6th Entry

I have been learning English for the last 12 years. Though it is somehow simpler than Vietnamese language, I still need much more time to master it. These are some of the common English grammar mistakes that I usually make.

Firstly, my most common mistake is article. It is simply put “a/an” to generic references and “the” to specific ones. However, there are cases when we do not have to put any articles. That is how I occasionally make this mistake. For example, in my writing assignment 1, I wrote “With the new development of technology”, while the correct one should be “With the new development of the technology.

The second common grammar mistake that I have made is tense. There are many types of tenses unlike Vietnamese language. Present perfect, past perfect tenses are those I usually get confuse. Present perfect tense is used for events happening in the past that affect or might go on at the present. Past Perfect Tense is used for events that happened and completed in the past. It is hard to identify these mistakes unless you understand the context thoroughly. For example, “The Florida institute had more pregnancies -19-using frozen eggs than any other facility” the correct one should be “The Florida institute has had more pregnancies -19-using frozen eggs than any other facility”.

Lastly, my third common mistake is prepositions. This the most troublesome grammar point since the entire meaning would be changed if you use the wrong preposition. There are no particular rules on this. The best way are to use them more often and memorize by heart the meaning of each case. For instance, we use “get on” a bus and “get in” a car.

With this, I am able to know my mistakes well. I realize that I still have many things to do in order to improve my English. Hopefully, I could avoid these mistakes in the future.