13 Grammar Mistakes Malaysians Should NOT Make

Like many other languages in the world, Grammar constitutes a large part of English and if you fail Grammar, you fail English. Nevertheless, Grammar is a very complex and convoluted section that many have problems coping with. 

Grammar is taught directly to students in very distinctive parts. For example, tenses, pronouns, verbs, adjectives etc. Some students are able to connect the topics and create an English network in their brain thus they are capable of using them the right way. But those who cannot see the link between these separate aspects may fail to master English. These are the basic common errors that my students and people around me often make. 

1. THEN / THAN

Then is used to say 'after that', meaning a subsequent action taken after a first is done. For example:

I am going to eat now. Then I will take a shower. 

Than is used for comparisons. It is used after a comparative adjective. For example:

Marie is taller than her sister. 

2. MANY / MUCH

Many is used for countable nouns whereas much refers to uncountable nouns. For example:

I have many friends. (because we can count our friends)

I love my mother very much. (because we cannot count love)

3. THOUGHT / TAUGHT

Thought is something you have in mind while taught is the past tense for teach. Examples:

I thought you weren't coming. 

Mrs. Tan taught me Grammar in school today. 

4. LOSE / LOOSE

Lose is the opposite (antonym) of win. You'd say 'I am not going to lose'. However, loose implies the opposite of tight. For example, 'The pants is too loose for me'. 

5. AFFECT / EFFECT

Affect is a verb while effect is a noun. You use affect when somebody or something influences another. For example:

The weather affects my mood today. 

Effect, on the other hand, is the consequences of somebody's action or an occurrence. Using the above example:

The effect of a bad weather is a bad mood. 

6. PRACTISE / PRACTICE & ADVISE / ADVICE

When do you use 'S' or 'C'?

NOUN: practice, advice

VERB: practise, advise

Examples:

I am going to practise my piano later. 

I have piano practice later.

My sister advises me not to skip class. 

My sister gave me a good advice. 

7. TO / WILL / SHALL / SHOULD / WOULD / CAN / COULD / MAY / MIGHT

Always use the ORIGINAL form of word after the above words. You can't say 'I am going to ate my lunch' or 'I should bought the computer'. 

Example of original form of a word: BREAK and NOT breaks, breaking or broke

8. I / ME

'I' should be used as the subject of a sentence while 'me' is an object in a sentence. Usually, the subject is used in front of a sentence or phrase (the person performing the action) while object is used at the back of a sentence or phrase (an action is done towards the person). For example,

I am going to work. (The person I is doing the action of going to work)

My boss will bring me for lunch today. (Bring is the action done towards me)

9. YOUR / YOU'RE

I was wondering if I should highlight this but this seems to be a pretty serious mistake done by most people, especially those who love using short forms on the internet or via text messages. 

As obvious as it is, 'your' is a pronoun that carries a meaning of possession while 'you're' is the short for 'you are'. 

10. THEY'RE / THEIR / THERE

This is very severe mistake done by my students who are still unable to differentiate the three even after years of learning English. 

They're  refers to "They are" which could be followed by a verb, noun or adjective. For example:

VERB: They're eating. 

NOUN: They're students. 

ADJECTIVE: They're tall. 

Their is a pronoun used to refer possession to a group of people. For example: 

The girls love their mothers. 'Their' here refers to the girls. 

There is an adverb to point to a specific place or to generalize something within a bounded area. For example:

There is a kitten in the box. A specific place - box

There are many place in the supermarket. A bounded area - supermarket

11. ITS / IT'S

The usage of its and it's tells me how vast the difference an apostrophe makes. 

Its is a pronoun used to refer possession to an animal, baby of unknown gender or a non-living thing. For example, 

The cat is licking its tail. 'Its' here refers to the cat.

It's simply means it is. 

12. ONE OF THE 

When you intend to say "one of the", the noun that follows must be plural. For example:

One of the boys in my class, One of the children here, etc. 

13. PROBABLY / PROPERLY

I've seen people using probably as properly and vice versa. 

Probably = maybe, perhaps
Properly = doing it the right or correct way

There are many more but these are the very basic ones. 

Thank you for reading!