. Here it is one more time. 

Affect… Effect… 

Less AND Fewer

Here you can follow a super simple rule. 

Less [ˈlɛs] = uncountable / nouns in singular form

The man has less time today. 

(El hombre tiene menos tiempo hoy)

Here we’re talking about time, and in English we think about time as being one thing- a singular noun.  

Fewer [ˈfjuːə^r] = countable / nouns in plural form

The woman has fewer friends than me. 

(La mujer tiene menos amigos que yo)

This time we’re talking about “friends” so we’re using “fewer.”

Another OR Other

I was asked about this one recently and found I really had to think hard to figure out the difference. Here’s what I concluded. 

Another [əˈnʌðə^r] = One more of, and belongs to singular nouns.

Can I get another drink? 

(¿Puedo tomar otro trago?, ¿Podrá traerme otro trago?, ¿Puedo pedirle otro trago?)

I have another brother who lives in New York. 

(Tengo otro hermano que vive en Nueva York)

Other [ˈʌðə^r] = A different one and belongs to both singular and plural nouns

I’ve just spoken with my other sister. 

(Acabo de hablar con mi otra hermana)

Can I try on the other shoes? 

(¿Puedo probarme los otros zapatos?)

Who AND That

This is another commonly confused one but possibly one of the easiest rules to follow. 

Who [ˈhuː] = people (think: who is…?)

I know a man who looks like you. 

(Conozco a un hombre que se parece a ti)

That [ðət] = objects (Think: that is…)

I have a computer that keeps turning itself off.  

(Tengo una computadora que sigue apángandose sola)

Finally, I want to give an example of two words that are spelt the same but pronounced differently. 

Read AND Read

Both of these words are verbs, well, the same verb in two tenses. 

Of course, we have: 

To read [ˈriːd] – infinitive

I’m going to read a book. 

(Voy a leer un libro)

AND

Read – past tense. 

Have you read your new book? 

(¿Has leído tu nuevo libro?)

Okay, that was it for today. 

Check back next week for more common mistakes, and if there are any words confusing you that you’d like to see in an article like this one, drop a comment below. We’d love to help. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download