Common Mistakes to Avoid
Learn to correctly identify common mistakes in your writing and remove them.
Common mistakes to avoid
There are certain grammatical rules in the English language that are commonly overlooked. These are small mistakes that can be easily avoided if you know what to avoid. This lesson will take a closer look at these common mistakes.
A, An, and The
“A,” “An,” and “The” all classify as articles in the English language. There are two types of articles:
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Definite articles
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Indefinite articles
Articles define a noun as specific or unspecific.
Definite articles
In English, The is known as a definite article.
The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns.
- Example → “Let’s have a look at the following code example.”
Here, the is highlighting a specific code example.
- Example → “I was happy to see the policeman who saved my dog.”
Here, we are talking about a particular policeman who saved the dog.
Indefinite articles
In English, A/An are known as indefinite articles.
A/An indicate that the noun modified is indefinite and can refer to any member of the group. For example,
- Example → “Somebody call a policeman!”
This refers to any policeman. We don’t need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
- Example → “When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!”
Here, we’re talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there’s only one we’re talking about here.
Indefinite pronouns
In English, indefinite pronouns are words ...