1 Subject–Verb Agreement
Subject–verb agreement is the single most common grammar error we see in the AI Grammar Checker. The rule itself is simple: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. The complexity comes from the exceptions, the intervening phrases, and the deceptive nouns that look plural but aren't.
In everyday Indian English, the most frequent slip is dropping the -s from a third-person singular verb in the present tense: "She go to the market" instead of "She goes to the market." This happens because Hindi and many other Indian languages don't add an ending to the verb for he/she/it — the verb stays the same for all persons. But English demands the extra -s for a very specific reason: without it, the reader cannot tell whether the subject is singular or plural, and the sentence loses its subject–verb signal.
The base rule with examples
She go to college every day.She goes to college every day.The team are winning the match.The team is winning the match. (American English — a team acts as one unit)One of my friend is moving to Canada.One of my friends is moving to Canada. ("one" is the subject → singular verb, but "friends" must be plural)When the subject is separated from the verb
The trickiest cases happen when a prepositional phrase sits between the subject and the verb. Readers (and writers) often match the verb to the nearest noun instead of the actual subject.
- "The list of items is on the desk." — The subject is "list" (singular), not "items."
- "A box of chocolates was delivered yesterday." — Subject: "box."
- "Each of the students has a book." — "Each" is always singular.
Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns like everyone, everybody, someone, anybody, nobody, each, neither, either are grammatically singular, even when they refer to multiple people. This trips up almost every learner at some point.
Everybody know that the earth is round.Everybody knows that the earth is round.Neither of the options look appealing.Neither of the options looks appealing.2 The Twelve Tenses (and When to Use Them)
English has twelve tenses, not three. Yes, really. The confusion isn't with the concept — Hindi, Marathi, and most Indian languages express past, present, and future with layers of aspect too — the confusion is with the labels and the exact situations where each one fits. This section walks through all twelve with plain-English explanations and examples.
Present tenses
Present Simple — facts, habits, routines. "I drink tea every morning."
Present Continuous — something happening right now, or an ongoing temporary situation. "She is studying for her exam." Learners often overuse this where simple present is correct: "I am understanding what you mean" should be "I understand what you mean" because understanding is a state, not an action in progress.
Present Perfect — an action completed in the past with relevance to now. "I have finished my homework." Not to be confused with past simple. If you say "I finished my homework," you're just stating a fact about the past. If you say "I have finished my homework," you're implying "so I'm free now."
Present Perfect Continuous — an action that started in the past and is still ongoing. "I have been waiting for you since morning." This is the correct form for the classic Indian-English error "I am waiting for you since morning." The word since almost always demands present perfect continuous, not present continuous.
Past tenses
Past Simple — a finished action at a known past time. "Yesterday, I saw him at the store." Note that "Yesterday, I seen him" is wrong twice over — seen is a past participle and needs have before it.
Past Continuous — an ongoing action in the past, often interrupted. "We were walking down the street when it started raining." The classic error "We was walking" comes from treating we as singular. Always plural: we were, you were, they were.
Past Perfect — an action completed before another past action. "By the time he arrived, I had eaten my lunch." The word had is essential — without it, both actions sound simultaneous. Learners often use simple past here: "I ate my lunch before he arrived" is technically acceptable but loses the time-depth that past perfect provides.
Past Perfect Continuous — an action that had been ongoing up to a past moment. "She had been working there for five years before she resigned."
Future tenses
Future Simple — a plan, prediction, or spontaneous decision. "I will call you tomorrow." Note that the correct form is "I will graduate next year," not "I will have graduate from college." The -ed ending never attaches to a modal verb.
Future Continuous — an action that will be in progress at a future time. "This time next week, I will be flying to Delhi."
Future Perfect — an action that will be completed before a future moment. "By next year, I will have graduated from college." This is the correct form for the sentence most learners get wrong: will have + past participle, not will have + base verb.
Future Perfect Continuous — an action that will have been ongoing up to a future point. "By December, I will have been working here for three years."
3 Articles: A, An, The
Articles are the smallest words in English and the biggest source of frustration for learners whose native language doesn't have them. Hindi, for example, uses ek for "one/a" and doesn't require any article at all in most sentences. English, unfortunately, insists on them.
When to use "a"
Use a before a singular countable noun that begins with a consonant sound and is being mentioned for the first time or is one of many.
- "I saw a dog in the park." (any dog, one of many)
- "She is a doctor." (one of many doctors)
- "Can I have a cup of tea?" (any cup, not a specific one)
When to use "an"
Use an before a singular countable noun that begins with a vowel sound — not necessarily a vowel letter.
- "She is an engineer."
- "He waited for an hour." (the h in "hour" is silent)
- "That's an honest mistake." (the h in "honest" is silent)
He is a honest man.He is an honest man.I need an advice.I need some advice. (advice is uncountable)When to use "the"
Use the when the noun is specific, already known to the reader, or unique. This is the article learners miss most often — and its absence is what makes Indian English sound "off" to native ears.
- Specific: "Please close the door." (the one we both see)
- Already mentioned: "I bought a book. The book was expensive."
- Unique: "The sun rises in the east." (there's only one sun)
- Superlatives: "He is the tallest in the class."
I am going to market.I am going to the market.The Paris is a beautiful city.Paris is a beautiful city. (no article before most city names)4 Prepositions: The Small Words That Change Everything
English prepositions are notorious. There's no logical system — "in the morning" but "at night," "on the bus" but "in a car," "good at English" but "interested in maths." The only way to master them is exposure and repetition. This guide covers the ones that cause the most errors in Indian English.
In, on, at (place)
Use in for enclosed spaces (in the room, in Delhi), on for surfaces (on the table, on the wall), and at for specific points (at the bus stop, at the door).
The book is in the table.The book is on the table.In, on, at (time)
Use in for months, years, seasons (in May, in 2025, in winter), on for days and dates (on Monday, on 5th June), and at for specific clock times (at 4 PM, at noon).
Let's meet on next Monday.Let's meet next Monday. (no preposition before "next")Common preposition traps
- "Good at English" — never "good in English."
- "Married to" — never "married with."
- "Discuss the topic" — no preposition. Never "discuss about."
- "Reach the office" — no preposition. Never "reach to."
- "Similar to" — never "similar with."
- "Suffer from" — never "suffer with."
- "Listen to music" — never "listen music."
- "Afraid of" — never "afraid from."
5 Active vs. Passive Voice
Every English sentence has a voice. In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action. The AI Grammar Checker flags passive voice not because it's wrong, but because writers overuse it — and passive voice is almost always weaker, vaguer, and less direct.
The formula
Active: Subject + verb + object → "The chef cooked the meal."
Passive: Object + be + past participle + (by subject) → "The meal was cooked
by the chef."
Mistakes were made by the team. (passive — hides who did what)The team made mistakes. (active — clear and direct)When passive is actually the right choice
- When the doer is unknown or unimportant: "The window was broken last night."
- In scientific writing where the process matters more than the person: "The solution was heated to 80°C."
- In formal announcements: "The results will be published tomorrow."
- To emphasise the receiver of the action: "The President was awarded the prize."
Why this matters for IELTS and job applications
IELTS Writing Task 2 examiners reward active voice in argumentative essays. Passive voice dilutes your opinion, weakens your claims, and adds unnecessary word count — all three of which lower your band score. In cover letters and resumes, "I led a team of eight" beats "A team of eight was led by me" every time.
6 Punctuation Rules That Change Meaning
Punctuation isn't decoration — it's grammar. The comma placement in "Let's eat, grandma" vs. "Let's eat grandma" completely changes the meaning. Here are the rules that matter most, and the errors our AI catches most often.
The period (full stop)
Ends a declarative sentence. In British and American English, a period goes inside quotation marks when quoting speech: He said, "I will come." Also, use periods in abbreviations that end a sentence (etc., i.e.) but never double them: not "He left.."
The comma
- Separating items in a list: "I bought apples, oranges, and grapes."
- After introductory phrases: "After the meeting, we went home."
- Before coordinating conjunctions joining independent clauses: "I wanted to go, but I was tired."
- Around non-essential info: "My brother, who lives in Delhi, is visiting." (extra info)
Never join two independent clauses with only a comma. That's a "comma splice" — a serious error the AI Grammar Checker will flag: "I finished work, I went home" should be "I finished work, and I went home" or "I finished work. I went home."
The semicolon
Joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction. "I have a big test tomorrow; I can't go out tonight." Use it sparingly — it's a sign of sophisticated writing.
The colon
Introduces a list, a quotation, or an explanation. "She had one goal: to win." Never use a colon after a verb or preposition unless the list follows directly.
The apostrophe
Marks possession (Rahul's book) or contraction (don't, it's). The single most common error is confusing its (possessive) with it's (it is). "Its raining" is wrong — always "It's raining." The second-most common is writing "1980's" instead of "1980s" for decades.
Quotation marks
Use double quotation marks for direct speech in American English, single for British. Punctuation goes inside in both. For quotes within quotes, alternate: "She said, 'I'll be there.'"