How to spot the grammar mistakes your ear misses
HESI A2 topic: Common grammar errors
- Match the verb to its true subject, not the nearest noun.
- Use I or who for subjects; use me or whom for objects.
- Past participles such as gone need has, have or had.
- After linking verbs such as feel, use an adjective: I feel bad.
- Use one comparison form and one negative word, never two.
Key facts
- A verb agrees with its subject, not with a noun inside a phrase between them: The box of gloves is empty.
- Each, everyone, everybody, nobody and someone take a singular verb; with either/or and neither/nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Compound subjects take I, he, she, we, they; compound objects take me, him, her, us, them (between you and me).
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- Irregular verbs have special past and past participle forms (go, went, gone; write, wrote, written), and the past participle needs has, have or had.
- Good is an adjective and well is an adverb (or an adjective meaning healthy); use an adjective such as bad or good after linking verbs such as feel, look and seem.
- Use the comparative (-er or more) for two things and the superlative (-est or most) for three or more, and never combine more with -er or most with -est.
- Hardly, barely and scarcely already count as negatives, so in standard written English they do not pair with not or no.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
Select the correct pronoun: The charge nurse sent Dana and ___ to restock the supply room.
Correct answer: B.
Dana and the missing pronoun are objects of the verb sent, so the pronoun must be in the objective case. Drop the other person to test it: the charge nurse sent me, not sent I. Compound objects take me, him, her, us or them, and myself should not replace me just to sound formal.
A I is a subject pronoun; you would not say the charge nurse sent I, so it is wrong after a verb.
B Correct: the pronoun is an object of sent (sent me), so the objective case me is needed.
C Myself is for sentences such as I did it myself; it is not a formal substitute for the object me.
D We is a plural subject pronoun; the slot needs one person in the objective case (me).
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: Most grammar errors hide behind extra words. Match the verb to its true subject, not the nearest noun. Use I or who for subjects and me or whom for objects. Keep tenses steady and use has, have or had with past participles such as gone. Use adjectives after linking verbs, one comparison form, one negative, and modifiers beside their targets.
1 How do you make a verb agree with its subject?The verb must match its true subject, even when other words sit in between. 1 min
The verb must match its true subject, even when other words sit in between. Elsevier's HESI A2 review book covers common grammatical mistakes like this one. Find the subject, then say only the subject and verb together.
| Tricky case | Rule | Correct example |
|---|---|---|
| Phrase between subject and verb (of, with, as well as, including) | Ignore the phrase | The box of gloves is empty. |
| Each, everyone, everybody, nobody, someone | Singular verb | Everyone on the unit has a locker. |
| Either/or, neither/nor | Verb matches the nearer subject | Neither the aides nor the supervisor was told. |
| Collective noun acting as one unit (team, committee, family) | Usually singular | The committee meets on Mondays. |
| There is / there are | The subject comes after the verb | There are two forms to sign. |
2 How do you choose the right pronoun?A pronoun must fit its job in the sentence and match the noun it replaces. 1 min
A pronoun must fit its job in the sentence and match the noun it replaces. Three checks catch most errors.
- I or me? Drop the other person and listen. "The manager thanked Ana and
Ime" becomes "thanked me." Subjects take I, he, she, we, they; objects take me, him, her, us, them. Don't swap in myself to sound formal. - Who or whom? Answer the question with he or him. He means who; him means whom: "To whom should I send it?" (to him).
- Agreement: a plural noun takes a plural pronoun, and each pronoun points to one clear noun: "The nurses updated their notes."
3 How do you keep verbs in the right form and tense?Keep every verb in the same time frame unless the time really changes. 1 min
Keep every verb in the same time frame unless the time really changes. "Yesterday she walked in and asks for help" is wrong; use walked and asked.
Irregular verbs don't add -ed, so learn their forms. The past participle needs a helper: has, have or had.
| Present | Past | Past participle (with has/have/had) |
|---|---|---|
| begin | began | begun |
| bring | brought | brought |
| do | did | done |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| go | went | gone |
| see | saw | seen |
| swim | swam | swum |
| write | wrote | written |
4 When do you use an adjective, and when an adverb?Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. 1 min
Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. After a linking verb such as be, feel, look or seem, use an adjective, because it describes the subject.
| Pair | Rule | Correct example |
|---|---|---|
| good / well | Good is an adjective; well is an adverb, or an adjective meaning healthy | She did well on the quiz. Mia looks well again. |
| bad / badly | Bad after linking verbs; badly with action verbs | I feel bad about the mix-up. The team played badly. |
| real / really | Real means genuine; really means very | She was really tired. |
Comparisons: use the comparative (-er or more) for two things and the superlative (-est or most) for three or more. Short words usually take -er and -est; longer words take more and most. Never use both: easier, not more easier. Good, better, best and bad, worse, worst are irregular, so more better is always wrong.
5 Which other errors slip past the ear?Double negatives and badly placed modifiers sound fine in speech but are errors in standard written English. 1 min
Double negatives and badly placed modifiers sound fine in speech but are errors in standard written English. Check for them last.
- Double negatives: use one negative only. Hardly, barely and scarcely already count: "I can hardly hear you," not "I can't hardly hear you."
- Dangling modifier: an opening phrase must describe the subject right after the comma. "Walking into the lobby, Marco noticed the new sign" works; "Walking into the lobby, the new sign caught Marco's eye" says the sign was walking.
- Misplaced modifier: put only, almost, just and nearly right before the word they limit.
Commas, semicolons and apostrophes are covered in our punctuation lesson.
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: The noun right before the verb is often not the subject: The list of supplies is on the cart, not are.
Watch out: Myself is not a formal version of I or me: The supervisor thanked Omar and me, not Omar and myself.
Watch out: Has went, have saw and had wrote are wrong; the past participle is gone, seen and written.
Watch out: After the linking verb feel, I feel bad is the standard written form, not I feel badly, even though people often say feel badly in conversation.
Watch out: Singular they (Everyone brought their badge) is increasingly accepted, though some formal rules still prefer his or her; look for an answer that breaks a clear rule instead.
How to remember it
Most grammar errors hide behind extra words, so remember the hook strip it down. Cut the sentence to its core: subject plus verb, the pronoun alone, the modifier beside its target, and one comparison or negative word.
Self-check:
- Fix and explain: "The list of supplies are on the cart."
- Choose the pronoun: "This stays between you and (I / me)."
- Fix: "We can't hardly wait for the results."
Show answers
- "The list of supplies is on the cart."
- Strip it down: the subject is list, not supplies.
- "Of supplies" is a phrase between the subject and the verb, so ignore it.
- List is singular, so the verb is is.
- Me.
- "You and me" is an object here, not the subject.
- Objects take me, him, her, us, them: between you and me.
- "We can hardly wait for the results."
- Hardly already counts as a negative, so it does not pair with can't.
- "We can't wait for the results" also uses only one negative.