Note: This page is for students. Teachers, you can download this exercise as a worksheet here: Fix the Mistakes (Speaking Activity)
This exercise is for intermediate-level students. Each of the below 20 sentences has a mistake. Rewrite the sentence without the mistake, and then click on 'Answer' to check your answer. Explanations have been added to the answers that are not obvious.
Let's begin!
1. It is raining when I got home last night.
Answer
It was raining when I got home last night.
* Use past progressive for a longer action that was interrupted by a shorter action in the past.
2. My sister is annoying today, but usually she is nice.
Answer
My sister is being annoying today, but usually she is nice.
* Use a progressive tense (present progressive is used here) for actions and (some) adjectives that are temporary. Your sister is not annoying; she is only being annoying today. For adjectives, this generally applies to adjectives that require an action (e.g. being silly, being rude) and not states (dead, tired).
3. I have not ate anything today.
Answer
I have not eaten anything today.
4. If I am a child, I would play outside.
Answer
If I were a child, I would play outside.
* Second conditional = If + past tense, subject + would/could/might. The second conditional is used for unreal situations. Fact: You are not a child. But, if you were a child, you would play outside. Review conditionals here.
5. Everyone have seen that movie.
6. If we will be late, they will be angry.
Answer
It we are late, they will be angry.
* Being late is a real possibility, so you should use the first conditional. First conditional = If + subject + present simple, subject + will. Review conditionals here.
7. My father is thinking that I should stop smoking.
Answer
My father thinks I should stop smoking.
* In this sentence, the verb think is a state verb. It is generally not used in the progressive (~ing) tense. See our lesson on state verbs.
8. Look! It is snow.
Answer
Look! It is snowing.
* Use the present progressive tense if you want to describe what is happening now.
9. I fell asleep while I watched TV.
Answer
I fell asleep while I was watching TV.
*After while use past progressive. Again, this is a longer action (watching TV) that was interrupted by a shorter action (fell asleep).
10. I have lived in Canada since 10 months.
Answer
I have lived in Canada for 10 months.
- For describes a duration. Since describes when an action began.
11. There is a warm country.
Answer
It is a warm country. / That country is warm.
*In the above sentence, 'There' is an adverb that indicates a place. An adverb should not be the subject of a sentence. Instead, use 'It' as the subject. It is a pronoun.
12. I have not an iPhone.
Answer
I do not have an iPhone.
* People do not say "I have not (something)" anymore. This is old-fashioned English.
13. I haven't ever been to Korea.
Answer
I haven't been to Korea. / I have never been to Korea.
* Ever is only used with the present perfect in questions. It is not used in statements.
14. The students have a good time in class today.
Answer
The students are having a good time in class today.
* The verb have is a state verb, so it shouldn't be used in the progressive (~ing) tenses. However, to 'have a good time' is an expression (just like have a baby, have a party). These expressions are actions, so they can be used in the progressive tense.
15. John probably isn't going to come to school tomorrow.
Answer
John probably won't come to school tomorrow.
* Use will for predictions. Use be + going to for plans that are already decided.
16. If the world ended tomorrow, I will be very sad.
Answer
If the world ended tomorrow, I would be very sad.
* This is the second conditional. It is for a present unreal condition. There is a very low chance the world will end tomorrow. The speaker does not believe it will happen. Therefore, to show that it's not a real possibility, we use the second conditional.
17. I still did my homework at 10:30 pm last night.
Answer
I was still doing my homework at 10:30 pm last night.
* Use past progressive for actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.
18. He can speak Japanese because he was born in Canada.
Answer
He can speak Japanese even though/although he was born in Canada.
* These ideas contrast each other, so we should use 'even though/though/although'.
19. Lee afraid of snakes.
Answer
Lee is afraid of snakes.
* afraid is an adjective. A verb is still needed.
20. The students were not interested in the lesson because it was bored.
Answer
The students were not interested in the lesson because it was boring.
* An explanation of this answer can be found here.
How many answers did you get correct? If you have any questions, leave them in the comments section below.
How can you improve your English? The best way is to practice speaking and writing with a teacher who can give you feedback on your mistakes. If you don't have a teacher, there is also free software such as Grammarly that can give you grammar feedback while you type.
If you'd like to see some more common mistakes, please visit these related pages:
- 34 Common English Mistakes (Version 1)
- 23 Common English Mistakes (Version 3)
- 20 Common Mistakes made by Czechs
- Matthew Barton / Creator: www.englishcurrent.com (Copyright)
I LOVE THEM HUGS&KISSES
I love them, hugs and kisses.
its really goog to learn english.
Sir, please try to provide explanation of answer..
It will be really beneficiary for all…
Hello. I have added explanations as you requested.
Thanks but you must add scores.
It is agood way to learn english
OHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY
out of the total number of questions how many did i get right?
Keeb going
You CAN use “There” as a subject of a sentence. like in “There is no one on the line” or “There is an empty table” ..
It helps me with my home work
Thanks soooooooooo much my family and friends will love it thanks soooooooooo much again
My wife will love it thanks soooooooooo much â¤xxxxxxxxxx
Naughty boy!
Thank you soooo much !Answers with detail explanation are really helpful.
Thank you so much! It is useful!
These exersices are very useful for English learners
how can I know my grade??? I dont find it
Click on the red ‘Answer’ link. It will show you the answer. Then you can compare your answer to the correct answer.
About the question 19, 1- may we say ” lee does afraid of snakes?”
2- “is afraid ” should not have “ing” ? Why not?
3- if we say “does” don’t need to add ing, but with “is” , I think something is wrong if we don’t add.
1 – No. ‘Does’ is used as an auxiliary verb in making questions. ‘Lee is afraid of snakes.’ is the correct sentence. (Afraid is an adjective)
2 – Afraid is not a verb. It is an adjective.
3 – I’m not sure what you mean. We use ‘is’ with present progressive (I am typing). We use ‘Does/do’ when making questions in the present simple. For example, ‘Do you understand? / Does he have a dog?’
good i liked it
Not impress with my grammar.
Not impressed*
It was quite easy for my experience. But there were a few tricky ones like nr. 2
“Don’t blame me.Nothing can’t be done about it”
Nothing is used with an affirmative (positive) verb.
don not worry. I will give you some medicines and you will feel better soon
I don’t speak to him since last summer
Yes, that is a mistake. You should use the present perfect with ‘since’
Creative post – I was enlightened by the analysis . Does anyone know if my assistant would be able to obtain a fillable a form version to fill in ?
you should all make turns to discuss this problem (find the mistake)
Thx for the explanation
I want to put my sentences and you answer me! How i do that!
I don’t understand. Can you explain what you mean?
I AM NOT SATISFIED
English language is very easy
I love to do grammar correction.
really?
Spot the errors are always quite confusing. But they are interesting!
“Two and two make four.”Is there any mistake in this sentence??????
No, it’s correct.
This exercise is very easy.
Kala is tallest girl in the class
Good. But put “the” before tallest. — She is the tallest girl in the class. (We put ‘the’ before superlatives).
the children were lying in bed for a long time.
(Find the error
Just capitalize ‘The’ and it looks okay.
What is the right englis ? You has a company tonigh
“You have company tonight.”
Plzz….tell where is error in d sent.
The three first iinstallments of the rent taken in advance because it is the policy company.
I don’t know who gave this to me, but thank you for this!
My sentence is correct or not?
Correct
does your bus reach at 6.30a.m?
No. Does yours?
one of the boy is there (pls correct this)
One of the boys is there.