The 5 Most Common Grammar Mistakes

“Good writing is clear thinking made visible. Bad grammar just gets in the way.”

Let’s be real: we’ve all made grammar mistakes — yes, even the ones who correct other people’s texts in group chats. Grammar might feel like the least fun part of writing (unless you’re a language nerd like me), but it’s one of the most important tools in your writer toolbox.

Not because rules matter more than voice. But because if your grammar is sloppy, your message won’t land. And I don’t know about you, but I want my writing to hit like a magical sword to the gut — not like a confusing text from your ex.

So here are the five grammar mistakes I see all the time — and how to stop making them.

1. ❌ Misplaced Apostrophes

The Mistake: Confusing plurals and possessives.

• Incorrect: The dragon’s are attacking.
• Correct: The dragons are attacking.

Why It Happens: Apostrophes are sneaky. They show possession (the knight’s sword) or contractions (it’s raining fire), but they don’t belong in plurals.

Quick Fix: Ask yourself: is something being owned? Or is something being shortened? If the answer is no, skip the apostrophe.

2. ❌ Comma Splices

The Mistake: Joining two full sentences with just a comma.

• Incorrect: The rogue escaped the dungeon, he vanished into the mist.
• Correct: The rogue escaped the dungeon. He vanished into the mist.

Why It Happens: We often write how we speak — with flowing thoughts that merge into each other. But written grammar needs clearer breaks.

Quick Fix: If both parts of the sentence could stand alone, give them a full stop, a semicolon, or add a conjunction (like and or but).

3. ❌ Confusing Their/They’re/There

The Mistake: Mixing up homophones.

• Their = possession: Their kingdom was crumbling.
• They’re = they are: They’re planning a rebellion.
• There = location or existence: There was a shadow in the hallway.

Why It Happens: We hear them the same, but they function differently.

Quick Fix: Read your sentence aloud and plug in the full form (“they are”) — if it doesn’t make sense, it’s not “they’re”.

4. ❌ Subject-Verb Disagreement

The Mistake: The subject and verb don’t match in number.

• Incorrect: The witches flies on their brooms.
• Correct: The witches fly on their brooms.

Why It Happens: Sometimes extra words or phrases get in the way, and we lose track of who or what is doing the action.

Quick Fix: Strip the sentence down to subject + verb. Make sure they agree in number (singular vs. plural).

5. ❌ Dangling Modifiers

The Mistake: A descriptive phrase that’s not clearly attached to the subject.

• Incorrect: Running through the forest, the sword fell from his hand. (Wait, who was running?)
• Correct: Running through the forest, he dropped the sword.

Why It Happens: We try to be poetic or dramatic — but forget clarity.

Quick Fix: Make sure the subject doing the action is the one right after the modifier. If not, rewrite.

We all slip up sometimes. That’s what editing is for. But knowing these five common traps — and how to fix them — will make your writing smoother, sharper, and way more confident.

Because your story deserves to shine through crystal-clear sentences. Not get tripped up by a rogue comma.

Now go forth and write like the grammar-slaying fantasy hero you were meant to be.