Here's a list of the most 25 common mistakes in the English language. This PDF will be most useful printed out; I've added an infographic to our site so you can print it as a large poster (perfect for the office or classroom). www.bookbutchers.com

1. A blank canvas
an author’s

2. How to use
Self-edit
Before you publish, make sure you aren’t making
these common mistakes.
Keep track
Notice the mistakes you make; soon you’ll be
able to avoid them easily.
Get better
Once you master these common mistakes, you
can start writing better without worrying about
making little mistakes.
THIS GUIDE

3. THE USE OF
”whom” and “who”
★ Who = subjective pronoun, like “he,” “she,” “it” – acts as a subject.
★ Whom = objective pronoun, like “him,” “her” “us”
1

4. THE USE OF
“lay” and “lie”
★ Lay – transitive verb; needs a direct subject and an object.
★ Lie – intransitive verb and needs no object.
2

5. CONTINUAL
& “Continuous”
★ Continual = something is constantly occurring, but with lapses in occurrences.
★ Continuous = something that continues without any stops or gaps.
3

6. THE USE OF
“whether” and “if”
★ Whether = conditional; used when there are two or more alternatives
★ If = no alternatives
4

7. THE USE OF
“farther” and “further”
★ Farther = used for physical distance.
★ Further = used for abstract lengths.
5

8. THE USE OF
★ Disinterested = someone who is impartial. No bias.
★ Uninterested = someone who really just couldn’t care less.
6
“disinterested” and “uninterested”

9. THE USE OF
“since” and “because”
★ Since = time-related..
★ Because = cause related..
7

10. THE USE OF
“bring” and “take”
★ Bring = moving an object towards something.
★ Take = moving an object away from something..
8

11. THE USE OF
“affect” and “effect”
★ Affect = almost always a verb; means to influence..
★ Effect = usually describes the result or an outcome. In some cases, is used
as a transitive verb..
9

12. THE USE OF
“i.e.” and “e.g.”
★ I.e. = you are describing the essence of something..
★ E.g. = basically used for listing down or enumerating examples..
10

13. THE USE OF
“which” and “who”
★ Which = refers to object/non-humans..
★ Who = refers to humans..
11

14. THE USE OF
“your” and “you’re”
★ Your = Possessive. Your dog, your bag, your car.
★ You’re = You + are. Describes a state of being. You’re a doctor. You’re a
teacher. You’re a child.
12

15. THE USE OF
”they’re” “there” “their”
★ They’re = they + are. Describes a state of being. They’re cooking.
★ There = location of something., I live there. I eat there. You work there.
★ Their = possessive. Their dog. Their house. Their apples..
13

16. THE USE OF
“it’s” and “its”
★ It’s – It + is. Describes a state of being. It’s a boy. It’s running.
★ Its – Possessive. Its tail, its eyes, its whiskers.
14

17. THE USE OF
“me” & “I”
★ I = Subject. Like he, she and it.
★ Me = Objective pronoun, similar to him, her, them.
15

18. THE USE OF
“peek” , “peak” , “pique”
★ Peek = you take a quick look at something.
★ Peak = the highest point of something, the peak of a mountain.
★ Pique = to provoke something.
16

19. THE USE OF
“complement” & “compliment”
★ Complement = something that completes or enhances something else.
★ Compliment = an expression of admiration for something or someone.
17

20. THE USE OF
★ Between = used when something is in the middle of two things.
★ Among = being located within a group of things.
18
“between” and “among”

21. THE USE OF
“then” and “than”
★ Then = used when you are situating events in time..
★ Than = used for comparisons.
19

22. THE USE OF
“could of” | “would of” | “should of”
★ All of them are wrong. Correct = could have, would have, should have.
★ Further = used for abstract lengths.
20

23. THE USE OF
“two” | “to ”| “too”
★ Two = Two dogs. Two cows. Two hands.
★ Too = As well.
★ To = Used for infinitive forms of verbs. To eat, to sleep, to breathe.
21

24. THE USE OF
“irregardless” and “unthaw”
★ These words do not exist.
They do not need prefixes to express what they are defining.
22

25. THE USE OF
“a lot” ≠ “alot” | “allot”
★ Allot = means to assign.
★ A lot = means there are many.
★ Alot = is not a word..
23

26. THE USE OF
“loose” and “lose”
★ Loose = something is not tight.
★ Lose = means to misplace something.
24

27. THE USE OF
subject-verb agreement
★ “The use of pencils is required for the exam.”
★ “The problems of that boy are pressing.”
25

28. T H A N K S
B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y
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