IELTS students lose marks for the same grammar mistakes over and over. In this article, we show you the 3 most common errors—and how to fix them.
Mistake #1: Subject-Verb Agreement
❌ Incorrect:"The number of students who studies English are increasing."
✓ Correct: "The number of students who study English is increasing."
Why it happens: We look at the nearest noun ("students"), but the subject is actually "the number" (singular).
Rule: The subject is usually the noun closest to the verb, right? No! The subject is the main noun phrase, not the one in the middle.
Examples:
- "The group of people is large." (group = subject)
- "The series of events has changed." (series = subject)
- "The majority of students get Band 6." (majority = subject)
Practice: Identify the main noun (subject). Ignore words in the middle. Match the verb to that noun only.
Mistake #2: Adding Extra Subjects
❌ Incorrect: "My sister, she lives in Canada."
✓ Correct: "My sister lives in Canada."
Or with a relative clause:
❌ Incorrect: "The students who want to study, they need to prepare."
✓ Correct: "The students who want to study need to prepare."
Why it happens: In some languages, repeating the subject is normal. In English, it's redundant and incorrect.
Rule: Don't repeat the subject. One subject per verb.
Mistake #3: Wrong Word Order (Inversion)
❌ Incorrect: "I have never seen such difficulty a test."
✓ Correct: "I have never seen such a difficult test."
Another example:
❌ Incorrect: "Under no circumstances I will accept this."
✓ Correct: "Under no circumstances will I accept this." (or avoid inversion: "I will not accept this.")
Why it happens: You're trying to sound formal but getting the word order wrong. Inversion is tricky!
Safe rule: Unless you're sure about inversion, keep the normal word order: Subject + Verb + Object.
How to Avoid These Mistakes
- Read your writing aloud. Your ear will catch many grammar mistakes.
- Find the main subject first. Ignore prepositional phrases and relative clauses.
- Don't repeat the subject. "She lives in Canada" (not "She, she lives...").
- Keep word order simple. Subject + Verb + Object is safest.
- Practice with our lessons. We have 81 grammar lessons covering all these structures.
Next Steps
Want to master these structures? Check out our lessons on: