Learn English
Common Mistakes
Common mistakes that students make when using English.
Travel vs Trip – Difference
Oct 4th
These two words frequently confuse learners of English.
A quick explanation that is valid for most situations is the following:
Travel – a verb (the action) Trip – a noun
Susan’s husband isn’t in town at the moment; he is on a business trip. He More >
Million vs Millions
Aug 23rd
Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?
A: New Zealand has a population of four million people
B: New Zealand has a population of four millions people
The first sentence (A) is correct and the second sentence (B) is incorrect. Why?
English students often get confused about when to put an More >
Maybe or May be – What is the difference?
Jul 12th
This is a common mistake for students learning English (and sometimes native speakers too!).
The simplest explanation is: Maybe = perhaps May be = is possibly
- Our boss was sick yesterday so he may be absent from work today. Maybe our meeting will be postponed More >
Strangers vs Foreigners
Jul 5th
Common mistake
“There were many strangers at the hostel. It was great to meet so many new people.”
Strangers = people you have never met, seen or talked to. To call someone a stranger is not particularly friendly. e.g. “Call the police! There’s a stranger walking around in our garden!” Foreigners = More >
House vs Home difference
Jul 1st
Something that confuses people learning English is the difference between HOUSE and HOME
A HOUSE is the BUILDING where the majority of people live. It normally has bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and a dining room.
A HOME is a PLACE where someone lives. Normally it is More >
Landscape vs Scenery difference
Jun 28th
When people describe the outdoors they sometimes use landscape and scenery incorrectly.
We use the word landscape to talk about the view or a large expanse of a particular area and how it is arranged or positioned. We can also use the term urban landscape to talk about the same thing More >
Business or Busyness
Jun 21st
A common mistake amongst English students is the spelling of Business. Bussyness, bizness, buziness, bussiness and bussnis are just some of the spellings I’ve seen!
To remember, think – business is full of busy-ness (busi-ness)! Busy = have a lot to do, occupied with many things.
Of course it’s spelt nothing like More >
Desert the dessert in the desert
Jun 14th
Desert the dessert in the desert!
Desert can be a verb and a noun though with two completely different meanings. To Desert means to leave without intending to return. It can also mean to abandon. A Desert is a dry place which receives very little rainfall.
The verb is pronounced with the stress on ‘sert’- More >
Pretty Beautiful Handsome Ugly
Jun 7th
Beautiful Women and Handsome Men
Did you know that there are over 170,000 words in the English language and over 25% of them are adjectives? (Adjectives are used for descriptions)
A common mistake with adjectives is when describing people. To describe a woman we could call her beautiful or pretty but we don’t call More >
